Guys/girls, I appreciate your openness. I love blogs because you learn directly from other people experience.
My worst financial mistake was to procrastinate with buying our home. We have been more fortunate than Paul in that respect that we did get the right sized house for our family but still if we did it one, two or three years earlier we would have saved a lot.
If I get to win anything, please donate it to your charity of choice.
My worst financial mistake was not starting to save for retirement earlier. In my 20's I had a state job that was eligible for the equivalent of a 401(k). There was no matching, so I didn't participate. I wised up by the time I turned 30, but those first few years were lost forever.
Some saved earlier is better than more saved later *G*
I saw NKOTB live at a club in Salinas, CA when they were having their first tour. I had gone with a friend and his sister, who was a huge fan of theirs. The came out an hour late, and lip-synced 4 songs for a total of about 15 minutes, then left.
In 1964, I owned, free and clear, a 1957 VW Bug. I was in electronics training schools run by the Air Force in Mississippi making $200.00 a month as a 1st Lt.
A friend took me to a dealer where I discovered a 1960 Jaguar Mark {some Roman numeral] four-door sedan for sale...$2500 and my VW. Jaguar is now part of Ford, but in 1964 it was not. Such a deal.
I still owed $3,000 on graduate school loans. But living in the BOQ with meals provided I figured, "No problem!"
Not long after I became the proud owner, the Jaguar showed signs of a bad valve [a common problem I didn't see on the test run].
Unable to afford the cost of repair, I sold the car to a wealthier officer [more appropriate for his class level] and ended my military training going to class on a bicycle.
By FAR...running up credit card debt in my 20's...that took me into my 40's! I thought it was SO cool to have credit cards and be able to charge things...what a dummy I was. Charging Christmas gifts, and all sorts of things that did not need, and no longer have..took years to get out of thet hole! If someone offers you a credit card - JUST SAY NO kids!
I bought a house for myself when I was going thru a bad, emotionally charged break up.
The house was what I needed at the time- to have somewhere to call my own and nest myself- but years later, I could not get rid of it to save myself.
I tried renting it out when I couldn't sell right off the bat- which sounds better than it is. I had a total of 3 different tenants over 5 years- each of which did more damage on the home than they paid out in rent. I had to re-frame walls, buy new appliances, etc. One person was even a co-worker of my life partner- you just never know how people will work out as tenants.
Ultimately, I lived in the house 2 out of the 10 years I owned it; rented for almost 5, and paid the mortgage on an empty house for almost 3 years. Then the final blow- a rash of copper pipe thefts in basements in our area (central New York)left the basement flooded and tons of pipe work gone. I ended up having to do a short sell on the house- the bank was very displeased but there was nothing I could do. So besides the $800/month for 3 years, the lost money in rental disasters, upkeep on the house-- I ended up having to PAY $10,000 of an inheritance into pipework for someone to buy the house- and me walking away with nothing further owed.
It's interesting - the pollution. I lived in China for a couple of years - the pollution is so bad that the older people often cough up blood or have something akin to black lung from living right next door to coal-burning plants. But it seems like life just goes on. It's the price of economica growth, and very few people want to turn back time to live in the "egalitarian" Communist era - or course those are both extremes, but China's never been good with happy mediums.
Damn, Will, that was a great link. I wish I had seen it earlier.
While reading the comments to Andrea's blog, I decided to be pro-American and check out http://www.shopforamerica.com/ and realized one of the reasons American products are as rare as the dodo bird is because they're not in tune with the mainstream.
WTF?
If I want to be a Harley driving, black leather clad hombre then this is the perfect site! If I need to find businesswear the Allen Edmonds would be perfect.. if I were 30 years older!
The best example of American companies lack of understanding and leadership is the automotive industry. For years, they've produced nothing but big, gas-guzzling behemoths without any focus on energy conservation and efficiency. Now, we are stuck with repercussions of their stolid decision and forced to buy more fuel-efficient imports; make no mistake we the American public are paying for it through import purchases, unemployment, loss of tax revenue and weakening of a major sector of the economy.
