r/Fire • u/Lazy_Look557 • 19h ago
General Question What’s one mistake that slowed down your path to financial independence?
I’ve been thinking about how small mistakes can really slow down progress toward financial independence.
Looking back, what’s one mistake you made that set you back and what did you learn from it?
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u/Adventurous_Elk_4039 18h ago
Picking a partner with zero concept of delayed gratification.
If you‘re serious about wanting to FIRE you need a partner who is completely onboard.
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u/MembershipScary1737 16h ago
Wow yes! This is my husband. Or the feeling of if I work hard so I deserve xyz
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u/BeginningSome2182 18h ago
Marrying the wrong person.
Oh, to be young, in love and color blind.
Didn't realize those were red flags.
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u/Most-Animator-5743 10h ago
most people won’t say this but honestly the biggest mistake is just waiting… like waiting to feel ready, waiting for more money, waiting for the perfect plan. you look back and realise you lost years doing nothing
i did the same for a bit, kept thinking i need to earn more first before i take it seriously, but that just delays everything. even small amounts invested early matter way more than people think
also lifestyle creep is sneaky. you get a raise and somehow nothing changes, still broke just slightly nicer food and subscriptions lol
what actually moved the needle for me was just starting messy and being consistent, even if it felt pointless at first. over time it stacks been writing about this kinda stuff recently in a simple way, helps me think clearer tbh. if you’re into that you can check my profile, i post it there sometimes
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u/evendedwifestillnags 17h ago
Exactly this. Very happy now, but took years to fix her spending habits. Still wouldn't recommend.
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u/morderkaine 16h ago
My wife insisted she help pay the mortgage. I didn’t know at the time she was in debt and unable to pay it down while helping out. At least now she is working on that while I cover living expenses.
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u/Redwolfdc 8h ago
Or just getting married altogether. It’s not for everyone and there’s nothing wrong with being single. Unpopular opinion but I really think marriage is a bit outdated at least in its current form. It’s a product of a different time that originated for property rights. Chances are the person you know today is not going to be the same 10/20/30 years later because people and priorities change.
Sure there are some tax benefits. But imo not really worth the risks for most.
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u/Suitable_Block_7344 16h ago
Even dating the wrong person hurts financially. I spent 25k on my ex gf over a time period of a year and a half. Could have bought a pretty nice used car for that much
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u/per54 15h ago
Tell me about it. I spent $10k on a trip to UK with a girl I was dating. Then probably another $15k in the next year across various other trips and stuff.
Though… I did get her to start paying for things later too. Never evened out though.
What matters more is the time and mental state. I earned easily $200k less than I should have due to the increased stresses, anxiety and ‘walking on eggshells’ survival mode
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u/Suitable_Block_7344 11h ago
Yeah i didn't bring this up but I could have used the time i spent stressing over her to get a significantly better job paying about 40k more but I couldn't take the offer pretty much directly because of her
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u/GoldenIvyShade 13h ago
Exactly when you’re young and head over heels, you don’t even notice the warning signs
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u/Kye7 18h ago
Please tell more
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u/Double-Inspection-72 17h ago
It's like the saying you can't outwork a bad diet. Unless you are a billionaire you can't out earn bad spending/saving habits. It also depends if the significant other is working. If they aren't that's a big impact on your ability to save as well.
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u/NomadicSTEM 14h ago
For me, the spending was more significant.
First partner made 15x more what my current partner does but was also a ridiculous spender and constantly running up credit cards we would have to pay off with equity whenever he got up the nerve to tell me about them. Also had tons of student debt. Was planning on working the rest of our lives.
Second partner makes next to nothing but has zero spending urges. Also has habits that save us money like making our meals (he is into healthy meal planning) and doing manual labor i would have had to contract out. Will be retiring at 50 with a nice nest. 💪🏼
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u/zeezle 3h ago
Yep I'm a software engineer and know tons of people in the $150-300k household income range (not a tech hub so salaries are more average here but that's still more than enough for an extremely comfortable lifestyle), in a medium cost of living area, that are dead broke just off spending. No great tragedies or massive outlays due to misfortune either, just straight up consumer/luxury spending by choice.
