20+ Stories of Financial Fails We All Need to Learn From

In the modern world, it is really easy to lose your money. People can fall prey to marketers, be taken advantage of by some fraudulent scheme, or even be deceived by a loved one. Internet users shared the stories of when they made a very bad financial decision, and now we have a chance to learn from their mistakes.

We at Bright Side have collected these examples of situations that anyone can find themselves in. Unless you read this article, of course.

• I met my ex-husband when I was in my early 20s, he was over 30. I had been working since I was 18, and had managed to save up about $10,000 while working and living at home. My ex didn’t know this at the time, but even so, he began telling me about the financial problems he was having. I was young and “loaned” him $2,500. Of course, I never saw it again. The lesson for any woman — young or old — is if a grown man asks you for money, RUN. © Abbie Cuddy / quora

• Remote-controlled helicopter(s) for my son. The first one crashed and was unflyable in less than 15 min. Go back to the store, the next one lasted one hour then got destroyed. The last one smashed against the wall in about the same one hour time frame. Never buy something that flies for a kid, if you want it to last. © slipperylips / reddit

• Way back in 2013, unguided and wanting to buy an apartment within my budget, I found this property. The location was good, near to my office at Padur, with ample open spaces, and pretty much well connected with the local train services. So I sold my wife’s jewelry to pay the advance, borrowed some money from my sister, as a loan, and further took a loan out for another 20 years. The directors of the company are in prison, and I still don’t have my apartment as of today. © Ashish Devnani / quora

• My wife decided we needed a new bed. And not just any bed — an expensive new bed with lots of built-in storage drawers. My wife is kind of short, so it’s awkward for her to have to climb up onto a bed that high. Hence, we also had to buy an optional set of steps. Now, I’ll be lying in bed, and she’ll climb up those steps and suddenly be looming over me like some huge scary nocturnal creature. 10/10 would’ve preferred a normal bed. © MyNSFWside / reddit

• Paid $80,000 for my wedding and honeymoon last summer. Getting divorced this summer. © LIGHT_COLLUSION / reddit

• The worst decision about finance that I ever made was to show off by spending money on my wedding. The idea was to impress my guests. The only people who benefited were the vendors. I never enjoyed the event because I was tense about whether my savings would be enough to meet my expenses. I realized later that our guests would’ve just been happy to have our personal attention, not by the looks and food at the event. Those who are not happy with our personal attention, are the ones we shouldn’t waste our time with. © Susheel Agarwal / quora

• Instead of saving money for my own apartment, I used to spend thousands of dollars on things and accessories just to look rich. And now the housing in my area is astronomical and out of reach financially. I get so disappointed and mad at myself when I think about it. © RedditingAroundLol / reddit

• I was in the baggage claim area of the airport wearing my university sweater. I was approached by this well-dressed guy who mentioned to me that he was an alumnus and volunteered to give me a ride back since it was on his way. He drove a flashy red Mercedes coupe and casually apologized (bragged) about the lack of trunk space for my bags. I was tired of him, but I still invited him to drink tea. This was when he made his speech about bitcoin. Remember this was 2011 and unless you were totally into cryptocurrency, no one knew about it. He asked me point blank — would I like to buy $100 worth of it. I politely refused, in spite of his assurances about what a sound investment it would be. That $100 worth of bitcoin was worth $6.5 million in Dec 2017. © Ashwin C / quora

• I spent a year saving up for a MacBook and finally bought it. But now, according to the tech, I need to buy a new LCD, that is the same price as a new laptop, but not an Apple product. This was the first thing that I bought from my own pocket. I feel even sadder because I am typing this answer from my Android phone. I regret that I didn’t buy a cheaper laptop. © Lyn Martinez / quora

• I bought a mobile phone that was 3 times as much as my monthly salary. I know my family’s financial situation and they are not dependent on my salary, so that’s why I made this huge mistake. Now I regret my decision. Yes, I bought it mainly to show off. But now, the price for it has dropped and the device is worse than phones that are 3 times less expensive today. © Vigneshkumar Moorthi / quora

• My wisdom teeth. There was enough space for them to grow, but I couldn’t floss them well enough. For at least 15 years, I was paying to fix them. It finally occurred to me to get them pulled. © vosot / reddit

