‘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
10.
‘Paying for insurance but not following through on claims. Got trip insurance for my honeymoon, had a medical incident and couldn’t go. I made a call to see if I was covered, I was and I was supposed to follow up… but I didn’t. I can’t even remember why.
‘$5000 down the drain.
‘Now I follow up, not just on all my insurance claims but on everything that might get me money back: warranties, refunds, etc. I refuse to leave money on the table out of laziness or convenience.’
-tsh87
11.
‘Move without securing a job first because I had a good amount saved up. It took me 6 months to find a job despite being in a high demand profession and with experience. The job market is tough af. I had $22,000 saved up. Drained it all.’
-Old-Body5400
12.
‘Loaned my new boyfriend over $10k over the course of our relationship because he was struggling to find a job and pay bills and child support. He promised to pay it back even if we broke up.
‘He then cheated on me and assaulted me, and never paid me back. I was foolish to think I would ever see that money again. Luckily I’m financially okay so it didn’t impact me too much, but it’s been two years and I still feel like an idiot.’
-allegro4626
13.
‘Got a car loan at 10% when prime was 3%, Never trust the salesman. Claimed the 10% was just a placeholder until the banks opened.’
-Gomez-16
14.
‘Spent $100k to get a commercial helicopter license and then realised the life of a heli pilot wasn’t good at all. Fixed term contract work, traveling around the country looking for work, low pay, couldn’t buy a house, build a relationship, have kids in the way I wanted.Took a desk job instead and took 12 years to pay the loan back. Never flew again. My young brain got swept away with the idea of being a helicopter pilot without thinking it through.
‘In the end it worked out, apart from loving the flight training and living in the airport I also met my now wife. So the way I see it is it cost $100k to meet my wife who is now the guiding light in my life.’
-PilotPlangy
15.
‘Went through a divorce and cashed out my 401k to get rid of the debt, it was an easy button and I didn’t look at all my options or ask anyone’s advice. I was 37. I literally took 14 years of my work life that I’d saved and threw it away. I started over at 37 and am now financially healthy with my new husband, but I know it would have added another half mil or more to my balances and I could retire earlier.’
-DeeDleAnnRazor
16.
‘I went to art school and paid for it with student loans. I learned that I’m an idiot.’
-Milkweedhugger
17.
‘I didn’t file the proper form when I surrendered my house before foreclosure in 2016. One. Form. Didn’t know, used an online tax service and that was that?
‘I was told by the collector I would never hear from them again. Oh, how wrong I was. See, the IRS thinks I owe taxes on the sale of the property, but I just handed over the property under the guise of washing my hands of the dire situation.
‘Last time I checked, the IRS wants over 100 grand. I got nothing for the house. Now I had to go to a CPA. My tax guy has delayed them, tried too casually to get a tax advocate to correct the problem. Almost 9 years later, they have kept every refund and I have this STILL hanging over our heads. The IRS has not waived a thing.
‘All because of one form.
‘Lost a house, lost all my money I put into the house, currently paying twice as much in rent as my previous house payments. Not a dime to spare. One. Form.
‘Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda.’
-coloringpad
18.
‘Gambling. You can’t out gamble your losses.
‘Losing is not a problem in gambling, if u lost every time you will not gamble anymore. Winning on the other hand is the problem.
‘The more u win, the more u increase your stakes. You lose some, win some. No big deal, I went to a casino once with 2 euros and came out with 500, the next day went in with 150 and ended up with -300 euros.
‘It’s a brutal cycle where the money you make will not be enough to make long term changes in your life and you’ll lose them anyway on the next round of gambling.
‘Meanwhile your brain gets so hooked on, that you make radical, illogical financial decisions in your daily life even if it’s not gambling. Like buying expensive stuff for your soulmate, cause u either feel bad losing the same amount last night or feel confident that you can make more money if u won.’
-No-Compote-2127
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