So, thank you American companies for putting us in the quagmire we're in now!
The financial mistake that most readily comes to mind is getting bullied into signing up for a two-year gym membership that I couldn't get out of. Even when my 2-year contract was up, I had to send the place a signed affidavit just to close my account >.<
I sometimes wonder, however, if getting a new, better-paying job --> buying a house (with zero down) was a bad decision, though. A year later, I'm not exactly in love with the job, but I feel tied to it because I have this huge mortgage payment to tackle, and we can't pay it with just my husband's income. We pay extra every month, but it's a very large payment, and I'm uncertain how the value of the house has changed since I bought it. At least we like the house a bunch...
I see your point - but I wished I had known how the plan worked so that I could have made an informed decision. I had followed this company stock for many years and it would often lose 1/2 its value and then double its value over the course of a few months. Still, if the advice from the advisor on where to put the money (a well-diversified portfolio, which I followed very precisely) had generated some returns rather than stagnating for years, I guess it would not have seemed like such a poor decision.
thank you for the great entry, sarah. these suggestions are really really excellent. i can already tell it will make a huge difference for me at my workplace. i can't say thank you enough!
When I was 18 I bought a Chevy Cavalier to start building my credit. It was reliable and at the time I was driving 150 miles a day to school and work. Two years later I had already put 60,000 miles on it, which was the mileage for the warranty expiring. My fiance and I decided that we should get a Jeep Cherokee since, eventually, we would start a family. After finding a car that seemed reasonable, $18,000 which included the amount i was upside down on the cavalier, we decided to start negotiating the price. The finance manager said they don't give the low interest rates to people under 21, but that he would work with us. Four hours later, they had only come up with an interest rate of 22%. Not knowing how bad that actually was and since they had informed me they sold my car already, i signed. Total cost of the car ended up being $36,000, twice the sticker.
One year later my fiance and i broke up, I took the jeep to a friend that started working at another dealer and bought the Mustang i really wanted with a .9% interest rate. That Jeep was on my credit until 7 years later. I told them I'd rather have bad credit then pay them.
My interest rate might be high, but when I had late payment problems and discussed them with Capital One. Capital One, worked with me until I could start paying regular monthl payments, then I paid them off after I sold some property. They did not lower my limit even though I had paid late and missed payments, because I kept communicating with them. I am very grateful to the company for that. A loyal fan of Capital One
I got my first credit card in college, and my debt immediately started to snowball. By the time I was 25, I had $30k in student loans and $20k in debt. And my job paid a measly $10/hour. I couldn't make my payments, and debt collectors started to come after me. I was a nervous wreck, and the debt hung over my head like a black cloud.
Thanks to a (financially smart) generous boyfriend (now husband), I got out of credit card debt. In some cases I had to "settle" the debt. The company accepted less than I owed just because they were happy to get something. My credit score was rock bottom.
Now we never carry a balance on our cards. But it was an expensive lesson.
Lesson Learned: Never charge more than you can afford to pay.
My worst financial mistake was never really thinking about money or educating myself about it until I was 24 years old. I didn't know what a Stafford loan was and I honestly didn't even realize I had 17k in a school loans until my parents handed over the paperwork after I graduated. Sure I had signed stuff but I never knew for what amount or that I would actually have to pay it all back with interest, because I was naive, confused, and wasn't really paying attention. Fortunately my parents raised me to work hard and live frugally so I wasn't a big spender, but unfortunately they didn't explain much to me about loans, saving, investing, and how money works, so I wasn't a big saver either. It took temping in a financial aid office for me to wake up and educate myself about personal finance and my future. I was (and still am) embarrassed and frustrated that it took me that long and I wasted so many years without saving a dime or learning about money. I wish I could visit myself in high school to kick myself in the butt and tell me to pay attention to how much college will really cost, and to open a savings account and not touch it.
...was hardly a mistake. It was the right move and I hope you'd do the same thing every time. The value could've just as easily been cut in half as doubled.
