What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

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JiggsJazzCar
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What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by JiggsJazzCar »

I feel it helps being able to learn from others mistakes, plus misery loves company! :D
What would you consider your worst financial mistake or choice that you have made in your life?

Hindsight is 20/20 but my late father invested his hard earned money in a farmer's Co-Op that went bankrupt and he lost close to $200,000.
I remember that one haunted him for many, many years.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by four7s »

I don’t know what the specifics were but top of the list of my Fathers admonitions was, “Don’t sign your name to anything.”He came of age during the 1930’s depression and had a successful life but that piece of advice always makes me chuckle when I’m signing something. :happy
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Quirkz »

Bought a new house thinking I could quickly sell the old house quickly after that. It took a year, was incredibly stressful, and it evaporated about $40k in savings. Even though the numbers have since settled down, I've never been able to regain the emotional feeling of "plenty" that I had before the deal.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by JiggsJazzCar »

Quirkz wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 11:57 am Bought a new house thinking I could quickly sell the old house quickly after that. It took a year, was incredibly stressful, and it evaporated about $40k in savings. Even though the numbers have since settled down, I've never been able to regain the emotional feeling of "plenty" that I had before the deal.
Ouch, I did something kind of similar but I had a renter in there for a year. The problem was the renter was horrible. I had to threaten a lawsuit just to get them to pay rent after a few months. Put me off ever thinking of being a landlord though. Was able to sell the house for about what I paid for it so it all worked out in the end.

Were the two houses you owned at least in the same town?
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Olemiss540 »

Not huge but being on the "gotta have nice car" bandwagon for too long out of college. Silly way to jump from 30k car to 30k car and lose substantial amounts in the process when my wife and I have been driving our two SUVs purchased for a combined total of 13k for over 4 years and they could be sold today for 10k. Kids have done their worst and the trucks have held up amazingly.

I have sunk a large sum in my track day car habit but that doesn't count since I do not view that as a mistake hehe....
I hold index funds because I do not overestimate my ability to pick stocks OR stock pickers.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by JiggsJazzCar »

Olemiss540 wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:04 pm I have sunk a large sum in my track day car habit but that doesn't count since I do not view that as a mistake hehe....
Yeah that just counts as "entertainment expenses" :D
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Quirkz
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Quirkz »

JiggsJazzCar wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:04 pm
Quirkz wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 11:57 am Bought a new house thinking I could quickly sell the old house quickly after that. It took a year, was incredibly stressful, and it evaporated about $40k in savings. Even though the numbers have since settled down, I've never been able to regain the emotional feeling of "plenty" that I had before the deal.
Ouch, I did something kind of similar but I had a renter in there for a year. The problem was the renter was horrible. I had to threaten a lawsuit just to get them to pay rent after a few months. Put me off ever thinking of being a landlord though. Was able to sell the house for about what I paid for it so it all worked out in the end.

Were the two houses you owned at least in the same town?
Yeah, same town. We ended up getting a renter for a little bit, and they were pretty good, but ticked off the fussy HOA a couple of times and triggered a couple of maintenance calls. Then when we finally got an offer my real estate agent told them directly and rushed them out of the house 6 weeks earlier than we actually closed, for reasons I still don't understand.

We sold for what we bought the place for, but after 7 years we'd expected some appreciation, and in the meantime got hit with a string of HOA special assessments and emergency maintenance fees, making the whole thing a big, ugly loss.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by JDCarpenter »

Bought and improved our dream forever home in a beautiful location in the best neighborhood on the outskirts of a depressed zipcode.

Loved the house and neighborhood, but unexpectedly "forced" to move states 12 years after buying it. Lost more than a year's after-tax income.
Our personal blog (no ads) of why we saved/invested: https://www.lisajtravels.com/
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by fuddbogle »

Held out a long time in the 2008 crash. I finally couldn't take it and sold quite a bit of what I had in my tax-deferred account....at what was essentially the bottom. Then the fear of not knowing when to buyback?

That was a good lesson and combined with finding this site has changed my thinking. I have my finances now structured according to plan. 2020 has been a breeze and I no longer worry about the ups and downs of the market.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Kenkat »

Do you mean besides having kids? :wink:
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by JiggsJazzCar »

JDCarpenter wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:13 pm Bought and improved our dream forever home in a beautiful location in the best neighborhood on the outskirts of a depressed zipcode.

Loved the house and neighborhood, but unexpectedly "forced" to move states 12 years after buying it. Lost more than a year's after-tax income.
Was it anything you could have planned or was it all pretty much out of your hands?
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Taylor Larimore »

JiggsJazzCar wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 8:57 am I feel it helps being able to learn from others mistakes, plus misery loves company! :D
What would you consider your worst financial mistake or choice that you have made in your life?