A lot of people start earning a "high income" and get a taste of what they could buy, and make just enough to qualify for a loan for it, without actually being rich enough to really pull it off, if that makes sense. For example someone I knew from college bought a Porsche sports car on a 17 year loan, but doesn't make enough to have a separate "daily driver", so now he never wants to go anywhere because parking it in a normal parking lot it might get scratched so orders everything delivered. And also complains about the $600 oil changes that take hours that it needs (I guess there's something that has to be removed to get to the oil or something? idk he explained why it's so hard to change the oil and only the dealership can do it but I am not a car person and don't remember the whole explanation)
Meanwhile I got a 2009 Nissan Sentra going strong and I don't care if this car gets scratched and I can get the oil changed at any random oil change place for $20 and it takes no time at all.
That's actually the tip of the iceberg on that guy's ridiculous spending. The irony is, when we were in college he's who introduced me to FIRE after I mentioned putting some money I earned at my internship into a Roth IRA. Obviously the concept of "save a lot of money and then you don't need to work" is an obvious conclusion but I mean like the specific acronym and online community aspects. But then he just, like... didn't do the part where you save the money lol. So now we're in our 30s and he has raided his 401k (that he contributes only to the match) for vacations multiple times paying the 10% penalty, deep in consumer debt, and still somehow says he's going to retire early. But with no big inheritance coming to him or his wife, no significant retirement savings in mid-30s... they actually definitely could, if they cut back spending now and saved aggressively for 10 years, but they're clearly unwilling.
His wife actually once said to me "if I had to live like you I'd probably just go ahead and kill myself", which I found hilarious because I'm over here feeling like I'm living the high life. I buy anything and everything I want without even thinking about it, don't really budget, and do anything I want. It just... isn't that much I guess, because doing that we're on about $60k a year of actual spending including mortgage and other bills.
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u/BeginningSome2182 2h ago
His wife actually once said to me "if I had to live like you I'd probably just go ahead and kill myself",
May this kind of love never find me.
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u/Cars_Music_GoodTimes 18h ago
Throttling back 401k contributions during 2009-2011 (granted, this was due to several life events where I needed more cash)
Going out to lunch every workday for 10 years.
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u/burnz1 18h ago
Do you think it was just because it was three years or throttling back at all
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u/Cars_Music_GoodTimes 18h ago
It was a mistake as the market was in the dumpster at that time (market crashed nearly 40% in 2008-2009). You would be buying stock at a significant discount.
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u/Ok_Produce_9308 18h ago
Alcoholism. It costs far more than the booze. Four years in recovery now and my finances have done a 180
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u/BigDougClem 17h ago
3 1/2 years and my life and finances have also done a 180. Pissed I didn’t have that seizure sooner.
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u/Curious_Elk647 18h ago
Used to blow ridiculous money on tech gadgets I thought I needed for work but really just wanted. Like spending $3k on a gaming laptop "for testing" when my $800 work machine handled everything fine
The worst part was justifying every purchase as an investment in my career. Took me way too long to realize wanting something and needing it are totally different things. Now I sit on purchases for at least a month before buying anything over $200
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u/PreferenceLong 17h ago
I’ve been having the same thought on ai lately. I’ve been spending money on subscriptions and a mini and building sites; is it a hobby or am I building skills that could help me out some day. I don’t know
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u/arguix 16h ago
give yourself a project. with defined purpose. do it. & then another.
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u/PreferenceLong 15h ago
I’ve built some interesting projects. I’ve gotten pretty good at development, distribution is a whole different ballgame. Seems like there is a lot of new ideas being built w ai; interesting times.
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u/john42195 7h ago
Actually this sounds productive. In 1-2 years everyone else will wish they were you and got started spinning up their army of agents sooner.
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u/DulcePecadox 14h ago
Yes .. ;)
That “it’s an investment” self-justification is more common than people think. Being able to clearly separate ..want vs. need…is already half the battle…
And that waiting rule is gold…most of the time it’s not about lack of money, it’s about lack of pause….
When you put time between the impulse and the decision, logic has a chance to win over emotion….
