Nobody is born a financial wizard. You learn important lessons about spending, budgeting, saving, and investing through life experience and—hopefully—with the help of a good mentor. And any money mistakes you make, no matter how painful, are potential learning opportunities, so long as you have a growth-oriented mindset.

That’s not to say that any money-related blunders you make don’t hurt in the moment… they do. A lot! Recently, some AskReddit members opened up about the very worst financial decisions they’ve ever made. Scroll down for their stories, as well as the tough lessons they learned.

#1

Got 100k from my moms life insurance and blew it within a few years. I was 19. And so dumb. And so depressed. With no guidance. I learned the importance of saving lol.

Image credits: sandraver

#2

Paid $7,000 to a witch to have her cast spells to get my ex back.

Image credits: DesiGirl89

#3

Fell for ‘Buy Now, Pay Later.’ Now I’m Paying Forever.

Image credits: Nadia-Nice

As per The Guardian, credit card debt reached $1.17 trillion (yes, ‘trillion’ with a ‘t’) in the United States in the third quarter of 2024. This is up from $770 billion back in the first quarter of 2021. Living with debt can be incredibly stressful.

23% of Americans who earn less than $25k per year do not have a bank account. Meanwhile, 46% of Americans earning between $50k and $99.9k had a credit card balance. Low-income US citizens were more likely to use ‘buy now, pay later,’ payday, or pawn shop loans with average annual interest rates of payday loans at a mind-boggling 400%.

#4

I had a job with a startup where the owner gave me some unrealistic goals and told me if I hit them, he'd make it worth it to me. I had nothing better going on, so I said "f**k it, I'll take that chance." I was salaried, so only getting paid for my 40 hours, while working 60+ hours a week for about a year. I hit the goals though and he surprisingly followed through. He gave me a huge under the table bonus. More than I would've made if he'd just paid me the overtime.

What did I do with that money? He said I should buy a house, it's enough for a down payment and interest rates were really low at the time. Instead I bought my dream car (a 1970 challenger someone had thrown a 440 and T56 transmission into). Don't get me wrong, I love that car, but houses then literally cost half what they do now and I still kick myself every time I think about it.

Image credits: Judge_Bredd3

#5

I've p*ssed a lot of money into my parents' situation. I've come to the bitter realization that all their problems are the result of poor decisions and bad behavior, and no amount of money will ever dig them out of the hole they're in.

Image credits: Aniwaya1

#6

Buying a gym membership in January. Turns out motivation only lasts two weeks.

Image credits: Acceptable_Log_6718

Research from Harvard shows that positive relationships keep you happy, healthy, and living longer. When you consistently invest time and effort in strengthening the bonds you have with the people you care about (avoid anyone who drains you!), you feel invigorated. And, at the end of the day, it’s your family and friends who truly matter the most in life.

That being said, even though your so-called ‘social fitness’ probably should be a priority, you can’t ignore other aspects of your life. Namely, your physical health and finances. A life full of quality relationships is amazing. But at the end of the day, you still need to put food on the table, keep a roof above your and your family’s heads, and keep the lights on. And you won’t get much of anything done if you’re constantly ill, out of breath, and lethargic because you’ve neglected your fitness and diet.

The simple fact is that so long as you keep your spending in check, a good income, decent savings, and steady investments give you more space to do what you want. More money means better food, education, medical treatment, and more free time. As well as a safety net in case of emergency.

According to Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz, the authors of ‘The Good Life,’ money won’t buy you happiness, and people with more prestigious jobs and money weren’t happier in their lives. However, money is still a tool that can give you security, safety, and a “sense of control,” Schulz says.

#7

I didn't file the proper form when I surrendered my house before foreclosure in 2016. One. Form. Didn't know, used an online tax service and that was that?

I was told by the collector I would never hear from them again. Oh, how wrong I was. See, the IRS thinks I owe taxes on the sale of the property, but I just handed over the property under the guise of washing my hands of the dire situation.

Last time I checked, the IRS wants over 100 grand. I got nothing for the house. Now I had to go to a CPA. My tax guy has delayed them, tried too casually to get a tax advocate to correct the problem. Almost 9 years later, they have kept every refund and I have this STILL hanging over our heads. The IRS has not waived a thing.

All because of one form.

Lost a house, lost all my money I put into the house, currently paying twice as much in rent as my previous house payments. Not a dime to spare. One. Form.

Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda.

Image credits: coloringpad

#8

Do NOT, under any circumstances, loan money to a friend or co-sign any loans with them. It messes up your life for a long time when they do not pay their bills.

Image credits: dog4cat2

#9

I thought I was going to k*ll myself in 2021. I used credit cards like it was my last month on earth!

I am now paying interest on my s***idal ideation.

Image credits: missfitz1

Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that a new study conducted at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania found an increasingly positive association between money and happiness. As per Matt A. Killingsworth’s research, there was a larger happiness gap between wealthy and middle-income people than between middle-income and low-income ones.

According to Killingsworth, “A greater feeling of control over life can explain about 75% of the association between money and happiness. So I think a big part of what’s happening is that, when people have more money, they have more control over their lives. More freedom to live the life they want to live.”

However, he added that “Money alone—which we’re already pretty motivated to pursue—is just one small part of the overall equation for happiness.”

#10

Got a car loan at 10% when prime was 3%, Never trust the salesman. Claimed the 10% was just a place holder until the banks opened.

