I bought a very large John Deere snowblower. Actually it was a John Deere tractor with a heated cab, overhead lights, and a huge rotating snow thrower on the front. 100% overkill.
I bought this because my little Honda snowblower was overwhelmed given a big driveway and I ended up shoveling so much.
Now I’m much smarter and I hire a reliable snow blowing service to clear my driveway and walks.
A commercial quality elliptical when I was bored with my job and on the job market. Six months later, I accepted a new job halfway across the country at a considerably better salary and with membership to the gym next door. I sold the elliptical at a significant loss after I looked at what it would cost to move it halfway across the country.
Three months before I started my first big girl job after college, I bought a Toyota Celica, it was beautiful. But it came with two loans-one was a 5 year note and the second was a one year note for the down payment I should have had. Those payments totaled over 1/3 of the paycheck I would start receiving in three months. UGH. But I paid off the down payment loan in four months and paid the car off in three years. That took frugality in every other aspect of my life.
The lesson learned was worth the price, that stupid (but awesome) car put me on the path to financial independence. Saving and investing became my primary priorities and I was able to retire at 51.
I bought a Hot Tub a couple of years ago and have only been it in a couple of times. The purchase is an embarrassment, I have to clean it all the time and spend money on expensive chemicals. I might make a flower planter out of it!
A couple years after college and still on my first job, I bought a condo without knowing/asking myself if I woud be settling down in that part of the country.
I bought a cabin on land leased from the State…. so really …just a cabin. It made 0 sense. I regret that I purchased it without really thinking it through. That said, we learned so much and had many good experiences there. We sold it at a loss just before the pandemic… but I could of lost that money in the stock Market just as easily, and not had the life experience. So a financial regret, but wiser for it.
I once bought put options on a stock that I was (temporarily) worried about. The stock price today is about 7 times higher than the strike price on those options.
My first marriage was crumbling so I signed a lease agreement for a hot red sports car to make myself feel better. The marriage ended, finances shattered, and I was still trapped in an expensive long-term car lease.
For many of us, our mistakes are serendipitous. Investing through the wrong company just made me determined to never allow that to happen again. Some lessons are worth the cost.
It’s not the money I regret or the object. It’s defying that voice inside that said “this is a bad idea”. Making stupid purchases and knowing before I made the purchase that it was a stupid purchase is what I regret.
Brilliant answer. Sometimes we feel carried along by certain emotions or assumptions or relationships, regardless of our knowledge, and it is necessary to swim against the tide.
Sports cars. I’ve bought flashy -unreliable-sports cars that caused aggravation and expense. The next bounceback vehicle is always a Toyota or a Honda. My lesson is to trust Consumer Reports and not be swayed by the sex appeal of the car.
I took mine in to be appraised two weeks ago, and I somehow have managed to not own the cards that sell. I bought cheap mass produced stuff, not the rare cards that have gone stratospheric, but it’s a great life lesson learned for me on supply and demand that I’ve never forgotten!
Enron in the Summer of 2001.
I bought a very large John Deere snowblower. Actually it was a John Deere tractor with a heated cab, overhead lights, and a huge rotating snow thrower on the front. 100% overkill.
I bought this because my little Honda snowblower was overwhelmed given a big driveway and I ended up shoveling so much.
Now I’m much smarter and I hire a reliable snow blowing service to clear my driveway and walks.
A commercial quality elliptical when I was bored with my job and on the job market. Six months later, I accepted a new job halfway across the country at a considerably better salary and with membership to the gym next door. I sold the elliptical at a significant loss after I looked at what it would cost to move it halfway across the country.
Three months before I started my first big girl job after college, I bought a Toyota Celica, it was beautiful. But it came with two loans-one was a 5 year note and the second was a one year note for the down payment I should have had. Those payments totaled over 1/3 of the paycheck I would start receiving in three months. UGH. But I paid off the down payment loan in four months and paid the car off in three years. That took frugality in every other aspect of my life.
The lesson learned was worth the price, that stupid (but awesome) car put me on the path to financial independence. Saving and investing became my primary priorities and I was able to retire at 51.
I bought a Hot Tub a couple of years ago and have only been it in a couple of times. The purchase is an embarrassment, I have to clean it all the time and spend money on expensive chemicals. I might make a flower planter out of it!
A couple years after college and still on my first job, I bought a condo without knowing/asking myself if I woud be settling down in that part of the country.
I bought a cabin on land leased from the State…. so really …just a cabin. It made 0 sense. I regret that I purchased it without really thinking it through. That said, we learned so much and had many good experiences there. We sold it at a loss just before the pandemic… but I could of lost that money in the stock Market just as easily, and not had the life experience. So a financial regret, but wiser for it.
I once bought put options on a stock that I was (temporarily) worried about. The stock price today is about 7 times higher than the strike price on those options.
A timeshare 6000 miles from our home. I feel lucky I got out of it with only a ~75% loss.
My first marriage was crumbling so I signed a lease agreement for a hot red sports car to make myself feel better. The marriage ended, finances shattered, and I was still trapped in an expensive long-term car lease.
Sailboat when my wife was pregnant. What was I thinking?!
For many of us, our mistakes are serendipitous. Investing through the wrong company just made me determined to never allow that to happen again. Some lessons are worth the cost.
It’s not the money I regret or the object. It’s defying that voice inside that said “this is a bad idea”. Making stupid purchases and knowing before I made the purchase that it was a stupid purchase is what I regret.
Brilliant answer. Sometimes we feel carried along by certain emotions or assumptions or relationships, regardless of our knowledge, and it is necessary to swim against the tide.
My first house. We weren’t as financially prepared as we should have been.
My second biggest regret was my second house. Buying high and selling low is a poor strategy for building wealth.
A pair of ATV’s. It was a purchase made as a last ditch effort to save a failing marriage.
Sports cars. I’ve bought flashy -unreliable-sports cars that caused aggravation and expense. The next bounceback vehicle is always a Toyota or a Honda. My lesson is to trust Consumer Reports and not be swayed by the sex appeal of the car.
Any kid who sunk every dollar they earned in the late 80s and 90s into baseball cards knows the answer to this question. Sigh.
John –
Hopefully you’ve saved them because trading cards are absolutely on fire. Not kidding.
I took mine in to be appraised two weeks ago, and I somehow have managed to not own the cards that sell. I bought cheap mass produced stuff, not the rare cards that have gone stratospheric, but it’s a great life lesson learned for me on supply and demand that I’ve never forgotten!