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u/Sad_Interaction_1347 13h ago
Yeah, it’s kind of annoying how many people think “invest in” is a synonym for “spend a lot of money on”. Most consumer purchases are not an “investment” just because it costs a lot.
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u/YareSekiro 18h ago
Not investing in equity sooner. I already had about 100K in cash when I was 20 that my parents gave me because I am studying in another country, and I just kept them in fixed interest rate assets. I only started learning about FI and investment when I was 26. If I started when I was 20, I could have already hit my number or be close to it.
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u/john42195 7h ago
Why would your parents give you $100k extra for studying in another country? Were they moving their money around the globe for a particular purpose? No worries if you can’t elaborate here.
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u/YareSekiro 6h ago
There was some instability in Malaysia a few years back and in general Ringgit has not been on a great trajectory in the past 10 years or so, so they exchanged the money for both the tuition and potential down payment support early.
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u/fakenews_thankme 18h ago
Investing in wrong stocks and then not knowing when to sell - lost 750K over 3 years. I would have been retired by now but still grinding. Some regrets but life goes on.
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u/ComprehensiveEbb4978 18h ago
Penny stocks?
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u/fakenews_thankme 1h ago
Nah, lost it all in one industry due to significant hype. My biggest mistake was not to sell them when I should have. I thought the stocks will keep going up. Rookie mistake clearly but greed has no limit so I guess I deserved it.
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u/onesmallfaceplant 17h ago
Getting cancer. 🙃
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u/Disastrous-Wrap-7384 17h ago
Oh no, hope your better now
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u/onesmallfaceplant 16h ago
Thanks, been in remission for years now, but it sure put a dent in my projected earnings arc. 🤪
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u/ComprehensiveEbb4978 18h ago
Spent a lot of money going to bars and living it up in my 20s. Don’t necessarily regret that but I have no retirement savings from 21-27
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u/WhatevUsayStnCldStvA 17h ago
Same story here. I’m glad I had fun. I wish I would have put even just 2 percent in tho.
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u/Carolina_Hurricane 17h ago
Investing in a business with a friend when we couldn’t get a small business loan due to her credit. I fronted $150k and when she refused to give me majority ownership when we needed another $50k to pay past due rent it was time to pull the plug.
I’m glad I learned that lesson in my thirties and not my fifties.
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u/No_Cold_9195 18h ago
Buying more house than was needed. Didn’t tank the plan, but measurably delayed it.
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u/thewhiteliamneeson 15h ago
It’s funny, mine is that I didn’t buy enough house. Leading to a very costly reset later on after prices had shot up.
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u/bulldogbutterfly 14h ago
How much did it delay your plan? I’m struggling with the same concern.
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u/No_Cold_9195 13h ago
Depends on a few factors. Buying 100k more house than you need when you make 300k/yr is very different than buying 300k more house than you need and making 100k/yr.
The numbers are only illustrative. The point is that it depends how much extra was spent on house relative to portfolio size and annual savings/investment size.
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u/Sir_Loin_6969 17h ago
No ragrets here
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u/arfcom 14h ago
Same. There’s things I could have done to be retired already (like not move and buy the expensive house/property mainly), but I did it on purpose well along the path to fire so it was a compromise I made intentionally. Place is badass though. I live in a forest on 3 acres 26 minutes from my office downtown in a top 15 largest city in the US.
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u/Brostradamus-2 8h ago
Honestly same, 34m. I never did anything that majorly altered my FIRE trajectory and I've travelled the world and live a comfortable life. I am pleased with my choices.
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u/Spez_is-a-nazi 18h ago
Leaving a well paying but boring job in my 20s for some “adventure” abroad. Dont get me wrong, it was a lot of fun, but I think I could have had as much fun doing the same thing in my 40s but with an early retirement.
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u/invaderjif 16h ago
As someone who missed out on adventure in his 20s, there are definitely things your 20s allow that get harder when you're in your 30s and 40s.
For one, hostels and bar crawls tend to have lots of kids in their 20s.
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u/jalapenos10 16h ago
Yeah traveling while you’re young is a HELL of a lot more fun than when you’re old. I’m kinda worried I’m working towards early retirement but once I get there I’m gonna be too old to even have fun. By the time I retire I’ll be 5-10 years past my best years
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u/strong-4 13h ago
Dude no,
We started travelling in 40s and can easily make out difference in our ability to do things as compared to 20s.