Hindsight is 20/20 but my late father invested his hard earned money in a farmer's Co-Op that went bankrupt and he lost close to $200,000.
I remember that one haunted him for many, many years.
JiggsJazzCar:

I've made many investing mistakes but probably the worst was investing with a friend who was a Merrill Lynch stockbroker. It took me many years to realize he was more interested in hidden commissions and fees to feed HIS family than helping me feed MY family.

Lesson learned: Every good salesperson tries to be your "friend."

Best wishes.
Taylor
Jack Bogle's Words of Wisdom: "Fund marketers favor the fads that are in the momentary limelight, with the expectation that investors will take the bait."
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by cshell2 »

Definitely too much house.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by JDCarpenter »

JiggsJazzCar wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:17 pm
JDCarpenter wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:13 pm Bought and improved our dream forever home in a beautiful location in the best neighborhood on the outskirts of a depressed zipcode.

Loved the house and neighborhood, but unexpectedly "forced" to move states 12 years after buying it. Lost more than a year's after-tax income.
Was it anything you could have planned or was it all pretty much out of your hands?
DW's annual malpractice premium went from less than 50k to 125k in three years (no claims). Gross revenue didn't go up and she had no room for more patients.

No real way to predict it, which is why the choice to practice in that jurisdiction isn't considered our worst financial mistake. (The insurance tail payment was almost as much as the loss on the house, and unfortunately, those weren't previously sunk costs.)
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Godot »

Worst: Omission: not investing early enough or understanding value of AA. Commission: Selling 1,000 shares of Apple for $10 a share, after buying them for $8 a share in the 90s.

Best: Joining Bogleheads and investing a considerable amount of time reading the wikis and learning from seasoned posters.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Normchad »

I won;'t know if this was a mistake or not, but I'm certain it would have changed my life in almost every way.....

I graduated in 1992 with a computer engineering degree. The job market wasn't great, but I had a few offer around the country. The offer that paid the most at the time was in San Jose, but I turned it down.

If I had taken it, I might be sitting on millions in appreciate real-estate, or be a start-up IPO gazillionaire, etc etc.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by JeremyF »

My biggest mistake was not starting investing for retirement earlier. I had the desire but I didn't know how or where to start. I remember sitting in a financial class as a 19 yr old Cpl in the USMC and they were telling us to start now, but I didn't. I didn't start until 10 years later when I discovered I could start a Roth IRA at USAA with only a minimal monthly contribution. Over time as I started to make more money my contributions began to grow and then I found this site. This site has changed my financial life. I started maxing out Roths for my wife and I and I was all set to max out my 401K for the first time this year until Covid hit and I lost my job. Beyond not starting earlier, I wish I would have found this site earlier.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by sschoe2 »

I've said it before; major in chemistry/biochemistry. Even with over 10 years experience and a MSc most companies want to pay me $40-50k and contract no benefits. I have a good job currently and may be able to ride it to retirement but I am seriously looking for a plan B that will get me away from science.
Last edited by sschoe2 on Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by JiggsJazzCar »

Godot wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:29 pm Selling 1,000 shares of Apple for $10 a share, after buying them for $8 a share in the 90s.
Not to make you feel sick or anything.... but how much would that be worth today?
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by mak1277 »

Lost $900 at the casinos in a week in Reno while on a work trip. At the time I had a net worth of negative $30,000 and a total of $1,200 in my bank account (before the losses). It was a fun week though.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Cruise »

The worst financial decision I've ever made was not learning the fundamentals of investing, finance or accounting until later in life. These things bored me terribly (and still do). Luckily, my spouse and I are frugal by nature so that money not spent went into "trusted advisors." Luckily and eventually, I figured out that they did not return value above their fees, so I went it alone.

Second worst financial decision, which I occasionally repeat: Thinking I can time the market. :)

Fortunately, we made more right decisions that wrong ones, so we are FI.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by 7eight9 »

I bought VGPMX in both my IRA and Roth IRA. It used to be called Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining Fund. Now it is Vanguard Global Capital Cycles Fund.

Vanguard screwed me and every other investor in the fund by changing the investment strategy. Naturally gold has been on a tear ever since Vanguard did this.

My mistake was thinking that Vanguard would stay the course with the fund. Silly me. I learned my lesson. Now I'm with Charles Schwab.

I'll never buy another fund or ETF from Vanguard again in my life. Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me.

