What's the worst financial decision you've ever made?

Im currently stuck because I have an associates equivalent, and to get to that 100K marker every single place I interview has been saying they went with someone with grad-school experience
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I'll figure it out though, I know plenty of folks in my line of work with associates that are making twice as much as me.

I also spent like 8K on guitars this, and last year... I can only play one at a time that **** was foolish.

I had other music equipment that's getting dated and could be smarter to replace, but I ****** around and bought guitars, because growing up I never had good ones.
 
GetBack said:
 
Yeah that's sort of what I've been thinking. I like the German engineering more, but it's tough to beat the reliability of Toyotas. I'd only get an Audi if it was eligible for an extended warranty. I'm buying used btw. But you probably already figured that out based on my budget.

Currently whipping an 03 Pathfinder I've had for 5 years that I've probably dropped an easy $5k in maintenance. No more Nissans for me.
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I had a 2004 A4 that I bought in 2008 with 35k miles (I had 1k miles under warranty).  Sold it at 103k miles because it was a money pit.  AC Compressor went out, $1400 to fix.  Had 3 window regulators go out in 3 separate instances (common issue back then) for $350 each.  Fuel pump went out, that was like $600-700.   Wiper motor went out, I bought a used one online for like $300 and installed it myself.  Timing belt I did at 65k miles, was $1200.  Another one was due around 120k miles, and that along with the AC Compressor was why I said "F this".    Ended up selling and buying a 2012 Grand Cherokee, which has been mostly issue free (everything covered under warranty, so far). 
 
worst financial decision is not saving enough, and spending too much. 

believing any stream of cash flow will last for ever or remain steady. 
 
turbospartan said:
SuperAntigen said:
I beg to differ. Racking up 100k in student loans for an occupation that pays you 40k - 60k a year is not a smart decision.


100k in student loan debt is only acceptable if the outcome is a professional degree with mid-career earnings well into the six figures.
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I said "entry level" pay of 40k-60k.   
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"Entry level" or not, 40-60K (gross, I am assuming) pay nets you somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-40K after taxes. Now from your net salary, you have to account for C.O.L expenses: let's be conservative and say 15K because you live in middle of nowhere, USA. That leaves you with 15-25K left. That's not much left to make any real headway on your 100K interest accruing loan if you subtract miscellaneous expenses and savings over the course of the year.

Obviously, these numbers are just estimates, but the risk that comes with 100K loan is very great imo. It's just something that I would personally avoid and counsel others against. To each his/her own, though.




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GetBack said:
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HarlemToTheBronx said:
 
Yeah, I'm kind of in a similar situation to when you bought the car, I'd imagine. I'm looking to start really saving for a down payment on a house, not sure if I should invest in a used WRX or Evo. Only looking to spend like 15k max though, so it may be tough.
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Same boat as you. Looking to spend 10-15k on a car and keep saving for a DP on property. Thinking of buying an Audi A4, S4 or a Lexus GS.
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If you grab an Audi for 10-15k please teach me.:lol:

I may just **** around and cop a hooptie Civic to save cash, then splurge on something after I move into my own place.

EDIT: Well damn, didn't realize how reasonably priced used Audis are. Might look into an A4, too.

I was worried about the maintenance though...I know my boy struggles at times with his. Expensive *** German parts.
 
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SuperAntigen said:
turbospartan said:
SuperAntigen said:
I beg to differ. Racking up 100k in student loans for an occupation that pays you 40k - 60k a year is not a smart decision.


100k in student loan debt is only acceptable if the outcome is a professional degree with mid-career earnings well into the six figures.
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I said "entry level" pay of 40k-60k.   
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"Entry level" or not, 40-60K (gross, I am assuming) pay nets you somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-40K after taxes. Now from your net salary, you have to account for C.O.L expenses: let's be conservative and say 15K because you live in middle of nowhere, USA. That leaves you with 15-25K left. That's not much left to make any real headway on your 100K interest accruing loan if you subtract miscellaneous expenses and savings over the course of the year.

Obviously, these numbers are just estimates, but the risk that comes with 100K loan is very great imo. It's just something that I would personally avoid and counsel others against. To each his/her own, though.




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100k is a bit much on a 40-60k salary. But if you have 50k in student loans with a solid degree, the additional career earning over someone's lifetime from their degree will most likely offset the cost of college. Discussions on student loans should be viewed from a ROI perspective.

My biggest financial regret is not purchasing stock, mainly index funds, at the bottom of the market in 08. I was still in high school but I wish I had the foresight to invest my part time job money.
 
Paying for college. I had a full ride for two years so it was a no brainer to go. Just went because it was free knowledge, not because I cared about a degree. No idea why I continued.
 
Legal fees :smh:


But i had that lawyer money stacked [emoji]128526[/emoji]
 
not starting school as soon as i joined the military , I would probably have one semester left for my bachelors. :smh:

buying excessive amounts of shoes, especially since I haven't worn most of them in years.
 
AdobeCS4 said:
Maxing out a cc at 21 and letting it hit collections :smh:
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My boy told me that after 7 years,if collections still havent been able to reach you or you havent called them at all, whatever you owe just dissapears. Idk how true this is though


For me it would be strippers and drugs :lol:
 
23kidd said:
AdobeCS4 said:
Maxing out a cc at 21 and letting it hit collections :smh:
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My boy told me that after 7 years,if collections still havent been able to reach you or you havent called them at all, whatever you owe just dissapears. Idk how true this is though


For me it would be strippers and drugs :lol:
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It doesn't disappear, but they can't collect from you legally, meaning they can't take you to court.