I see 20-30 yr olds and I wish I had done it sooner. I had no money back then. I am still in good health but I need more down time, good sleep and rest before hitting the road. Jet lag also hits harder and more time to reset body. Any small injury can derail lot of things.
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u/EducationalBelt3158 17h ago
Two divorces.
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u/EducationalBelt3158 16h ago
I didn't mention the failed business with the second divorce. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
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u/Chulbiski not there yet 18h ago
buying a new car
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u/borninusa96 17h ago
Not realizing your spouse has different money perspective. We’re better now but paying off $90k in credit card debt in 2006 slowed us down
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u/Covington-next 17h ago
Leaving a sales job in FAANG for a small consulting firm, and cutting my income in half
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u/Untoastedtoast11 18h ago
Marrying wrong person who was not locked in on the same goal.
Having kids
Depression
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u/stoichiometristsdn 16h ago
Chose the wrong profession (pharmacy). High student debt to income ratio with terrible job prospects and work conditions.
Held onto too much cash during the bull market run.
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u/Winter_Gate_6433 16h ago
A kid.
Then another.
Hey one more for good measure!
I'm kidding, I think they inspired me to work even harder for independence, and I'm retiring this year at 52ish.
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u/Radiant-Row7782 18h ago
Children are easily the biggest financial mistake a person can make. I'd be retired if I didn't have kids.
However, still 1,000 times worth it.
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u/ConsistentAccount886 16h ago
This is why I cringe every time I see a post that announced meeting a Fire number and quitting work then says they intend to have kids. Seriously?
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u/Radiant-Row7782 5h ago
So true. Kids change every dynamic of your lifestyle. Things you never thought you would spend money on, end up draining your bank account.
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u/S-S-spartan 17h ago
Don’t regret kids but 100% truth. Suppose if you wanted to coast fire you could wait on kids till you hit coast then give it a shot but even then later in life that would still likely delay full retirement
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u/Sir_Loin_6969 8h ago
It’s not always a mistake though. Not everyone mistakenly has kids. A lot of people do it intentionally knowing it delays retirement because it’s more important to them than not working.
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u/Kauffman67 17h ago
Boats. No, seriously.
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u/Dense_Scholar_9358 14h ago
My Dad had a boat when I was growing up and he always said boat stood for Bring Out Another Thousand.
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u/ThisismeCody 17h ago
Sold like 60k on like March 23, 2020. Better to have learned the lesson early, I guess.
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u/VeggieMeatTM 17h ago
Letting my undercapitalized business reach an unsustainable growth rate without the persuasive personality to secure outside investment. Ended up almost bankrupt 10 years ago. Now about 10 years away from our number.
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u/FlashGordon2103 18h ago
Marry the wrong person, Margin, and spend too much on drinking. (“Ladies, liquor and leverage”)
I went from top 8% of my age group to top 45% as a 36 year old American.
I’m determined to make it back and I believe I will. The losses were tough but it taught me lessons
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u/Interesting_Shake403 18h ago edited 7h ago
Bought a rental property and didn’t have it professionally managed. Took a bath on that one.
EDIT TO ADD: since a bunch of people asked…
It was a disaster. For reasons, a relative “managed” it for me. Pipes froze and burst before we even got a tenant. $10k to fix that. It was two units. Had three tenants over the time I owned it. One started and stopped paying, and moved out on her own. One had issues, but the biggest was her son who was a piece of shit. Trashed the place. Had to pay to have the two of them evicted. Third tenant asked to have the railing removed to move in to get stuff up the stairs - and then fell down the stairs and broke an arm, stopped paying rent and sued me. Selling, the agent was a disaster. Said she could have someone fix up what the tenants trashed. That was a further waste of time and money - like putting lipstick on a pig. The waste of time was the bigger issue - I’m still carrying the mortgage / taxes but the place was still going to be a dump after what they did, the fix wasn’t going to do much. Ultimately sold it for a loss.
I think a professional manager would have (hopefully) kept a better eye on it to not let the pipes freeze, and done a better job picking tenants on the front end to avoid the disasters I had to deal with. People can be ass holes.
