Your dumbest financial mistakes

Flying ICU RN · Oct 1, 2010

Your dumbest financial mistakes

Not buying Google when it was $5 a share.

Jenn329 · Oct 1, 2010

I've been very careful about putting a certain amount of each paycheck into my savings account :)

greenfiremajick · Oct 1, 2010

Before nursing school, and maybe even after getting those nice nursing checks, what were some of the dumbest purchases made. Big or small. I have heard some good financial advice on this site. But people learn from our mistakes too. Most of my dumb mistakes came from being young. As a teen my boyfriend (now husband) and I took his last paycheck from gettting fired and went to six flags. Spent the whole check, not knowing the next time we would have money. Once graduating, we ate out at least 4 times a week until someone on this site made me aware as to how much I was actually spending(Family of 4). I thought nursing school would be a bad investment when I racked up loans not knowing if I was gonna pass. But it was probably the best investment.
My best friend bought a current year STANDARD suzuki forenza for over twenty grand right out of nursing school. It immediately depreciated and she ended up in an upside down situation when trying to trade it in the next year.

Selling off all my Apple Shares for a little over $21 a share, when we had bought them at $19 per share. Calculated and we would have made a little over $100,000 if we had waited...

Rabid Response · Oct 1, 2010

Not applying for a forgiveable education loan from a local hospital system. It would have covered half of my sizeable student loan costs, but I would have had to work for that hospital system for two years when I graduated, and I didn't have any interest in working for them.

I wound up taking a job with them anyway! And I've been working there for three years already! My loans payments are huge, and I could just kick myself.

JStollRN · Oct 1, 2010

Dumbest financial mistake that we can never take back is buying a Wyndham timeshare in 2007 for $22,000. We paid it off in 2009 but we'll be paying maintenance fees every month for life (currently at $82.56/month and increases every year) AND WE DON'T EVEN TRAVEL!

By far the dumbest thing anyone can do! AND THEY ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO SELL!

Don't ever do it!

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Oct 1, 2010

Having a credit card when I was 19 and knew nothing about credit and how it works. Daggum parasites sitting out at the football game! There was literally a line of other students waiting to apply for this credit card. It was such a bad experience that I refuse to have one in my wallet now. Totally my fault though.

TDCHIM · Oct 1, 2010

When I was just out of college, I had some major health problems and I racked up some serious medical debt. I was working an extremely low-paying job and barely made enough to cover bills for a tiny non-a/c studio apartment in my college town. Hunger became very real for me. Well, I became horribly depressed over the bills (and other things) and eventually I just stopped opening them. Certainly not uncommon for someone in the throes of a major depressive episode, but a bad idea for one's financial health.

Eventually I sought treatment (successfully) and started to take charge of my life again. I went to my parents, who still had charge of a sizable amount in bonds they'd bought for my education. They threw in more money on top of that amount and we paid off all the debt, to the tune of roughly $20K.

None of us knew then that hospitals have funds to help patients who have lower incomes. I didn't even know they would make payment arrangements. It never occurred to me to call the hospital and try to negotiate. All I knew was that they were sending me threatening bills and letters. The only way out I could see was to pay it all off.

Now, better educated, I know at least some of the ways things really work when it comes to hospital finance. I wish I could go back and tell myself. I cannot believe I was once so innocent.

itsmejuli · Oct 1, 2010

Dumbest financial mistake that we can never take back is buying a Wyndham timeshare in 2007 for $22,000. We paid it off in 2009 but we'll be paying maintenance fees every month for life (currently at $82.56/month and increases every year) AND WE DON'T EVEN TRAVEL!
By far the dumbest thing anyone can do! AND THEY ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO SELL!
Don't ever do it!

Yup, bought a timeshare in 1998, dumbest mistake I ever made. I tried to sell it, impossible. I paid it off and am letting go into foreclosure for the maintenance fees. So what? I already own my house and car.

SweettartRN · Oct 1, 2010

Getting married.

I married someone, we combined finances, I became a nurse, and now he doesn't want to work and thinks that I should support him since I bring home "the big bucks."

I have never been more broke in my life. And I am running myself ragged trying to keep up.

klone, MSN, RN · Oct 1, 2010

Buying a house in the Arizona housing market in 2007. By FAR, the worst financial mistake I've ever made in my life (I won't call it dumbest, because only hindsight's 20/20) and probably ever will. The house we bought in 2007 for $303K just sold a couple months ago for $185K.

After that, I would say not investing in retirement from the first time I had a steady fulltime job (age 20). It wasn't until I was in my early 30s that I realized (thanks to my second husband) how important it is, and how crucial TIME is to compound interest.

klone, MSN, RN · Oct 1, 2010

I've been very careful about putting a certain amount of each paycheck into my savings account :)

Instead of putting it into savings (once you've saved a 3-4 month savings cushion), you should instead put it into a Roth IRA, or better yet, your employer's 401(k)/503(b) plan.