That said, in a way it does disappear because after so long of a time of non-payment, an account in collections does fall off your credit report. At that point the damage to your credit is already done though.

edit: And you can talk to the collectors all day long. It's only when you make a payment that the 7 year clock resets, which is why they're so willing to take ANY payment from you. So if you're approaching almost 7 years of delinquency and haven't been sued yet, don't pay them ****. :lol:
 
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-Student Loans for a certificate I have absolutely no use for.
-Getting into multiple accidents/tickets which skyrocketed my insurance into the stratosphere for 3 years.

The Student loan monthly payment is barable now and my car insurance is back down to a regular rate but I caused way too much hardship on myself over those years
 
DA HEN said:
H2ho6 said:
reading all these loan IDK if I wanna drown myself in loans trying to become a pilot 
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chase your dreams
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THIS!!! If becoming a pilot is your dream you should pursue that! It will be worth it in the end. You have to live for yourself and not anyone else. Do what makes you happy :pimp:

Money comes and goes... But if you don't seize these opportunities and chase your dreams you'll end up stuck at a boring desk job, browsing NT, and doing the same old thing every day for the next 40 years wondering, "what if I decided to take that risk and become a pilot?" Man up and take control of your destiny.


Take it from me. I've made some very risky financial decisions in the past 6 months. Some of these may end up being the worst financial decisions I've ever made. But for now, I'm doing alright.
-I maxed out a $15k credit card in December in order to start my own company when no one believed in the company/wouldn't invest in the cannabis industry. It was scary as hell knowing I dug myself in a hole that deep. Had lots of nights where I thought I may have made a huge mistake, but I believed in myself and kept pushing. 6 months later I currently have 0 credit card debt and my credit score has recovered.
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-I worked on my company a little bit every night when I got home from my day job and it got to the point were it became very real and I couldn't balance two jobs any more. I resigned from my $80k day job (GS-12 with federal government) two months ago. I'm currently unemployed.

-My company made it's public debut two months ago and we have a lot of traction. But, we still aren't open yet. We're just in the marketing phase and building out our location.

-I took out a $40k personal loan from my friend about a month ago to use as the company's working capital. Again, he wouldn't invest directly in the company because of the industry I am in but he was willing to give me the personal loan. It went straight from my bank account into the company's account. I now owe my best friend $40k under a legal contract, which I had to pay his lawyers to write up :lol:

-That $40k allowed me to keep things moving with the business and at this point, people who doubted me at first have seen this come to fruition. Those who were hesitant about investing, are now throwing money at me. They already missed out though. I used about $25k of that money to obtain financing from a national equipment financing & business working capital company. This company did $15M in cannabis loans last year and they have already done $20M in the first quarter of this year. I now have over $100k worth of lab equipment that will hopefully be paid off in the next four years. I'll be paying roughly $35k in interest over those 4 years, but, I kept my equity in the company.

-I'm 27 and in the past 6 months I just founded my own company in the fastest-growing industry in the US, on my own. I have one partner and we are 50/50 owners. I'm still $40k in debt to my best friend, and that has the potential to ruin our friendship. I went from having a good, safe job with a nice paycheck and good benefits to being unemployed for a few months. Almost lost my girlfriend multiple times because I'd come home from my day job and work on my company until I passed out from exhaustion. I've barely seen any friends or family during this time and have kept this a secret from most of them. I just told my parents what I've been up to all this time this past Sunday.

-Success doesn't come easy, no risk no reward. I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life and optimistic about my future. But I won't front... There are nights when I think to myself, "what have I gotten myself into here?" and sometimes it feels crazy. But those are the feelings that keep me motivated and determined to be successful.

Long story short, never work for a paycheck. Don't be like everyone else. Find what you love and find a way to get paid doing it. We aren't meant to be stuck in cubicles 8 hours a day. I'm never going back to that life.
 
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Being a pilot just sounds dope. Especially if that's really what you wanna do. Enjoying your job >
 
SuperAntigen said:
"Entry level" or not, 40-60K (gross, I am assuming) pay nets you somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-40K after taxes. Now from your net salary, you have to account for C.O.L expenses: let's be conservative and say 15K because you live in middle of nowhere, USA. That leaves you with 15-25K left. That's not much left to make any real headway on your 100K interest accruing loan if you subtract miscellaneous expenses and savings over the course of the year.

Obviously, these numbers are just estimates, but the risk that comes with 100K loan is very great imo. It's just something that I would personally avoid and counsel others against. To each his/her own, though.
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Obviously the best case scenario is to take out zero loans and still get a college education.  Or to do your first 2 years at a Community College, as your first 2 years are primarily pre-requisite classes that can transfer.  Or to go to a cheaper "state" college instead of a private / out of state / more prestigious universities, etc. 

Other than a very select few degrees / colleges, you're going to be paying $50-100K for a legit 4 year degree and you are probably not going to make more than $60k as an entry level employee.  Mechanical Engineering degree for example, would probably land you a starting salary for around $60k.   To get a BS in Mechanical Engineering from a 4-year university, you're probably paying $15k-25k each year.  That comes out to $60-100k for the degree. After a few years in the workforce, and receiving raises / promotions, that Mechanical Engineer should be in the 6-figures by mid-career.    

http://www.mtu.edu/engineering/outreach/welcome/salary/

https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/how-much-does-it-cost-study-us

I'm not sure what degrees / colleges / career paths you would suggest, other than a random few like Computer Science that would allow an entry level pay to be much higher than $60k a year.   No one ever said taking out Student Loans is the best idea ever, its all relative to a return on your investment and is just a requirement for many people who don't have the assets to pay for college before they ever have a real job.  
 
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