I imagine that I am not the only person to have done this but I feel that this is the one of the worst financial mistakes I have ever made. In college, I took out a number of loans to cover tuition, expenses, etc. There is nothing wrong with that but the kicker is that in January of every academic year, I had received a loan refund once the bills for the current and previous semesters had been paid. Instead of sending the refund back to the loan company or even paying rent and bills forward I took the money to the mall and engaged in a shopping spree for the ages. I bought 600 dollar shoes and 100 white tee shirts.
The lesson learned is that borrowed money is never personal money and that caution must always be used when borrowed money is used.
Okay, so I'm still feeling the burn of this one because it's so recent but so irreversible.
I just finished my first year of college. Scratch that- I just finished my first year that I had to PAY. The twist is that in high school, I had a very high GPA, sports, music, clubs, community service, the works.
My worst financial mistake? I was too lazy to apply for the full-scholarship which I most likely would have received.
Lesson learned: Spending a short amount of time (making smart decisions) now will save you from spending a long (really long) amount of time earning money later.
This story may help many people who may be blissfully unaware that something terrible is coming on the horizon. I don't think it will cause paranoia at all, as everything listed here is usually a good indication that something is wrong, and I did point out that 3 or more spells danger. On a more pressing note, I believe we have a fine article on WB about stain removal. It could help with your personal problem.
@Siemenstainz - maybe those people have a legitimate fear (ie., it's not paranoia) if lots of things on this list apply to them. If this is happening to someone you know, maybe it's best to not dismiss their chances of getting fired so casually.
Now I own a 2007 Honda Civic (the other one conked out on me 8 months ago). But as you can see, different people are having varying degrees of luck. I would always try this on an unseen part of the car first, just to make sure. Same goes for the scratch repair tips I posted.
Guys/girls, I appreciate your openness. I love blogs because you learn directly from other people experience.
My worst financial mistake was to procrastinate with buying our home. We have been more fortunate than Paul in that respect that we did get the right sized house for our family but still if we did it one, two or three years earlier we would have saved a lot.
If I get to win anything, please donate it to your charity of choice.
My worst financial mistake was not starting to save for retirement earlier. In my 20's I had a state job that was eligible for the equivalent of a 401(k). There was no matching, so I didn't participate. I wised up by the time I turned 30, but those first few years were lost forever.
Some saved earlier is better than more saved later *G*
I saw NKOTB live at a club in Salinas, CA when they were having their first tour. I had gone with a friend and his sister, who was a huge fan of theirs. The came out an hour late, and lip-synced 4 songs for a total of about 15 minutes, then left.
I live in western Oregon and have a garden of vegetables. Can I use your lawn tonic to spray my vegetables to kill of and discourage any bugs?
Thanks.
In 1964, I owned, free and clear, a 1957 VW Bug. I was in electronics training schools run by the Air Force in Mississippi making $200.00 a month as a 1st Lt.
A friend took me to a dealer where I discovered a 1960 Jaguar Mark {some Roman numeral] four-door sedan for sale...$2500 and my VW. Jaguar is now part of Ford, but in 1964 it was not. Such a deal.
I still owed $3,000 on graduate school loans. But living in the BOQ with meals provided I figured, "No problem!"
Not long after I became the proud owner, the Jaguar showed signs of a bad valve [a common problem I didn't see on the test run].
Unable to afford the cost of repair, I sold the car to a wealthier officer [more appropriate for his class level] and ended my military training going to class on a bicycle.
By FAR...running up credit card debt in my 20's...that took me into my 40's! I thought it was SO cool to have credit cards and be able to charge things...what a dummy I was. Charging Christmas gifts, and all sorts of things that did not need, and no longer have..took years to get out of thet hole! If someone offers you a credit card - JUST SAY NO kids!
I bought a house for myself when I was going thru a bad, emotionally charged break up.
The house was what I needed at the time- to have somewhere to call my own and nest myself- but years later, I could not get rid of it to save myself.
