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What is the worst financial mistake you made?

16,308 Views | 111 Replies | Last: 19 days ago by MouthBQ98
Chef Elko
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5:41p, 4/16/24
AG
In the covid bull run I thought, and probably lied to myself to some extent, I was being prudent by selling stocks I made a killing on and reinvesting profits into others. Diversifying is great! Except I invested these profits across other stocks with a similar risk profile.

I learned if I'm up a ton and choose to take profits, invest those profits in different asset classes. I should have been moving that money into broader index funds instead of riding everything up and back down. RIP midcap tech
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JbKing45
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12:42a, 4/17/24
Buying the Shopify IPO around $25/share with 250k and selling the position when it hit 1M in 2017, $100/share. I told a buddy to buy the stock since I sold it…it continued to go up to $1,600/share. Life would of been even more sweeter. I've always been good with buying just after the IPOs on stocks that made good sense. Google, NFLX, FB. Every business/market cycle just seems to have some solid companies that make sense to hold and forget about.

WWR and Mbio are probably the worst investments I've ever had. Looking back these were nothing more than disguised penny stocks.
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EliteZags
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1:56a, 4/17/24
AG
could always be worse

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Bag
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7:23a, 4/17/24
AG
when I was fresh out of school I went to work at Enron. After a couple years I had been awarded stock options that soon vested.

At the age of 25, in the year 2000 I was sitting on around $100,000 in vested Enron options that I (obviously) could have cashed out at any time. Everyone around me said "Don't cash them out, you don't want to incur the tax hit"

As as result I lost 100% of the value in those vested options. I think about it every so often. I had the piece of property already picked out to buy with the money out west of Austin on 71 in the direct vicinity of what is now the Bee Cave Galleria.

I guess the lesson here is a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
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wcb
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10:27a, 4/17/24
AG
ABML
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94chem
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In reply to wcb • 12:50p, 4/17/24
wcb said:
ABML


Iraqi information minister says it's now ABAT and there is nothing to worry about.
94chem,
That, sir, was the greatest post in the history of TexAgs. I salute you. -- Dough
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LMCane
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In reply to JobSecurity • 1:29p, 4/17/24
JobSecurity said:
Marrying my first wife

Divorces are expensive
how's it going with the second wife?
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The Silverback
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In reply to permabull • 3:40p, 4/17/24
AG
permabull said:
Unpopular opinion, but I would be much richer now if I had not put so much down on my first home and instead kept it in the market. Massive opportunity cost that makes me sick to think about sometimes.
How much did you put down on your first home?

Are we talking about hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands?
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Dr T and the Women
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In reply to Hanrahan • 4:40p, 4/17/24
AG
Hanrahan said:
Selling all my bitcoin at $1k thinking I was getting away with murder……. That and torching $350k on a EV startup stock that went to zero… super fun.
was that Ayro by chance? If so made the same mistake with even more money if that makes you feel better lol


My biggest mistakes have been investing in moon shots where I thought I knew the company well. All of them have failed.

If I had just put everything in the sp500 index I would be worth double.
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jagvocate
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In reply to Dr T and the Women • 5:19p, 4/17/24
AG
Dr T and the Women said:
Hanrahan said:
Selling all my bitcoin at $1k thinking I was getting away with murder……. That and torching $350k on a EV startup stock that went to zero… super fun.
was that Ayro by chance? If so made the same mistake with even more money if that makes you feel better lol


My biggest mistakes have been investing in moon shots where I thought I knew the company well. All of them have failed.

If I had just put everything in the sp500 index I would be worth double.
I did the same with a Uranium stock in 2010 (mga.to) ... I still hold it though because I'm hard headed. A smart investor I once read said that getting rich was a process, not an event ... no more attempted moonshots for me
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JobSecurity
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In reply to LMCane • 8:32a, 4/18/24
AG
LMCane said:
JobSecurity said:
Marrying my first wife

Divorces are expensive
how's it going with the second wife?


She makes even more than I do so if we split I get to take her stuff this time (kidding of course)
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CC09LawAg
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In reply to JobSecurity • 8:35a, 4/18/24
Username checks out
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Hanrahan
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In reply to Dr T and the Women • 9:32a, 4/18/24
AG
Dr T and the Women said:
Hanrahan said:
Selling all my bitcoin at $1k thinking I was getting away with murder……. That and torching $350k on a EV startup stock that went to zero… super fun.
was that Ayro by chance? If so made the same mistake with even more money if that makes you feel better lol


My biggest mistakes have been investing in moon shots where I thought I knew the company well. All of them have failed.