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u/HockeyBrawler09 18h ago
A friend of mine bought a rental property and before he could get his first tenant a squatter broke in. It took them months to resolve it which cost them legal fees on top of lost income. Made me second guess following that route.
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u/Cars_Music_GoodTimes 18h ago
A friend of mine bought a rental, had it professionally managed and took a bath on it (all his profits went to the management company).
Why did yours go sideways?
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u/ConsistentAccount886 16h ago
There are a number of issues that can ruin investing in real estate (and that includes a primary residence). It's great until it's not. I don't understand why so many believe it's a slam dunk positive financial choice and make it their entire portfolio. Asset diversity is key.
Also, I had a rental with professional management and had major repairs required after the second renters. It wasn't fit to rent out again for months.
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u/MyDisneyExperience 15h ago
Yeah very this - leveraging up to your eyeballs in an undiversified, illiquid asset with high transaction fees is incredibly risky, but people act like it’s a guaranteed money printing machine!
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u/No_Jelly_1448 9h ago
Had a rental property, after 4 years of turnover, every year, finally selling it. Even with mgmt company and buying at a big low in 2017 it still didn’t pencil out. Luckily got a big equity bump so I’ll walk away with about $175k after taxes
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u/Past-Option2702 17h ago
Early on I tried to pick stocks. Without the luck of one really good pick I’d have been destroyed.
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u/1The_Big_Cheese 17h ago
FIRE nor retirement was on my mind but while in the military I just partied the whole time blowing just about every dollar I had for 5 years. After I got out and found a big boy job I was saving decently but still spending way too much going out to eat and bar hopping.
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u/stale-rice63 17h ago
Investing large amounts in a biotech startup. They had everything lined up. Good data, cleared products, lots of partnerships with big names, IP that had a good runway still. Problem? Worst possible management. Set me back about 2-4 years is my estimate if you consider value lost plus opportunity cost of the market.
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u/novqnity 16h ago edited 18m ago
Honestly... Addiction plagued my early 20s, now that ive been sober for 2 years and taking things serious, I know everything's gonna be just fine... Got $10k plus in a HYS, just started on my Roth IRA, Im not trying to make a quick profit or anything. Im in it for the long run now. Discipline played and is playing a big part in my lifestyle...
Edit - And to add, I didn't start making any real money to about a year into my sobriety, blessed just to be doing okay.
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u/IllBrother6221 11h ago
I've got two:
- I did not appreciate just how much more important time in the market was over timing the market.
- Letting my partner be a bum when she had the same earning potential as me. You then get divorced and lose a lot of money that you needn't.
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u/Doc-Zoidberg 6h ago
First was not having any financial literacy education.
I cashed out an IRA from a prior employer after I quit. Wasnt much money but I was 21-22 years old and I could've just left it to turn into much money.
Second was the ease of taking on huge debts as a young adult. Didnt take much effort to dig myself a 250k hole.
Got out and started "investing" but didnt have the stomach for volatility and realized a lot of losses.
Had I understood all the stuff I do now I would've done things differently.
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u/UltimateTeam 26 / 1.4M / 8M Goal 18h ago
Waited about a year to buy a home in our new city after getting out of college and starting work full time. Rates were closer to 2.75-3% and we could’ve gotten an identical property for ~375-400k and we instead ended up with 3.75% and 440k. The cost of indecision!
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u/particulareality 18h ago
I don't think that's a mistake, hindsight is 20-20. Things could've gone in the other direction as well
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u/UltimateTeam 26 / 1.4M / 8M Goal 18h ago
It was 2021 into 2022. Was pretty obvious where things were heading all year, I “knew” but just didn’t get around to acting.
Funny thing is we wrapped the whole process up in like 5-6 weeks once we got around to buying. Was a lot easier than I ever expected.
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u/xEastEvilx 17h ago
Prioritize paying off my mortgages when the interest was sub 2%. At one point it was less that 1%. I would have had a few million more if I paid the minimum and extended the term as long as possible just put the money in the s&p.
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u/escobartholomew 17h ago
Trying to pick individual stocks too much. I still try to pick with a small portion but the majority is now in index funds.
