‘What’s the worst financial decision you’ve ever made, and what did you learn from it?’ – 18 salutary lessons you won’t want to repeat

As the old saying goes, you’ve got to spend money to make money. By the same token, it also turns out that you’ve got to waste huge sums of cash in order to learn valuable lessons about saving and living responsibly.

At least that’s if the replies to a question set by Redditor Exotic-Example-1572 are anything to go by. That’s because they asked the folks over at r/AskReddit this burning question about their financial history:

‘What’s the worst financial decision you’ve ever made, and what did you learn from it?’

Here are the top replies for you’ll be wise not to repeat. Your wallet will thank you later…

1.
‘I’ve pissed a lot of money into my parents’ situation. I’ve come to the bitter realization that all their problems are the result of poor decisions and bad behavior, and no amount of money will ever dig them out of the hole they’re in.’
-Aniwaya1

2.
‘I had a job with a startup where the owner gave me some unrealistic goals and told me if I hit them, he’d make it worth it to me. I had nothing better going on, so I said “fuck it, I’ll take that chance.” I was salaried, so only getting paid for my 40 hours, while working 60+ hours a week for about a year.

‘I hit the goals though and he surprisingly followed through. He gave me a huge under the table bonus. More than I would’ve made if he’d just paid me the overtime.

‘What did I do with that money? He said I should buy a house, it’s enough for a down payment and interest rates were really low at the time. Instead I bought my dream car (a 1970 challenger someone had thrown a 440 and T56 transmission into). Don’t get me wrong, I love that car, but houses then literally cost half what they do now and I still kick myself every time I think about it.’
-Judge_Bredd3

3.
‘Got 100k from my moms life insurance and blew it within a few years. I was 19. And so dumb. And so depressed. With no guidance. I learned the importance of saving lol.’
-sandraver

4.
‘Lego’s long term strategy in the 90s was to hook kids on them and then drop their dream sets when they had the money.

‘I’m still learning from it.’
-SilentSamurai

5.
‘Do NOT, under any circumstances, loan money to a friend or co-sign any loans with them. It messes up your life for a long time when they do not pay their bills.’
-dog4cat2

6.
‘Fell for ‘Buy Now, Pay Later.’ Now I’m Paying Forever.’
-Nadia-Nice

7.
‘Don’t try to buy your own stocks and expect to get a positive return unless you know what you’re doing. It’s index and mutual funds for me. Lesson learned.’
-Important_Stroke_myc

8.
‘I spent $23,000 on chemotherapy for a cat. Cat died anyway.’
-No_Artichoke7180

9.
‘Marrying the wrong person.

‘Don’t marry the wrong person.’
-leons_getting_larger