We’ve all made money mistakes at some time in our lives. Be it overspending, impulse purchases, or neglecting monthly budgets, we’ve all been there. A user on the forum asked, “What screams I make terrible financial decisions?”
He received some interesting responses. So read on and learn from the financial mistakes of these people.
PURCHASING AT RETAIL PRICES TO SELL AT FLEA MARKET
“My ex-SIL went to Walmart and bought a load of nail clippers, files, polish, and anything to do fingernails with. I asked her what the hell she planned on doing with all that. She told me she was going to start a flea market.”
BUYING CUSTOM RIMS AND WHEELS BUT NO MONEY FOR KID’S SCHOOL SHOES
“My neighbor can’t buy her kids school shoes – but has custom rims and wheels.”
BUYING EXPENSIVE CARS AND HAVING NO MONEY FOR COLLEGE FUND
“Not to the same level, but I internally have some judgment towards one of my husband’s siblings. They have brand new cars, lots of toys, etc., but have zero interest in helping fund any college for their kids. But then get annoyed when their oldest child says they don’t want to go to college.
Like, of course, your kid doesn’t want to get themselves into mounds of debt. But instead of helping, you bought a $50k new car.
I don’t say anything, but it makes me very grateful my parents prioritized my college and helped me pay for it.”
BORROWING MONEY BUT ORDERING FOOD DELIVERY
“My college roommate right there.
The dude borrowed $150. He said he didn’t have the money yet to pay me back. But somehow, he had enough to order delivery all the time. When I finally called him out, he said some other friend had bought him the food.
Next year, his new roommate was furious because the dude hadn’t paid his rent but somehow had enough money to buy a brand-new MacBook.”
QUITTING JOB TO JOIN MLM
“A mom influencer I know on Instagram just quit her 6-figure job to ‘be her own boss babe’ because a ‘hungry dog runs faster.’ It’s been two days since she posted that, and she’s reached out to all her followers to get them to sign up for her MLM.”
JOINING AND FAILING AT THREE MLMS
“A childhood friend of mine who I would otherwise regard as intelligent has joined (and failed at) THREE MLMs.”
STRUGGLING WITH MONEY BUT ORDERING DUNKIN DONUT COFFEE REGULARLY
“I know someone who is always struggling with money. Then I found out he had individual cups of Dunkin Donuts coffee delivered to him (via third-party apps) while working at home. You know, instead of making a pot of coffee for yourself.”
TAKING OUT MORE STUDENT LOANS THAN YOU NEED
“I had a roommate who took out student loans twice what he needed. He reasoned that he could either be miserable now and miserable in the future or have money to dick around with now and be miserable in the future. I don’t know why he thought being miserable was his future by default.”
CARRYING LONG-TERM BALANCE ON CREDIT CARDS
“That interest will eat you alive. I know sometimes there are emergencies and people get overextended, but if you have a variety of debts, then credit card debt is most likely the one to try to take on first.”
KEEPING CASH IN SAVINGS AND BALANCE ON CREDIT CARDS
“Friend of mine used to (probably still does) keep cash in a savings account while maintaining a balance on his credit card because he wanted to be prepared for an emergency. I couldn’t fathom that he could, you know, use the credit card in case of emergencies.”
DRIVING AN EXPENSIVE CAR BUT CAN’T AFFORD TO FIX ITS AC
“Driving an expensive luxury vehicle with the windows down in summer because you can’t afford to fix the AC.”
USING STUDENT LOAN MONEY TO GO ON TRIPS
“As a college student, you’re supposed to take out loans so you can go on trips and gain life experience while you’re young”—a former classmate of mine.”
GETTING INTO DEBT TO BUY LUXURY PRODUCTS
“Getting into debt to buy luxury products online. Most luxury customers aren’t millionaires; they’re regular people who earn below six figures.”
DRIVING CARS YOU CAN’T AFFORD
“Driving expensive cars that you obviously can’t afford. I know millionaires that drive 10+-year-old Toyota’s, and I know people making $18-$20/hour driving BMWs.”
BUYING ENGAGEMENT RING YOU CAN’T AFFORD
“Buying a 3k engagement ring with a credit card and having to open two other cards for balance transfers to pay it off while making $7ish an hour. The kicker was we broke up six months later, and I let her keep it, at least initially. My 20s were a blast!”
HAVING EVERYTHING ON MONTHLY PAYMENTS
“Having everything on monthly payments. Yeah, you got a new phone, the best computer, or a nice car, but paying monthly payments for those things is not a good idea. If you ain’t got the money, don’t buy it.”
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Anika Jindal
Anika is a CPA and founder of What Anika Says. She shares simple and actionable frugal living, money management and money-saving tips to live a debt-free financially independent life. She has been featured on popular websites like Bankrate, Forbes, Mint ,and Authority Magazine. Byline: MSN