People Share The Most Expensive Mistake They've Ever Made

"I had been..."

I had been in a high-tech company for about a year, when I made an avoidable error in the software checking mask designs for a new chip. I found the error, but they had already made the mask (but not the chip yet, than god). That was a $10,000 mistake. I was lucky that they didn't fire me.

mference123

"I was in a hotel."

I was in a hotel. Took some sleeping pills right before taking a shower. Turned the water on to let it warm up.
I wake up several hours later and the floor is soaked.
I was on the 7th floor.
Estimate was around $30K in damage, that doesn't include all the room changes for everyone below me.

Torchoflittleton

"You spend a little here..."

Wasting my $11,000 inheritance on god knows what, I don't even remember. You spend a little here and a little there and next thing you know you're broke and homeless and could really do with a safety net but you were careless and it's now gone with nothing to show for it.

Mad_Squid

"Selling..."

Selling my free-to-me stock options for $500 when leaving a tiny company that was later acquired by an international monster. I refuse to calculate their current market value.

ismykink

"It fell apart in a year."

$1,000 couch from a furniture store that was "going out of business." It fell apart in a year.

oughtnotoctonaut

"Came in the next morning..."

Not expensive for me, but for the state. I used to work for the division of forestry dispatching firefighters to wildfires. Two roads on opposite end of the county had extremely similar names. Took a call from a guy reporting a fire on White Pine Road. We were already on site for a fire on White Pine Lane. I said "White Pine? We have a crew on the scene already, sir!"

Came in the next morning and saw that there was a new fire on the map. White Pine Road. 700 acres. Whoops.

heyseuss

"I was on a country road..."

12 years ago I fell asleep at the wheel while working my job ~8:00 am after having been working already for 4 hours.

I was on a country road, went into the ditch and hit a culvert that flipped me 5 times as I went back across the road the other way.

Truck was totaled obviously, and I destroyed a row of hedges on someone's property. I'm not sure the total damage but the company's insurance covered it all. Definitely over $30g's though.

I came out with no injuries. No other vehicles or people involved (beyond the owner of the hedges, who came out and helped me call 911). Super lucky, and now I would never drive that tired ever again.

btwork

"I did a beer run..."

I did a beer run for 25 people in my first year at uni. Everyone gave me cash, so I had like 400 bucks in my wallet. I didn't have my own cash however so I paid for the lot on card. Lost my wallet before I even got home. I was fairly upset.

chadburycreameggs

"I didn't get health insurance..."

I didn't get health insurance at work because it was too expensive and then I got 3 different cancers in 1 year. Oops.

ayelenwrites

"Allowing my ex..."

Allowing my ex to convince me to get rid of my great-running vehicle, in favor of a newer one to build credit so we could get a house together. That was June 2015. I paid nearly $400/month, hardly any $$ for fun until June 2019. We got the house, then she cheated and left, and now it could get foreclosed, lol.

AdamR91