If I had just put everything in the sp500 index I would be worth double.
no, it was lordstown motors... lesson learned on the moonshot. Though I thought I had already learned that two years earlier when I torched 100k on an ocean freight shipping company stock.... lesson really learned now, I need to stick to real estate and mutual/index funds...
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lck90
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11:43a, 4/18/24
AG
Holding ARWR into 2023 instead of selling it at $70ish or $90ish, when bought it as low as $4. Could have easily sold and paid cash for a nice size piece of land in my twenties.
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62strat
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In reply to Dill-Ag13 • 12:17p, 4/18/24
AG
Dill-Ag13 said:
Not going hard on real estate about 4 years ago. Timing wasn't great but no risk no reward. Also, hindsight is 20/20
4 years ago was 2020 as well!
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62strat
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12:21p, 4/18/24
AG
biggest mistake is not going earlier.

I had a few rollovers and trs cashout that were just mutual/index funds.. finally in 2016 I decided to buy some stocks.

Everyone of those stocks I bought into had done 3-6x. Cost, aapl, amzn, nflx, goog, etc..

They'd all be 10x+ had I done it just 5 years earlier.
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LMCane
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In reply to permabull • 12:51p, 4/18/24
permabull said:
Unpopular opinion, but I would be much richer now if I had not put so much down on my first home and instead kept it in the market. Massive opportunity cost that makes me sick to think about sometimes.
this is what my buddy who has a masters in Real Estate from Georgetown tells me all the time.

RENT NOT BUY!

not just opportunity cost, but taxes, insurance, mandatory repairs...
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BenTheGoodAg
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In reply to LMCane • 1:01p, 4/18/24
AG
LMCane said:
permabull said:
Unpopular opinion, but I would be much richer now if I had not put so much down on my first home and instead kept it in the market. Massive opportunity cost that makes me sick to think about sometimes.
this is what my buddy who has a masters in Real Estate from Georgetown tells me all the time.

RENT NOT BUY!

not just opportunity cost, but taxes, insurance, mandatory repairs...
Uhh… Aren't these costs effectively rolled into renting as well?

Don't get me wrong, there are times where renting makes more sense, but generally, there's a lot of benefits to buying. Namely building equity and locking in the PI costs against inflation.
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Ol Jock 99
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2:01p, 4/18/24
AG
Actual losses: A couple of multifamily syndication deals that had bridge loans in 2022. Gifts that are still "giving".

Missed gains: Not getting into MF until 2019.
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jaggiemaggie
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8:38p, 4/18/24
AG
Not necessarily a mistake but I didn't know any better and there were 2 life changing events that I was young and dumb to realize back then.

January 1999, I was a high school senior my parents gave me $1k gift for college. Was in Econ class and my high school best friend that became college roommate adviced me to invest it in a stock called Amazon. Instead I bought a 6 disc cd changer a pair of 12's subwoofer for my 97 accord. I did open an E*trade account and put $250 on Ford stock because I thought it was going to take off with the release of the new Thunderbird.

July 2015: I was a petroleum engineer making decent money and I was assigned a new graduate to train - he kept talking about bitcoin and how it's the future. He kept saying to put $10k in it and let it ride. Of course I didn't listen to some 23 year old… last I heard he's jet setting around the world


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cgh1999
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8:43p, 4/18/24
AG
I've invested in a handful of start up companies. I've always heard the theory that "it just takes one". I'm still waiting.

Company 1 - 100% loss.
Company 2 - 4 years in, it's still on life support, but I've marked it as a 100% loss
Company 3 - series B raise lowered valuation by 50%
Company 4 - almost break even. Big potential, but long lead cycle.
Company 5 - made this one as a loan with warrants. They actually turned down an offer that would make this a 5x that might make me whole on the other 4!
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Ray McKigney
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10:02a, 4/19/24
Hit on 20
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94chem
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10:21a, 4/19/24
Lots of good discussion here, but nobody has mentioned a couple of easy ones:

eating out too much and not controlling the grocery budget. Not brown-bagging in your 20's could easily cost you $250K - $500K by retirement, not to mention the years off your life for eating garbage.
94chem,
That, sir, was the greatest post in the history of TexAgs. I salute you. -- Dough
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62strat
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In reply to 94chem • 11:03a, 4/19/24
AG
94chem said:
could easily cost you $250K - $500K by retirement, not to mention the years off your life for eating garbage.
so then it doesn't matter anyway
Can't take it with you.
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94chem
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In reply to 62strat • 11:17a, 4/19/24
62strat said:
94chem said:
could easily cost you $250K - $500K by retirement, not to mention the years off your life for eating garbage.
so then it doesn't matter anyway
Can't take it with you.
I want to die healthy!
94chem,
That, sir, was the greatest post in the history of TexAgs. I salute you. -- Dough
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evan_aggie
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In reply to 94chem • 6:51p, 4/19/24
AG
94chem said:
Lots of good discussion here, but nobody has mentioned a couple of easy ones:

eating out too much and not controlling the grocery budget. Not brown-bagging in your 20's could easily cost you $250K - $500K by retirement, not to mention the years off your life for eating garbage.


