Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-20-2007, 04:32 PM   #21
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 195
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Having children. When, things don't go,---- exactly as planned.
Sundance Kid is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-20-2007, 05:01 PM   #22
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,323
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

One of my biggest regrets is not cutting the family ties with those TOXIC relatives. You know the type: insulting, belittling, nasty all in the name of "helping you" or "just kidding, so what's wrong with you?" Good grief, get rid of those nasty suckers faster next time. Toxic relatives = a nice, slow way to kill your soul, spirit and mind.
Of course, the others can stay around...just get rid of the toxic ones.
__________________
Please consider adopting a rescue animal. So very many need a furr-ever home and someone to love them! And if we all spay/neuter our pets there won't be an overpopulation to put to death.
Orchidflower is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-20-2007, 05:18 PM   #23
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
wabmester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 4,459
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Hmm, probably should have used more sunscreen as a kid. And stayed off roller skates as an adult.
wabmester is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-20-2007, 06:33 PM   #24
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Cut-Throat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 1,172
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

The only things that I regret in Life were treating people badly and not going to Woodstock in 1969, when my friends were packed and ready to go in that VW Microbus. I stayed home and worked!
Cut-Throat is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-20-2007, 06:37 PM   #25
Gone but not forgotten
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

y and not going to Woodstock in 1969, when my friends were packed and ready to go in that VW Microbus. I stayed home and worked!
[/quote]

My friends were also going but I stayed home because I didn't like camping .Stupid !!!
Moemg is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-20-2007, 06:55 PM   #26
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 7,968
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Backwardation and contango?? - in forty years I believe I've made every investment mistake in the book before becoming a Boglehead - EXCEPT commodities futures - toward which greed was drawing me of late until I read Bernstein's On Stuff in Efficient Frontier and decided I didn't really grasp what the heck he was talking about. Sooo - I'm saving that mistake till - perhaps later. Probably could have financed a couple decades with a financial planner using my mistake $.

heh heh heh - :
unclemick is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-20-2007, 07:03 PM   #27
Dryer sheet aficionado
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 32
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

I regret..........

(1) that I started smoking at 15. I quit the death sticks (reformed smoker here, we are the worst!) years ago and live a very healthy lifestyle. I wish I could unring that bell. I sincerely regret that I smoked through most of my 20's. Sigh

(2) anybody I hurt.

(3) What someone else said further up on the thread. Playing it safe work-wise.
Tracker is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 08:39 AM   #28
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
FinanceDude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tracker
I regret..........

(1) that I started smoking at 15. I quit the death sticks (reformed smoker here, we are the worst!) years ago and live a very healthy lifestyle. I wish I could unring that bell. I sincerely regret that I smoked through most of my 20's. Sigh

(2) anybody I hurt.

(3) What someone else said further up on the thread. Playing it safe work-wise.
Like the sig............where were you when I was single?? DW doesn't like to fish, which is hard because I grew up fishing in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan and the Mississippi RIver................
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)


This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
FinanceDude is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 08:48 AM   #29
Moderator Emeritus
SteveR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,811
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Marrying my first wife. Terrible financial mistake. The only good to have come out of that was my two kids.

Buying stock suggested by a broker. Lost it all in a year. Never again.

Started smoking when I was 13...stopped a hundred times...finally quit a few years ago (one of the BEST things I ever did).

Bought a house in Texas in 1986. Sold it at a 25% loss two years later. Ouch! Lost all my built up equity from the previous three houses I owned before that and had to take out a loan to pay off the difference between the house value and the mortgage. Took 3 years to pay that off and save for another house downpayment.

Etc.
__________________
Work? I don't have time to work....I'm retired.
SteveR is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 10:34 AM   #30
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 718
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Being ignorant of my finances way too long
Mwsinron is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 01:48 PM   #31
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,898
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Being stupidly trusting of my ex-husband and not developing a lucrative career. The choices I made were always based on what was best for my kids and husband. So I worked part-time and that doesn't look so hot on your resume at age 55.

My finances turned out fine in the divorce. But if some circumstances outside his control had been slightly different it all could have easily gone very bad for me and I wouldn't be posting on this board right now.
Zoocat is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 02:30 PM   #32
Full time employment: Posting here.
MikeD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Leesburg, VA
Posts: 904
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Mistakes:
Buying a boat, not liking it very much, and selling it cheap.

Buying a lake house for aforementioned boat, not liking it, and selling it at slight loss.

Buying a VW bus to work on, getting too sick to work on it, and have been trying to sell it for over 10 years.

Best things I ever did:
Marrying my wife.
Getting a degree.

Mike D.
__________________
I just want to celebrate another day of livin'
I just want to celebrate another day of life

- R. Earth
MikeD is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 02:34 PM   #33
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
REWahoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,004
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

I'm not really all that clear on the details, but I know I will forever regret uttering the phrase, "Bubba, hold my beer and watch this."