I won't get fooled again.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Godot »

JiggsJazzCar wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:41 pm
Godot wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:29 pm Selling 1,000 shares of Apple for $10 a share, after buying them for $8 a share in the 90s.
Not to make you feel sick or anything.... but how much would that be worth today?
A lot more than 10k.
"The day you die is just like any other, only shorter." | ― Samuel Beckett
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Johnny Thinwallet »

Probably several months in the spring/summer of 2011. That's the only year since 2008 that I couldn't max my Roth IRA - I only put $1,000 in my Roth in 2011 instead of the $5,000 max. I spent too much time and money that spring and summer in a relationship with a spendthrift.

It could have been much, much worse had that relationship progressed. So the positive perspective is I cut my losses very early with a relatively small loss and managed to dodge a potential financial catastrophe.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by vinhodoporto »

Bought a house in 2005

We wrote a bigger check to the bank when we sold it than when we bought it :shock:
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Nicolas »

four7s wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 11:35 am I don’t know what the specifics were but top of the list of my Fathers admonitions was, “Don’t sign your name to anything.”He came of age during the 1930’s depression and had a successful life but that piece of advice always makes me chuckle when I’m signing something. :happy
This was an adage of my mother-in-law’s. It was a frequent plot device of Hollywood movies in the ‘30s-‘40s that she grew up with. Also a famous line in Woody Guthrie’s song Pretty Boy Floyd goes like this:

Yes, as through this world I've wandered
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.
Last edited by Nicolas on Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by arcticpineapplecorp. »

Taylor Larimore wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:19 pm
JiggsJazzCar wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 8:57 am I feel it helps being able to learn from others mistakes, plus misery loves company! :D
What would you consider your worst financial mistake or choice that you have made in your life?

Hindsight is 20/20 but my late father invested his hard earned money in a farmer's Co-Op that went bankrupt and he lost close to $200,000.
I remember that one haunted him for many, many years.
JiggsJazzCar:

I've made many investing mistakes but probably the worst was investing with a friend who was a Merrill Lynch stockbroker. It took me many years to realize he was more interested in hidden commissions and fees to feed HIS family than helping me feed MY family.

Lesson learned: Every good salesperson tries to be your "friend."

Best wishes.
Taylor
Jack Bogle's Words of Wisdom: "Fund marketers favor the fads that are in the momentary limelight, with the expectation that investors will take the bait."
when I was in my mid 20s my friend sold me a whole life insurance policy because I didn't know any better. After about 2 or 3 years I learned my mistake and exited the whole life (had replaced with term prior to terminating whole life policy). So I lost the expensive whole life policy. And the friend as well.
It's hard to accept the truth when the lies were exactly what you wanted to hear. Investing is simple, but not easy. Buy, hold & rebalance low cost index funds & manage taxable events. Asking Portfolio Questions | Wiki
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by random_walker_77 »

Godot wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:51 pm
JiggsJazzCar wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:41 pm
Godot wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:29 pm Selling 1,000 shares of Apple for $10 a share, after buying them for $8 a share in the 90s.
Not to make you feel sick or anything.... but how much would that be worth today?
A lot more than 10k.
From https://investor.apple.com/faq/default.aspx:
"Apple’s stock has split five times since the company went public. The stock split on a 4-for-1 basis on August 28, 2020, a 7-for-1 basis on June 9, 2014, and split on a 2-for-1 basis on February 28, 2005, June 21, 2000, and June 16, 1987."

So 4 x 7 x 2 x2 = 112x
So 1000 shares x 10 = $10K
112,000 shares x $126 = $14.11M
So that's a difference of $14.1M, if held without selling any. Ouch indeed.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by JiggsJazzCar »

random_walker_77 wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 1:57 pm
Godot wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:51 pm
JiggsJazzCar wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:41 pm
Godot wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:29 pm Selling 1,000 shares of Apple for $10 a share, after buying them for $8 a share in the 90s.
Not to make you feel sick or anything.... but how much would that be worth today?
A lot more than 10k.
From https://investor.apple.com/faq/default.aspx:
"Apple’s stock has split five times since the company went public. The stock split on a 4-for-1 basis on August 28, 2020, a 7-for-1 basis on June 9, 2014, and split on a 2-for-1 basis on February 28, 2005, June 21, 2000, and June 16, 1987."

So 4 x 7 x 2 x2 = 112x
So 1000 shares x 10 = $10K
112,000 shares x $126 = $14.11M
So that's a difference of $14.1M, if held without selling any. Ouch indeed.
:shock: :shock: :shock:
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Post by manatee2005 »

Getting married.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by abuss368 »

Taylor Larimore wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:19 pm
JiggsJazzCar wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 8:57 am I feel it helps being able to learn from others mistakes, plus misery loves company! :D
What would you consider your worst financial mistake or choice that you have made in your life?