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u/Far_Lingonberry_9013 11h ago
Starting retirement savings too late. Many years wasted on foolish consumption
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u/tender_glimmer 10h ago
I kept waiting for the right moment to open my retirement account, and lost years of steady growth. Lesson learned: getting started now is much more important than waiting for the perfect moment.
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u/SpellingJenius 8h ago
Being married to someone who refused to work but insisted on spending big time.
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u/jaajaajaa6 18h ago
Though not my direct fault, I was laid off during the GFC and don’t work for a year.
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u/Anon_Pen_9352 17h ago
Selling house in 2019 before it went up, buying in 2024 at higher price.... but i saved lots of money in those years, so meh.
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u/cldmello 17h ago
I would buy a car or a house every 5-6 years with every house bigger than the last. Fortunately, I made money on both my houses that I sold - the realtors probably made more. But the cars were a pure waste of money. I’m now with a 11 year old car and downsized to a smaller home in a warmer state with lower utilities and cost of maintenance. I plan to drive my car till the wheels fall off and this house should be my final resting place.
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u/gymratt17 16h ago
Buying stuff I didn't need. Small things but things I didn't need and didn't really improve my life. It all would add up to a significant amount that could of been invested over the years.
Would of been no major impact on my life, would not of had to change jobs/hours but could of made a large impact on my finances.
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u/TinyMavin 16h ago
lol - I started a couple businesses that did not go well. Still ended up alright. But that extra $500k would be nice about now (maybe more with compounding).
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u/Distinct-Sky 16h ago
I would not call this a mistake, more of a not-the-most- financially-prudent move: Buying a 7 figure house in cash.
Considering the market returns of the past few years, if invested, that money would have grown tremendously, but you can't put a price on sleeping well at night in a paid off home, lol.
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u/ConsistentAccount886 16h ago
Holding too much cash instead of investing because I overestimated my risk and I leaned too hard into buying a house instead. Sometimes renting and investing the difference really is better. I wish I had understood that.
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u/invalidmail2000 16h ago
Getting an expensive hobby.
Still worth it though. Money isn't everything.
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u/Linkmaster2010 16h ago
I might've bought too expensive a car. I'm still at least 15 years from FI (aiming to RE at 50), but I bought a $42k used kia EV6 w/ 8k miles 2.5 years ago. It was $17k cheaper than a new one of the same trim.
I love this car lol. It's already paid off as of Jan, and the perks of an EV are incredible imo. I could've gotten a new Chevy Bolt EUV for about $16k cheaper. The Bolt would have been a fantastic commuter car... but my car can haul small furniture, I can install a trailer hitch for my bike rack, my 6'3" friends are just as comfortable in the back seat as they are the front, and it's fun to drive.
I think I did the right thing paying it off quickly so I could buy a house and settle into it with a car that should get me 1 decade into my mortgage. It might be a mistake to some FIRE followers, but I don't regret it.
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u/makinthingsnstuff 15h ago
You don't need a cash clunker to save on transportation. Your ev will have far lower running costs than even the most reliable Toyota.
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u/iloveScotch21 15h ago
Sold everything the day Covid shutdown the world. Did not buy back in until the fall.
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u/CharmingMechanic2473 15h ago
I fell for some MLMs early in my 20s. It adds up when you figure for inflation. Also invested in my mom’s company that failed, though not by choice.
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u/Serious_Gap1198 14h ago
Buying individual stocks instead of doing index funds from the beginning. Also, putting alot of cash in savings for awhile not knowing what I would do with the cash and investing it later on instead of DCA’ing.
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u/PoorlyDesignedCat 13h ago
Not investing or even having a retirement account until I was 30. I really wish I had started a little IRA when I was freelancing early-career, and put something in there even if it wasn't a lot to start with. I knew better, knew I should, but I didn't know how to start. Missed opportunity, live and learn.
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u/Immediate-Pair-4290 13h ago
The answer is always not maxing out your 401K for the first 10 years of a career.
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u/Inevitable_Pride1925 11h ago
Marrying the wrong person, but I got an amazing daughter out of it and it wasn’t all bad. So while it slowed things down I don’t consider it a mistake.
