CARDS maxed to the limit, a fortune spent on stuff that seemed a bright idea but will just lie around cluttering up the place.
Unwanted tat you’re stuck with as no one else wants it either.
Wondering whatever possessed you to think it was good value in the first place.
The story of the festive season for households across the nation. The story of the past ten seasons for Manchester United.
One which means even though they seem to have found a suitable successor to Sir Alex Ferguson at last, he is having to do the job with both hands tied behind his back.
So much for all those boasts of how cock-ups were a thing of the past now Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s much-vaunted football committee was running the show.
Seriously, Sir Jim? That already looks a bigger joke than anything which tumbled out of a cracker.
This is a regime which arrived 12 months ago with chest-beating promises that United would be title contenders in three years.
But right now is more likely to be remembered for their role in one of the most unforgivable chapters in the history of England’s biggest club.
Reckon that is overplaying the seriousness of the situation at Old Trafford? Well, scratch beneath the surface a little and see what you think.
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The biggest and most obvious clanger of all was fudging Erik ten Hag’s future last summer. And then managing to trump themselves by compounding it even further.
First co-owner Sir Jim, right-hand man Dave Brailsford and the rest of the brains trust decided Erik wasn’t so bad after all — having spent months wildly thrashing around in vain for a better option.
Not many truly believed it with any serious conviction — maybe not even the committee themselves — but the FA Cup final win in May gave them a platform to argue so.
For all it was great to beat Manchester City, there’s a case to suggest it was the worst thing that could’ve happened. Crystal clear waters became muddied.
Defeat at Wembley would certainly have seen off the manager. Instead Sir Jim’s boys not only stuck with Ten Hag, but then let him spend more than £170million on new recruits.
Until late October, when reality could be ignored no longer and they swung the axe.
At last a unanimous verdict . . . no disputing this decision.
Most fans agreed the next one was spot on, too. In Ruben Amorim, United, after 11 error-riddled years, finally had the manager they craved.
One whose personality, character, presence and belief is as big as the sporting institution paying his wages. Results alone wouldn’t scream as much, for sure. They are no better than Ten Hag’s early days at Old Trafford.
But already Amorim is giving United an identity again. Already there is a system in mind. His predecessor couldn’t manage either in over two years.
The problem, though, is the manager needs the tools to do the job . . . and there aren’t many — of the right kind at least — to work with.
There is an urgent demand for new faces. But that demands departures which, in turn, demands finding buyers. And there is no queue for Old Trafford cast-offs.
Of the players Amorim inherited, you could say with any certainty only Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and, probably, Bruno Fernandes are out of bounds.
This is a rebuild of knock-it-down, start-from-scratch proportions… demanding ultimate stick-with-it patience.
Plus possibly £42m summer signing Leny Yoro — if only for the reason his injury-delayed start means he hasn’t played enough to pass judgment.
Yet so many of the rest simply aren’t up to it — Amorim has swiftly realised it, too.
He knew United had problems, but probably not what a mess they were in.
One logic-defying win at City won’t pull the wool over his eyes. Not with red-faced losses to Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Wolves in the mix, too.
Amorim knew full well this was a mission with no quick fix . . . but not, you sense, the reality that it will take years longer than he first believed.
This is a rebuild of knock-it-down, start-from-scratch proportions. A job demanding ultimate stick-with-it patience.
Which, ironically, has been the mantra of the post-Fergie era. That plea urging the owners to keep faith in the manager.
So far none have had more than two full seasons.
No surprise, then, that patience is the watchword once again. Yet now with a huge sense of irony.
For this time the call isn’t begging United’s owners to be patient, but for the manager to have enough in those who brought him in.