I tried renting it out when I couldn't sell right off the bat- which sounds better than it is. I had a total of 3 different tenants over 5 years- each of which did more damage on the home than they paid out in rent. I had to re-frame walls, buy new appliances, etc. One person was even a co-worker of my life partner- you just never know how people will work out as tenants.
Ultimately, I lived in the house 2 out of the 10 years I owned it; rented for almost 5, and paid the mortgage on an empty house for almost 3 years. Then the final blow- a rash of copper pipe thefts in basements in our area (central New York)left the basement flooded and tons of pipe work gone. I ended up having to do a short sell on the house- the bank was very displeased but there was nothing I could do. So besides the $800/month for 3 years, the lost money in rental disasters, upkeep on the house-- I ended up having to PAY $10,000 of an inheritance into pipework for someone to buy the house- and me walking away with nothing further owed.
Do the math. I have won this.
It's interesting - the pollution. I lived in China for a couple of years - the pollution is so bad that the older people often cough up blood or have something akin to black lung from living right next door to coal-burning plants. But it seems like life just goes on. It's the price of economica growth, and very few people want to turn back time to live in the "egalitarian" Communist era - or course those are both extremes, but China's never been good with happy mediums.
Damn, Will, that was a great link. I wish I had seen it earlier.
I've been looking everywhere for this. :)
While reading the comments to Andrea's blog, I decided to be pro-American and check out http://www.shopforamerica.com/ and realized one of the reasons American products are as rare as the dodo bird is because they're not in tune with the mainstream.
WTF?
If I want to be a Harley driving, black leather clad hombre then this is the perfect site! If I need to find businesswear the Allen Edmonds would be perfect.. if I were 30 years older!
The best example of American companies lack of understanding and leadership is the automotive industry. For years, they've produced nothing but big, gas-guzzling behemoths without any focus on energy conservation and efficiency. Now, we are stuck with repercussions of their stolid decision and forced to buy more fuel-efficient imports; make no mistake we the American public are paying for it through import purchases, unemployment, loss of tax revenue and weakening of a major sector of the economy.
So, thank you American companies for putting us in the quagmire we're in now!
The financial mistake that most readily comes to mind is getting bullied into signing up for a two-year gym membership that I couldn't get out of. Even when my 2-year contract was up, I had to send the place a signed affidavit just to close my account >.<
I sometimes wonder, however, if getting a new, better-paying job --> buying a house (with zero down) was a bad decision, though. A year later, I'm not exactly in love with the job, but I feel tied to it because I have this huge mortgage payment to tackle, and we can't pay it with just my husband's income. We pay extra every month, but it's a very large payment, and I'm uncertain how the value of the house has changed since I bought it. At least we like the house a bunch...
I see your point - but I wished I had known how the plan worked so that I could have made an informed decision. I had followed this company stock for many years and it would often lose 1/2 its value and then double its value over the course of a few months. Still, if the advice from the advisor on where to put the money (a well-diversified portfolio, which I followed very precisely) had generated some returns rather than stagnating for years, I guess it would not have seemed like such a poor decision.
thank you for the great entry, sarah. these suggestions are really really excellent. i can already tell it will make a huge difference for me at my workplace. i can't say thank you enough!
When I was 18 I bought a Chevy Cavalier to start building my credit. It was reliable and at the time I was driving 150 miles a day to school and work. Two years later I had already put 60,000 miles on it, which was the mileage for the warranty expiring. My fiance and I decided that we should get a Jeep Cherokee since, eventually, we would start a family. After finding a car that seemed reasonable, $18,000 which included the amount i was upside down on the cavalier, we decided to start negotiating the price. The finance manager said they don't give the low interest rates to people under 21, but that he would work with us. Four hours later, they had only come up with an interest rate of 22%. Not knowing how bad that actually was and since they had informed me they sold my car already, i signed. Total cost of the car ended up being $36,000, twice the sticker.
One year later my fiance and i broke up, I took the jeep to a friend that started working at another dealer and bought the Mustang i really wanted with a .9% interest rate. That Jeep was on my credit until 7 years later. I told them I'd rather have bad credit then pay them.