• I’m from a normal middle-class Indian family and I make $1,130 a month. When I was 21, I decided to take a loan out for a Mercedes Benz CLA 200, because I was crazy about this car. Now I can’t even spend money to put gas in it and I am using public transportation to go to the office. The car is just sitting there in my parking spot. © Ashwin-Srinivas / quora

• When I was fresh into my first year of college, I hit the mall with the cash my parents gave me for living expenses. I got stopped by one of those girls at the kiosks who was trying to sell me a special exfoliant. She demonstrated it on my hand and I could see the dead skin sloughing off before my eyes! In her heavy accent she told me that, for me, the price was just $18. I was sold and told her that yes, I would purchase this miracle product. When she rang it up I saw that the price was actually $80, not $18, and I realized that I had misheard her, due to her accent. I was too embarrassed to back out of the purchase at that point, so I kept my mouth shut and went through with buying that ridiculously expensive skincare product. © CreepyCommittee / reddit

• I went to a different continent for 10 days to visit a buddy of mine. It cost me a fortune and I arrived to find that he was completely absorbed by his new girlfriend. Anytime he was away from her, he was miserable and he didn’t want to do anything when he was with her, all they wanted to do was be together, so they tried to get rid of me. It was a massive waste of money and the loss of a friendship. © unknown / reddit

• To help my husband — always thinking it would benefit both of us and our kid, as a family. So far I’ve supported husband by selling all my jewelry and taking out 2-3 personal loans for him. I feel cheated and very upset. I feel like walking away from this marriage. But I don’t know what’s stopping me. To all women — no matter what you people do and how much you love your spouse... Please don’t empty yourself for them. Only your child is your responsibility... Not your spouse. © anonymous / quora

• I went to a different city to meet a girl I met on the internet. I booked flight tickets and hotels in advance for 3 days. She never showed up. That was one of the biggest regrets of my life. © manisyam / reddit

• I bought a house, got married, and did a renovation the way my wife wanted. I put up the money for all of this. This may sound like an investment, but not to me. Financial independence changes people. Before, I was confident, I always fought for my opinion, but now, I have to hold on to my job, and I’m scared of arguing with my boss. I just go with the flow without any ambition. © Pushp Rajkavi / quora

• When I was 19, I invested in a multi-level marketing business. I started with small amounts and I felt as if I was a cool businessman, but I wanted more, so I decided to take the risk and invest $9,000. I had to ask my parents for the money. I desperately convinced them and we managed to get the necessary amount. I took the savings for my sister’s wedding and even got my uncle and my grandfather involved. When I got my first check, I started buying luxury clothes and acting as if I was super-rich. But then, the money stopped coming in, and the management started to ignore me. The family was able to forgive me, but the relationships with the other people I got involved are totally ruined. © Ravi-Teja-Gurram / quora

• That first pack of cigarettes. © never_change27 / reddit

• It was 2008, and while I was doing a job away from home, one of my close relatives suggested that I purchase some land near the highway. Since I was staying in another city, he suggested that he would register the land in his name, at that time, and then later transfer it to mine. We were close, so I totally trusted him. Years later, the price of the land was about 20 times higher. But he decided to not give me the land, and he only returned half of my investment. So, I never ever trust anyone, money is the devil and can change anyone’s mind at any time, especially with relatives. © Ajay Reddy / quora

• I’ll call it a lesson to comprehend, rather than a regret. The people I used to call friends still owe me around $12,000. All I can say now is this: if you lend money to friends, be ready to lose both the money and the friends. I realized that some people I lent the money to might not return it. Many of them can return the money, but they don’t want to and act as if they don’t remember. Lesson learned, I’m moving on. © Prado 1 / quora

• My ex-husband and I agreed that it would be easier to save money if we put all of our household expenses on my salary and let him do the saving, big purchases, and tax bills with his salary. We’re divorced and he stuck me with half the tax bills he never paid. Oh, and all that money he was saving... Yeah I didn’t get any of that either. His new wife got a nice ring and a honeymoon, though. © flyingcatpotato / reddit

• I know a couple who spent $125,000 on their wedding. Their marriage lasted less than 4 years. They ended up arguing over who had to pay which part of the debt (“I didn’t want the stupid flowers in the first place!”) during their divorce settlement negotiations. They were each still paying for their first wedding when they married their second spouses. © craic_d / reddit

Can you share any examples of when you made a bad financial decision?