23 Shocking Stories of People Who Lost Everything Over One Poor Decision

We all make bad decisions sometimes, due to impaired judgment, or sometimes under the influence of others. The problem with making bad decisions is that they come with consequences that can put your mental and physical health at risk, not to mention career and financial wellness. Here are such examples of taking a wrong decision at a wrong time, and how the people lived with the consequences. That being said, a strong support system and faith in yourself can bring out of the deepest, darkest holes, so remember to believe in yourself and stay tough.

• My wife and I bought a house on a whim. We were walking by an open house and loved the place. We applied for a mortgage and were granted it, and we were so excited. It was a beautifully restored character house in the city. Turned out that the neighborhood was crawling with all sorts of bad guys.
  After five years, when our little boy was ready for kindergarten, we had to move. Houses in other areas had risen in value, but ours hadn’t. It is a long story. Before buying a house, spend a lot of time researching it, especially the neighborhood. chaiwalla / Reddit
• When I lived in Vegas, I saw all these people come in and “bet it all on black,” then lose. The stare of disbelief as they realize their mortgage is gone, and they have to explain that to whomever they had left at home. El_Seven / Reddit
• Married the wrong person. The impacts are incalculable. Divorce, pay 50%+ of my take home pay in child support/alimony, forced me into bankruptcy, lost my house, other problems as well.
  Make sure you’re compatible with the person you marry. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a relationship that isn’t great, but isn’t so bad you want to leave. Worst mistake I ever made. kbedell / Reddit
• A guy I went to high school with was kicked out of his college and moved back home. His dad told him off for being lazy and needing to do something with his life. He decided he was going to rob a bank. He DID successfully rob the bank and get away.
  Some time went by; he moved out of his parents’ house and started living it up. He eventually told someone he trusted. That person turned him in. He was arrested and charged. You can decide if he ruined his life when he decided to rob the bank or when he decided to tell someone that he did it. dspjst / Reddit

• I rode a barn-crazy horse without a saddle. I had to bail when it started to sprint to the barn, and hit the ground going a good 25 mph. I racked up about 5k in medical bills, needed 3 surgeries, and was in physical therapy for about 9 months. BobADe*** / Reddit
• Guy got super-excited during a corporate holiday party and made out at the party (consensual) with “work wife” who was a one rank subordinate. HR was unimpressed with violation of zero-tolerance policy, fired for cause. His actual wife remained unimpressed with the excuses, and filed for divorce. NotAnotherEmpire / Reddit
• He was so excited to go to a music concert. He decided to slide down the escalator wall between the up and down as he went to catch the subway. Tripped, fell 2 stories or thereabouts, and landed in the hospital for a year. He still walks with a limp.
• My father punched a window out of anger, severing the artery and ligament in his bicep. He almost bled out, and it effectively removed his ability to work with his hands, which was the one thing he had going for him.
  He became moody and spiraled down. My parents lost the family home. They ended up splitting. I went no contact with him. krusty556 / Reddit
• Playing catch with my buddy in a parking lot right after winters. I slipped on rock salt as I threw and tore a bunch of muscles in my back.
  Went from throwing 85 mph at the age of 15 down to low 70s. Still played college ball, but I was never the same. My dreams were crushed, and I think about it every day. BigMouthBillyBaas07 / Reddit

• I work in a mall, and someone tried to steal from the Lululemon store across the way. She got caught, panicked, and for some reason pulled the fire alarm on her way out of the store. Which I’m pretty sure is a felony where I live. All happened in like 5 minutes, and she was taken away in cuffs. PrintSpiritual8881 / Reddit
• Grandmother: “Aww, honey, I’m so sorry you have a migraine. Here, take one of these pain pills the doctor gives me.” 2 years later, I had to go to rehab. Every day is a battle.
• I didn’t take college seriously. I never partied, but I spent like 95% of my free time with my then-boyfriend and didn’t consider careers, internships, or anything pertaining to life after college.
  I just sailed through taking courses in subjects I was already good at just to fill my own ego. And when I graduated, I had no work experience other than a cleaning job in my college’s art studio.
  I have an okay office job (thankfully with benefits) now, but I don’t have any marketable skills or experience in the field I wanted to go in, and now I still don’t know what I want to do with my life. If I stay in the field I’m in now, I’ll be bored, but I won’t ever know what I could have done or been. MariachiBandMonday / Reddit
• Turning down a teaching job in college on the one subject I’m passionate about. 13 years later, I’m still working in a supermarket with mental health and money issues. KbitKfox / Reddit
• Taking out a payday loan. I started getting behind on bills, so I took out a small payday loan, I paid it back. Then I started relying on them to continue paying bills.
  It went for the worse when I needed to take another payday loan for rent and food. Then I needed to take out ANOTHER payday loan just to pay a previous payday loan. Don’t ever take out a payday loan. xoxomaxine / Reddit