My interest rate might be high, but when I had late payment problems and discussed them with Capital One. Capital One, worked with me until I could start paying regular monthl payments, then I paid them off after I sold some property. They did not lower my limit even though I had paid late and missed payments, because I kept communicating with them. I am very grateful to the company for that. A loyal fan of Capital One
I got my first credit card in college, and my debt immediately started to snowball. By the time I was 25, I had $30k in student loans and $20k in debt. And my job paid a measly $10/hour. I couldn't make my payments, and debt collectors started to come after me. I was a nervous wreck, and the debt hung over my head like a black cloud.
Thanks to a (financially smart) generous boyfriend (now husband), I got out of credit card debt. In some cases I had to "settle" the debt. The company accepted less than I owed just because they were happy to get something. My credit score was rock bottom.
Now we never carry a balance on our cards. But it was an expensive lesson.
Lesson Learned: Never charge more than you can afford to pay.
My worst financial mistake was never really thinking about money or educating myself about it until I was 24 years old. I didn't know what a Stafford loan was and I honestly didn't even realize I had 17k in a school loans until my parents handed over the paperwork after I graduated. Sure I had signed stuff but I never knew for what amount or that I would actually have to pay it all back with interest, because I was naive, confused, and wasn't really paying attention. Fortunately my parents raised me to work hard and live frugally so I wasn't a big spender, but unfortunately they didn't explain much to me about loans, saving, investing, and how money works, so I wasn't a big saver either. It took temping in a financial aid office for me to wake up and educate myself about personal finance and my future. I was (and still am) embarrassed and frustrated that it took me that long and I wasted so many years without saving a dime or learning about money. I wish I could visit myself in high school to kick myself in the butt and tell me to pay attention to how much college will really cost, and to open a savings account and not touch it.
...was hardly a mistake. It was the right move and I hope you'd do the same thing every time. The value could've just as easily been cut in half as doubled.
I imagine that I am not the only person to have done this but I feel that this is the one of the worst financial mistakes I have ever made. In college, I took out a number of loans to cover tuition, expenses, etc. There is nothing wrong with that but the kicker is that in January of every academic year, I had received a loan refund once the bills for the current and previous semesters had been paid. Instead of sending the refund back to the loan company or even paying rent and bills forward I took the money to the mall and engaged in a shopping spree for the ages. I bought 600 dollar shoes and 100 white tee shirts.
The lesson learned is that borrowed money is never personal money and that caution must always be used when borrowed money is used.
Hmmm.... that name sounds so familiar....
Okay, so I'm still feeling the burn of this one because it's so recent but so irreversible.
I just finished my first year of college. Scratch that- I just finished my first year that I had to PAY. The twist is that in high school, I had a very high GPA, sports, music, clubs, community service, the works.
My worst financial mistake? I was too lazy to apply for the full-scholarship which I most likely would have received.
Lesson learned: Spending a short amount of time (making smart decisions) now will save you from spending a long (really long) amount of time earning money later.
Paying big ticket items straight in stead of in installment in the past were my worst financial mistakes.
Back then, I didn't realize that the pros paying some of my major purchases using special installment plans far outweigh the cons.
This story may help many people who may be blissfully unaware that something terrible is coming on the horizon. I don't think it will cause paranoia at all, as everything listed here is usually a good indication that something is wrong, and I did point out that 3 or more spells danger. On a more pressing note, I believe we have a fine article on WB about stain removal. It could help with your personal problem.
@Siemenstainz - maybe those people have a legitimate fear (ie., it's not paranoia) if lots of things on this list apply to them. If this is happening to someone you know, maybe it's best to not dismiss their chances of getting fired so casually.
Now I own a 2007 Honda Civic (the other one conked out on me 8 months ago). But as you can see, different people are having varying degrees of luck. I would always try this on an unseen part of the car first, just to make sure. Same goes for the scratch repair tips I posted.
I see that you said the method worked good for you, I'm just wondering what model and make your car is?
Thanks.