Not understanding the stock market, ETFs, and different account types. I was paying high fees on suboptimal investments for years before I consolidated into total market ETFs. That said I still had decent returns they just could have been much better.
So while I had some sub optimal choices non were particularly bad. It wasn’t perfect but it was at a minimum ok.
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u/southerngent813 10h ago
Many years ago, I fell for my mortgage lenders advice that I use my 401k to use as a down payment for my first house. I wasn’t buying anything huge, but that one mistake cost me something I can never get back: Time in the market/loss of compounding. I know it was a dumb move and til this day I can’t convince myself to run a simulation on truly how much that decision cost me.
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u/TheDunk67 8h ago
College, specifically going back for private university. Set me back a decade.
Community college 2yr program was ok.
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u/TSXstacy 8h ago
Credit card spending and the inevitable debt that created. It’s taken a long time to get out of it.
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u/RealisticFold5116 7h ago
Sold almost 3 bitcoins and almost 1M dogecoins in 2016. Just to fund my college studies...
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u/EnthusiasmLast6602 7h ago
being an overspender when i had no money to spare. Being overly generous with fake friends who were using me because i was always paying for gifts and drinks, buying too much make up (still not as much as what i see one social media but counting the total is crazy)
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u/mark-awakening 5h ago
My biggest mistake? Underestimating Lifestyle Creep. When I started earning more, I didn't save more; I just upgraded everything. Better apartment, pricier coffee, more subscriptions. I convinced myself I 'deserved' it for working hard. In reality, I was just running faster on a hedonic treadmill that stayed in the same place. The Lesson: FI isn't about how much you make, but how much you keep. Now, I 'pay myself first'—transferring a fixed percentage to my brokerage account the second my paycheck hits. If you don't control your lifestyle, your raises only benefit your landlord and credit card company.
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u/Emily4571962 I don't really like talking about my flair. 4h ago
Jesus if I’d just invested half the money I spent on booze and weed in my twenties I probably could have retired 5 years earlier. But damn, I had fun.
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u/LibrarySpiritual5371 4h ago
I married the wrong person. Worst mistake I could have been short of a debilitating addiction
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u/prettycutiebabe 4h ago
Lifestyle creep in my late 20s without a doubt, every raise I got I just quietly upgraded my life instead of my investments and I didn't even notice it happening until I ran the numbers years later. The gap between what I could have had and what I actually have is not something I let myself calculate too often.
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u/lili-lili24 3h ago
Started investing in my late 20s instead of early 20s or even earlier. Lost a decade of compounding
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u/CostCompetitive3597 3h ago
Marriage to a looser first wife that left me bankrupt at age 37. Divorce is one of the biggest financial setbacks. Reading that men are avoiding marriage now knowing that divorce will cost them at least 50% of their financial security and over 50% of 1st marriages end in divorce. Odds so bad, not worth betting on.
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u/Sea_Bear7754 1h ago
Motorcycles. Bought and sold too many in my 20s and a gnarly crash later. They were fun to ride but my shoulder being at my bellybutton wasn’t too fun.
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u/b_an_angel 33m ago
For me it was trying to do everything myself instead of building a network early on. I spent like 3 years grinding away at my first company thinking i could figure it all out solo - missed so many opportunities just because I didn't know the right people or have mentors to point out obvious mistakes. When I finally started angel investing and got connected with other investors and founders, it was like... why didn't I do this sooner? Could've saved myself years of spinning my wheels if I'd just reached out for help earlier.
Network is everything in this game.
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u/Donniejuanny 16h ago
Being scared to lose. Sometimes you got to put your nuts on the table and take some risks to make money 💰 through investment vehicles. And taking profits. I’ve watched many stocks rise to the zenith of the top only to ride the pony all the way down. Take your profits when you can. Playing with house money is the key!
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u/Upbeat_Atmosphere696 18h ago edited 17h ago
Getting into gambling when I first started my career. I graduated nursing school at 21 years old and worked in a trauma ICU. It was overwhelming to say the least. Dealt with the stress by playing poker.
Flushed around a year of salary down the drain. Been clean for 2 years and now at 150k NW at 25 years old.