__________________
Numbers is hard
REWahoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 02:35 PM   #34
Moderator Emeritus
Rich_by_the_Bay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 8,827
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo!
I'm not really all that clear on the details, but I know I will forever regret uttering the phrase, "Bubba, hold my beer and watch this."



__________________
Rich
San Francisco Area
ESR'd March 2010. FIRE'd January 2011.

As if you didn't know..If the above message contains medical content, it's NOT intended as advice, and may not be accurate, applicable or sufficient. Don't rely on it for any purpose. Consult your own doctor for all medical advice.
Rich_by_the_Bay is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 02:46 PM   #35
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 198
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Panic Mistakes:

1. Sold 15k worth of stock near its lowest point in at least 10 years. Within 1.5 years it would have been worth at least 45k.

2. Also turned off investments in that stock while it sat at a low point for a couple years. Would have gotten more stock currently worth another 50k or so during that time period.

3a. Decided to invest in individual stocks with my rolled over 401k.

3b. Decided to sell said individual stocks when they dropped heavily over the next couple weeks. They went right back up a week or so later, but I'd lost around 10% on my money. It took awhile to gain that back.

Just not thinking mistakes:

1. This is a good one. Decided to buy and put money down on a new house on a quick 1 day decision. It was "Hey nice house, quick lets put money down before it's gone" (new construction). Here's the thinking that lead to and resulted from this decision:

a. We don't want to put kids in day care, so if we're going to have kids, one of us needs to quit their job.

b. We might not want kids, so we need to decide before moving.

c. Ok, this house we're looking at seems great for kids, it's huge, has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, full basement, etc. Lets buy it quick before the price goes up anymore.

d. We can't have kids because we can't afford the house on only one salary. We can't move because it's new construction and pre-owned home prices aren't going up in the area (and are selling slow). We'd kill our equity with Realtor commissions. It's just shocking looking back that we could have been so dumb

2. Invested wifes entire 401k in her company stock when her company stock fell on a spur of the moment decision. Was saved from stupid mistake by her company stock rising the next day and I was able to sell for a nice profit. Learned never to do that again while actually gaining money

That's about all I can think of right now.
HobbyDave is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 02:57 PM   #36
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Not something that cost me money, but:

- Never throwing caution to the wind and spending a week/month/year/decade doing interesting stuff. I've always chosen the safe, remunerative, societally-approved route. Have to say I am beginning to think I missed out for good.
__________________
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

- George Orwell

Ezekiel 23:20
brewer12345 is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 03:16 PM   #37
Recycles dryer sheets
figner's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Los Angeles area
Posts: 329
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Quote:
Originally Posted by brewer12345
Not something that cost me money, but:

- Never throwing caution to the wind and spending a week/month/year/decade doing interesting stuff. I've always chosen the safe, remunerative, societally-approved route. Have to say I am beginning to think I missed out for good.
Never too late, I say - would it be difficult to get away from the responsibilities for just a week at this point?

My stupid mistakes:

Spent a summer working abroad in Europe, but wasted most of my free time holed up in my room writing moony love letters to a crush back home (which didn't work out once I returned to the US). Wish I'd checked out the town a lot more, done weekend trips, hung out with locals more...

Didn't read much about asset allocation and diversification till a year or so ago, though I've been investing for nearly a decade. So I missed much of the last several years runup in non-US investments, and now feel like a performance chaser. :P

figner is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 03:19 PM   #38
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Quote:
Originally Posted by figner
Never too late, I say - would it be difficult to get away from the responsibilities for just a week at this point?
Haaaaaaahahahaha!

2 small kids, 2 dogs, wife, heavy duty job. I'm lucky to get an afternoon to myself every 6 months.
__________________
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

- George Orwell

Ezekiel 23:20
brewer12345 is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 03:27 PM   #39
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
SecondCor521's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Boise
Posts: 7,866
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Ignoring my intuition shortly before Christmas Day, 1990 and asking my girlfriend to marry me.

But I do have three really great kids out of the deal, and honestly the marriage itself wasn't bad except at the very end.

2Cor521
__________________
"At times the world can seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe us when we say there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough, and what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events, may in fact be the first steps of a journey." Violet Baudelaire.
SecondCor521 is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't
Old 03-21-2007, 04:23 PM   #40
Administrator
Gumby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 22,973
Re: Expensive or just plainly Stupid mistakes you made and wish you didn't

Quote:
Originally Posted by brewer12345
Not something that cost me money, but:

- Never throwing caution to the wind and spending a week/month/year/decade doing interesting stuff. I've always chosen the safe, remunerative, societally-approved route. Have to say I am beginning to think I missed out for good.
Same here.
__________________
Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
Gumby is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:33 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.