Hindsight is 20/20 but my late father invested his hard earned money in a farmer's Co-Op that went bankrupt and he lost close to $200,000.
I remember that one haunted him for many, many years.
JiggsJazzCar:

I've made many investing mistakes but probably the worst was investing with a friend who was a Merrill Lynch stockbroker. It took me many years to realize he was more interested in hidden commissions and fees to feed HIS family than helping me feed MY family.

Lesson learned: Every good salesperson tries to be your "friend."

Best wishes.
Taylor
Jack Bogle's Words of Wisdom: "Fund marketers favor the fads that are in the momentary limelight, with the expectation that investors will take the bait."
Taylor -

I think back to when I traveled the same path with our Merrill Lynch stockbroker. A long time “friend” would my mom worked with at Merrill Lynch at one time. Only after we moved to Vanguard did we never hear from him again.

Best.
Tony
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by stoptothink »

Investing in something I didn't really understand (real estate development) and liquidating most of my life savings to pay off new wife's undergrad loans and cash-flowing her grad school. Both of these decisions came in my mid-late 20's, early enough to recover.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by jaqenhghar »

Too many to list!
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Lazareth »

Options trading, before I was a Boglehead, when I still thought I could outsmart the markets.
a/69, retired, married, enjoy p/t employment. Three-fund portfolio, after decades of chasing active-managed fund performance.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by bob60014 »

I should have bought it sooner.

I should have sold it later!
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Abe »

I wish I had invested in the Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund back in 1976. I bought a house to rent out in 1978 and paid $32,000 for it. That house is probably worth around a $100k now plus I've collected rents all through the years. If I had invested that $32k in the S&P 500 Index fund and reinvested dividends, I would have roughly $3.7 million now instead of a $100k house. :(
Slow and steady wins the race.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Nicolas »

Abe wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:19 pm I wish I had invested in the Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund back in 1976.
But did you even know about this fund in 1976? I didn’t. If you weren’t aware of it you can stop beating yourself up.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Abe »

Nicolas wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:23 pm
Abe wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:19 pm I wish I had invested in the Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund back in 1976.
But did you even know about this fund in 1976? I didn’t. If you weren’t aware of it you can stop beating yourself up.
I remember reading about it, but back then everyone was saying John Bogle was crazy. I actually thought about investing in it, but that didn't happen until many years later when I finally saw the light.
Last edited by Abe on Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by JoeRetire »

JiggsJazzCar wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 8:57 am I feel it helps being able to learn from others mistakes, plus misery loves company! :D
What would you consider your worst financial mistake or choice that you have made in your life?

Hindsight is 20/20 but my late father invested his hard earned money in a farmer's Co-Op that went bankrupt and he lost close to $200,000.
I remember that one haunted him for many, many years.
Maybe you could provide an example from your life?

I purchased an annuity from one of my wife's patients, back before I knew what I was doing financially. I clearly paid a lot in commissions.

I also made a ton of bad financial decisions over my lifetime. Fortunately, none of them have been fatal. And I've made enough good financial decisions such that my wife and I are in great shape anyway.
This isn't just my wallet. It's an organizer, a memory and an old friend.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by life in slices »

sschoe2 wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:40 pm I've said it before; major in chemistry/biochemistry. Even with over 10 years experience and a MSc most companies want to pay me $40-50k and contract no benefits. I have a good job currently and may be able to ride it to retirement but I am seriously looking for a plan B that will get me away from science.
Have you thought of sales?
I switched from a biology degree and lab work to sales about 25 years ago and haven't looked back - has definitely been more productive earnings wise and I use my science background every day of the job (I've almost exclusively worked for biotech tools companies selling high end instrumentation in the genomics space)
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Simba313 »

I interned for a top producing Merrill broker in 1990 while in college. Just before my internship ended he convinced many of his clients to sell MSFT and invest the proceeds into a gold mutual fund. The broker did fine. (2% commission on the sale of MSFT and 4% load getting into the mutual fund) I'm sure his clients (maybe ex-clients) consider this their worst financial decision.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by beachairs »

sschoe2 wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:40 pm I've said it before; major in chemistry/biochemistry. Even with over 10 years experience and a MSc most companies want to pay me $40-50k and contract no benefits. I have a good job currently and may be able to ride it to retirement but I am seriously looking for a plan B that will get me away from science.
As a fellow scientist, that's sad to hear :( Are you in a LCOL area? Job market is hot in SoCal right now in pharma/biotech.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by oldfort »