Isn't a regret today and won't be a regret when I'm 80.

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Hoyt Ag
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8:02p, 4/19/24
AG
If you ask my family it would be spending so much on travel and dive trips. I disagree though. I'm 41 and have been to 80 countries and scuba dived 30 countries and 4 continents. It's my passion and what I spend my milk money on.

It's better than hookers and blow, so has to be a win, right?
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Medaggie
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9:10p, 4/19/24
Energy start up, went bankrupt losing mid 5 figures.
Many low 5 figures on penny stocks, and moon shots.

I am a gambler, and it only takes one which I have hit a few.

Just put in another mid 5 figures into a friend's Crypto start up. If this hits, it will just be icing on the cake.
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94chem
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In reply to evan_aggie • 3:10p, 4/21/24
evan_aggie said:
94chem said:
Lots of good discussion here, but nobody has mentioned a couple of easy ones:

eating out too much and not controlling the grocery budget. Not brown-bagging in your 20's could easily cost you $250K - $500K by retirement, not to mention the years off your life for eating garbage.


Isn't a regret today and won't be a regret when I'm 80.



Lotta self-loathing up in here.

To be fair, a financial mistake need not be regretted. My 6 kids were an obvious financial mistake. Tithing has been a huge financial mistake. But I'll still hit my number well before many people making 3x as much, because my priorities have largely stayed sound.

94chem,
That, sir, was the greatest post in the history of TexAgs. I salute you. -- Dough
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aggiebq03+
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In reply to 94chem • 9:27p, 4/21/24
94chem said:
evan_aggie said:
94chem said:
Lots of good discussion here, but nobody has mentioned a couple of easy ones:

eating out too much and not controlling the grocery budget. Not brown-bagging in your 20's could easily cost you $250K - $500K by retirement, not to mention the years off your life for eating garbage.


Isn't a regret today and won't be a regret when I'm 80.



Lotta self-loathing up in here.

To be fair, a financial mistake need not be regretted. My 6 kids were an obvious financial mistake. Tithing has been a huge financial mistake. But I'll still hit my number well before many people making 3x as much, because my priorities have largely stayed sound.


I think we have different definitions of the word mistake.
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ATM9000
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In reply to aggiebq03+ • 1:21a, 4/22/24
AG
aggiebq03+ said:
94chem said:
evan_aggie said:
94chem said:
Lots of good discussion here, but nobody has mentioned a couple of easy ones:

eating out too much and not controlling the grocery budget. Not brown-bagging in your 20's could easily cost you $250K - $500K by retirement, not to mention the years off your life for eating garbage.


Isn't a regret today and won't be a regret when I'm 80.



Lotta self-loathing up in here.

To be fair, a financial mistake need not be regretted. My 6 kids were an obvious financial mistake. Tithing has been a huge financial mistake. But I'll still hit my number well before many people making 3x as much, because my priorities have largely stayed sound.


I think we have different definitions of the word mistake.


Intention matters. When I think of mistake, I think of doing something wrong ignoring information you had at the time you made a decision. Loads of 'mistakes' in this thread is just Monday morning quarterbacking. But if you would have done the exact same thing at the time given the parameters you knew, I'd argue it wasn't really a mistake.
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Brian Earl Spilner
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9:01a, 4/22/24
AG
Wrong thread.
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Ag92NGranbury
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In reply to Hoyt Ag • 10:41a, 4/22/24
AG
Hoyt Ag said:
If you ask my family it would be spending so much on travel and dive trips. I disagree though. I'm 41 and have been to 80 countries and scuba dived 30 countries and 4 continents. It's my passion and what I spend my milk money on.

It's better than hookers and blow, so has to be a win, right?

favorite places? i'm into the dive thing too, but haven't been to that many
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Biz Ag
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1:43p, 4/22/24
AG
Selling Priceline at $175/share.
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Done7
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10:22a, 4/29/24
Spending $100k on an MBA.
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