Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Divulge The Stupidest Financial Decision They've Ever Made

People Divulge The Stupidest Financial Decision They've Ever Made
Image by Frantisek Krejci from Pixabay

Finance and financial management really needs to be a part of all school curriculums. Seriously, who needs PE every single year?

And what in the world is the point of a free period? Also, trigonometry... just no. Learning about how to make and properly handle money would change the outlook for everyone.

Learning that it doesn't grow on trees or that one day we'll have to make our own and turn on into survival... that seems like a more dire and useful life lesson.

Too many people make far too many stupid mistakes that keep them in debt and unhappy, and that can be avoided.

Redditor u/viKiKing0 wanted everyone to own to some mistakes involving money by asking:

What was the stupidest financial decision you ever made?

Talk about hindsight, I cry when I think about my past financial mistakes. And it all started with those damn CD deals... I hate you Columbia House!! Also, I believe several libraries have me on a watchlist, should I ever dare to rent another book without settling my debts.

No Thanks

Lift Off Moon GIF by StakinGiphy

"My friend: hey you should buy these bitcoin things, they're only 20 cents each and it's sort of an interesting idea."

"Me: oh, yeah, sounds interesting... I'll look into it."

"Never looked into it."

- dedokta

Tasmania

"My now wife and I were renting a terrace house for $50 a week. The landlord who was a very strange cat offered to sell us the house if we paid the weekly rent for 10 years. Rent per year was about $2600 so for $26000 we would have owned a house. We were 20 years old and ten years was forever so we said no. That was my BIG mistake."

"To people who have asked: The house was in Tasmania. About 40 years ago. At that stage I was earning about $250 per week. It was double story, 2 bedroom terrace house. We bought a house about 6 years later for about $75000. We knew the landlord, he was divesting a lot of properties he owned."

- 1999falcon

Peanuts

"Was a 10-99 day trader out of college. Didn't pay taxes for a year or two. Making peanuts, IRS won't notice, right? The penalties were more than the original amount owed. Had to put $6,500 on a credit card (bad choice #2). Sent me on a 20 year whirlwind of credit card crappiness. Should have paid my taxes. Should have set up a payment plan with the IRS."

- LurkersGoneLurk

"Turning down the only 6-figure salary I've ever been offered because the job required travel for 6 months of the year. I could've spent a year or two there and then gone on to bigger and better things, seems like a reasonable sacrifice in retrospect."

- libra00

Be Smarter at 22

Dummy Feeling Dumb GIFGiphy

"Getting a payday loan when I was 22. It was small and I got out of it, but I can get definitely understand how someone can get caught up it it and not get out."

- HannahHarriet

These Are The Worst Job Interviews Ever | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

I'm so confused about this Bitcoin. Yay or Nay? Someone let me know. And lesson one for the youth, read all the fine print when signing off on loans. You'll never escape them.

Kim K Coin

Kim Kardashian GIF by KUWTKGiphy

"Gotta be the Kim Kardashian app. I quickly established the need to delete it. As I was spending actual money. For fake clothes."

- dubaichild

Years Later

"My ex and I moved in together. Paid half each for deposits and all the bills etc. I took out a 4k loan in my name and bought furniture with it, I also bought us a 1.5k bed on finance. My mistake was not getting it in writing that as I was paying the loans anything purchased with that would be mine. I walked away with an £800 telly and nothing else and was still paying the loan off for 1.5 years after I moved out. In the future, I will be keeping receipts and written agreements!"

- sp*troastyomum

Mismanagement

"Taking the advice of a financial advisor in 1996 to invest $5000 into a labor-sponsored mutual fund rather than buying Apple stocks like I wanted. Current value of mutual fund: $200 and in litigation for mismanagement Calculated value of Apple: $5,800,000."

- milesmac

Maxed Out

"I took out the max on my grad school loans because it was important that my ex was able to stay home to take care of our 2 year old daughter. It was a great decision for my kid, don't get me wrong, but I now have a mountain of loans that I thought we would use both our incomes to pay off. Instead she left me for a dude with more money."

- timp_t

Bad Baby

"A friend convinced me that Beanie Babies will continue to rise in value. I've lost over 25 thousand dollars I had "invested". Plus, I still pay every month for a storage unit to keep these toys."

- hans_to_the_max

Deep Cuts

"Joining Cutco. I only ever sold a few of the damn knives. However, I will admit that I like their products. I still use one on a regular basis and it's held up well."

- Ermaquillz

Life lesson? Be smart. Enjoy your money but don't outspend your means. You're not a Kardashian. And be thankful for that. Also, money is never free. There is always a catch. Be aware!

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of Stephen Colbert
CBS

Stephen Colbert Makes Somber Plea To Americans In Wake Of Charlie Kirk's Death

Late-night host Stephen Colbert had a somber message for Americans as he addressed the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, stressing that "political violence only leads to more political violence."

Kirk died after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck as he—ironically enough—mocked victims of gun violence at an event in Utah Valley State University. Kirk's murder has galvanized the far-right, with President Donald Trump and his surrogates claiming without evidence that rhetoric from Democrats is responsible for Kirk's death.

Keep ReadingShow less
a woman sunbathing on rocks.
a person sitting on a towel on a beach
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Share The Weirdest Flexes They Heard Someone Say With A Straight Face

It is never attractive to gloat.

Even so, some people can't help but brag, or "flex" as it is sometimes known, about certain accomplishments or attributes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @thedowntheredoc's TikTok video
@thedowntheredoc/TikTok

TikToker Hilariously Calls Out Target After Champion Pants Feature Awkwardly-Placed Front Pleat

Sometimes you can just tell when something was designed *for* women, but was not actually designed *by* women.

Take, for instance, the new pleated pants available at Target from the Champion clothing line. While there's nothing wrong with pleated pants and they certainly have a suitable spot in the workplace, the latest rendition of Champion pleated pants are, shall we say, NSFW.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kaicutch's Instagram video
@kaicutch/Instagram

Woman Flips Her Car After Belting Out Ironic Britney Spears Lyric In Wild Viral Video

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all had our fair share of carpool karaoke and maybe even imagined our car as our own personal recording studio.

But TikToker and Instagrammer Kaitlynn McCutcheon may have gotten too into her performance of Britney Spears' classic, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time," when the road and her car both said, "Bet."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@lynnshazeen's TikTok video
@lynnshazeen/TikTok

Woman Goes Viral After Revealing How Her Obsession With Matcha Landed Her In The Hospital

Let's be honest: Too much of anything isn't good for us. It's all about the balance!

But the media and social media trends have taught us that certain things are really good for us, encouraging us to be like the "very mindful and very demure" girls and take care of ourselves. One such example is drinking more matcha, especially if you really like coffee or think you have a caffeine addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less