I try not to spend too much time on what ifs, but career and spending choices dominate your financial trajectory more than investment decisions.
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Godot »

random_walker_77 wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 1:57 pm
Godot wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:51 pm
JiggsJazzCar wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:41 pm
Godot wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:29 pm Selling 1,000 shares of Apple for $10 a share, after buying them for $8 a share in the 90s.
Not to make you feel sick or anything.... but how much would that be worth today?
A lot more than 10k.
From https://investor.apple.com/faq/default.aspx:
"Apple’s stock has split five times since the company went public. The stock split on a 4-for-1 basis on August 28, 2020, a 7-for-1 basis on June 9, 2014, and split on a 2-for-1 basis on February 28, 2005, June 21, 2000, and June 16, 1987."

So 4 x 7 x 2 x2 = 112x
So 1000 shares x 10 = $10K
112,000 shares x $126 = $14.11M
So that's a difference of $14.1M, if held without selling any. Ouch indeed.
Now I feel better. Thanks!
"The day you die is just like any other, only shorter." | ― Samuel Beckett
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MrBobcat
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by MrBobcat »

Letting an Ed Jones rep talk me into buying a bunch (relative) of Worldcom "the backbone of the internet" shortly before it went kaput. That really hurt as we didn't have a whole lot at the time.
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dratkinson
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

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Others: https://www.google.com/search?q=worst+i ... rg%2Fforum

Mine? Loaning money to worthless brother.
d.r.a., not dr.a. | I'm a novice investor; you are forewarned.
sschoe2
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

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life in slices wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:38 pm
sschoe2 wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:40 pm I've said it before; major in chemistry/biochemistry. Even with over 10 years experience and a MSc most companies want to pay me $40-50k and contract no benefits. I have a good job currently and may be able to ride it to retirement but I am seriously looking for a plan B that will get me away from science.
Have you thought of sales?
I switched from a biology degree and lab work to sales about 25 years ago and haven't looked back - has definitely been more productive earnings wise and I use my science background every day of the job (I've almost exclusively worked for biotech tools companies selling high end instrumentation in the genomics space)
Other than maybe HR I can't think of a role I'd be less well suited for than sales. I am just not the outgoing type. I am the introverted. analytical type. I am considering more a computers/IT role or hopefully I can ride this job to FIRE in perhaps another 10 years.

But yea, every time I hangup on a recruiter offering $20/hr contract no benefits or $35-45k it feels like a slap in the face. I have at least enough savings that I could tell them to blow off.

When I first graduated I was unemployed for 8 months because I refused $15/hr no benefits and moved 800 miles to the middle of nowhere rural GA for $45k and benefits because that felt like hitting the jackpot it is so bad. However, that place was a dumpster fire and I got laid off after 9 months.
Last edited by sschoe2 on Fri Dec 18, 2020 5:01 pm, edited 5 times in total.
sschoe2
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by sschoe2 »

beachairs wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 4:25 pm
sschoe2 wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:40 pm I've said it before; major in chemistry/biochemistry. Even with over 10 years experience and a MSc most companies want to pay me $40-50k and contract no benefits. I have a good job currently and may be able to ride it to retirement but I am seriously looking for a plan B that will get me away from science.
As a fellow scientist, that's sad to hear :( Are you in a LCOL area? Job market is hot in SoCal right now in pharma/biotech.
medium COL Chicago area. The COL of SoCal kind of cancels out the job benefits. At least here I can own a home even if the property taxes consume 10% of my income. I stated in another thread the big pharmas here don't even hire most of their science staff. They do permatemps for $20-25/hr contract no benefits especially Abbott Labs/Abbvie who I get emails from recruiters from almost daily.
Last edited by sschoe2 on Fri Dec 18, 2020 5:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
learntoinvest123
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by learntoinvest123 »

Excessive trading with levaraged ETFs cost me a 110k in the crash of 2009 and resulted in negative networth of -10k (margin owed).

Luckily all is well now, though it took me a long time to trust the markets again, so missed some big gains in this decade. However, stayed strong thru the Market crash in 2020 and now am on right track with total market ETFs.
Quotia
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Re: What is the Worst Financial Decision/Mistake You Have Made?

Post by Quotia »

Buying a house in a city where we thought we would be living for a while...and then we moved out of state (for my new job) 15 months later.

I loved that house. I STILL love that house. But buying it was definitely a mistake.

I don't at all regret the new job/move, though. It was absolutely the right step for our family, financially, professionally, and personally.
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