• Choosing a science degree (zoology) instead of doing something more practical, like para-medicine, or vision science, or something anatomy based to be a physiotherapist or OT. I can’t get into any masters courses or find relevant employment. I wanted to be a zookeeper or animal handler, but now I hate my decision, given I’m being rejected from pet shops. turnipforwhat_ / Reddit
• I met both Carl Page and Larry Page at a party hosted by a Stanford friend of mine in 1998. Carl gave me his card for eGroups and said, “We’re hiring.” Larry gave me his card for Google—a flimsy bit of paper obviously printed by bubble jet—and said, “We’re hiring”.
  I said, “Nah, who needs another search engine?” and went to graduate school. zestyping / Reddit
• I turned down a job offer from Google in 2001. It’s somewhat comforting knowing that I’ve already made the biggest financial mistake of my life. Mr. Greg / Reddit
• Took a wrong step while hiking and went over an embankment. In the immediate aftermath, I learned that some people will actively ignore you even if crawling along a riverbank with a shattered leg and ankle, trying to hold onto consciousness.
  I also learned how you’ll be treated when uninsured (this was pre-ACA, and I was working as a “contractor” at the time). But I also learned that, when everything’s gone horribly wrong, there are a few (albeit very few) people who’ll step up and fight to keep you alive (botched surgery caused an infection that nearly killed me and kept me hospitalized for five months). TimDamnit / Reddit
• When I was 19, I decided I could totally get that heavy box down from the top of the closet myself. I was wrong. Ended up on the couch for a solid week and got a lifetime of back problems out of it. anwermoo / Reddit

• He was the star basketball player of our school, and probably going to put our small town on the map, given he had full chances of being drafted in the NBA. One day he decided to go party with his friends, and on a dare, climbed onto the roof of the moving car. He slipped and fell, and hit his head. The last I saw him, he could almost feed himself without assistance.
• A good friend of mine in college was still living with his parents and had this girlfriend who also lived with him at his parents. They were both 19 at the time and decided to try for a baby. Except neither of them had jobs, or even their own place.
  They also did not tell his parents beforehand, wanting it to be a “surprise”, genuinely thinking it would make each other and their parents so happy. Now she’s off, and he’s living with his parents, still working at Wendy’s while his parents takes care of his daughter. All of his income goes to helping take care of her. TheS****eister / Reddit
• My wife’s aunt used to be very rich. She was married to a brain surgeon who was also on the board of directors for all the local hospitals, earning double paychecks. She was a platinum member of a local casino and would invite us over, for free. Her husband lost his medical license for writing too many scripts for painkillers to her and other people, and they both now live in Mexico somewhere. 1320Fastback / Reddit
• I had a friend years ago, kind of odd, but he had a good heart. One day, we were all hanging out with friends, and he told us he was going to get a tattoo tomorrow. He had this super cool idea, but he wouldn’t tell us what because it was a big surprise. When we saw him next,
  he had tattooed three-fourth of his face green.
  Like, no design or anything, just solid dark forest green. Basically, he just left the top right quarter of his face normal and the rest was all green. He had been immediately fired from his job the day after getting the tattoo. I kind of lost touch with him shortly after that, since he moved to another city. I’d heard he wound up living in his car. Holybartender83 / Reddit

As they say, hindsight is 20/20. Still, remember that it is human to make mistakes and the only takeaway is that it’s never too late to change anything in your life. Just like these celebrities who found their calling, away from the big screen.