Image credits: Gomez-16

#11

Spent $100k to get a commercial helicopter license and then realised the life of a heli pilot wasn't good at all. Fixed term contract work, traveling around the country looking for work, low pay, couldn't buy a house, build a relationship, have kids in the way I wanted.Took a desk job instead and took 12 years to pay the loan back. Never flew again. My young brain got swept away with the idea of being a helicopter pilot without thinking it through.

In the end it worked out, apart from loving the flight training and living on the airport I also met my now wife. So the way I see it is it cost $100k to meet my wife who is now the guiding light in my life.

Image credits: PilotPlangy

#12

Legos long term strategy in the 90s was to hook kids on them and then drop their dream sets when they had the money.


I'm still learning from it.

Image credits: SilentSamurai

What are the very worst financial decisions that you’ve made in life, dear Pandas? What lessons about money did you have to learn the hard way?

On the other hand, what do you personally think are the very best financial decisions you’ve made, whether intentionally or by accident?

We’d love to hear about your experiences. If you have a spare moment, share them in the comments!

#13

Recently fell for a romance scam. Lost all my savings. I hate myself.

Image credits: Toxic_Zombie_361

#14

Gambling. You can't outgamble your losses.

Losing is not a problem in gambling, if u lost everytime you will not gamble anymore. Winning on the other hand is the problem.

The more u win, the more u increase your stakes. You lose some, win some. No big deal, I went to a casino once with 2 euros and came out with 500, the next day went in with 150 and ended up with -300 euros.

Its a brutal cycle where the money you make will not be enough to make long term changes in your life and you ll loose them anyway on the next round of gambling.

Meanwhile your brain gets so hooked on, that you make radical, illogical financial decisions on your daily life even if its not gambling. Like buying expensive stuff for your soulmate, cause u either feel bad losing the same ammount last night or feel confident that you can make more money if u won.

Image credits: No-Compote-2127

#15

I was in a cult for 3 decades. I learned that religion is stupid.

Image credits: Ok-Let4626

#16

I didn't start saving for retirement until I was 40.
I also grew up in a religious cult that taught me I didn't need to save because Jesus was gonna be back by the time I was 30.

#17

Rejected payment of 35000 BTC for writing an essay in 2009.

Image credits: compile_commit

#18

Lending friends or family significant amounts of money… just don’t.

Don’t mind lending you a few hundred until payday or something. But have had 2 different situations where I played myself.

Lent an uncle $5000 in like 2015. I was young and doing okay, uncle was in hard times. Asked him about it numerous times, always comes up with a new excuse as why he can’t pay me. I asked just to pay back monthly, throw me $50 a check or something to work it off. Haven’t seen a penny from him. We rarely talk anymore, and it’s definitely ruined our relationship.

Had a good buddy who I was friends with for years. Got himself in a bad situation. Begged for some help and the sucker I was, lent him $3000 to help out. It’s crazy cause the work this dude put in to sucker me; was honestly impressive. Had me totally convinced he just needed help and genuinely wanted to turn his life around.
Saw the dude few days later, gooned out of his mind. Guy promised me he was using my money to get a new apartment to get away from some people. Plot twist, he used it for d***s and alcohol.

Lesson learnt, don’t lend out money unless you expect to lose it. That extra $8,000 could’ve helped me out a boatload over the years. Or at minimum, took the wife and I on a sick vacation haha.

Image credits: Thundercock780

#19

Bought a 200 year old house.
I guess I learned. The next one we bought is only 100 years old.

Image credits: BackgroundGrass429

#20

Buying pointless “things” that now are just clutter I want to get out of the house. Expensive life lesson.

Image credits: OldMastodon5363

#21

I bought some fine art as an investment, but sold it a few years later for less than half what I'd paid. I should have trusted my gut, rather than some slick advisor.

Image credits: Jenkes_of_Wolverton

#22

Flunking out of college when I had a nearly full ride.

…then when I went back, majoring in English.

#23

Don’t try to buy your own stocks and expect to get a positive return unless you know what you’re doing. It’s index and mutual funds for me. Lesson learned.

#24

Paying for insurance but not following through on claims. Got trip insurance for my honeymoon, had a medical incident and couldn't go. I made a call to see if I was covered, I was and I was supposed to follow up... but I didn't. I can't even remember why.

$5000 down the drain.

Now I follow up, not just on all my insurance claims but on everything that might get me money back: warranties, refunds, etcs. I refuse to leave money on the table out of laziness or convenience.

Image credits: tsh87

#25

Move without securing a job first because I had a good amount saved up. It took me 6 months to find a job despite being in a high demand profession and with experience. The job market is tough af.
I had $22,000 saved up. Drained it all.

Image credits: Old-Body5400

#26

Went through a divorce and cashed out my 401k to get rid of the debt, it was an easy button and I didn't look at all my options or ask anyones advice. I was 37. I literally took 14 years of my work life that I'd saved and threw it away. I started over at 37 and am now financially healthy with my new husband, but I know it would have added another half mil or more to my balances and I could retire earlier.

#27

Thought I could ‘flip’ a thrift store couch. Ended up with a gross couch no one wanted and $50 less in my pocket.

Image credits: MagicalEvelyn

#28

Going to a four-year university right after high school. I could’ve gotten my gen-eds done at community college for free and saved so much money before transferring to a 4-year. I was too worried about what other people like my parents, classmates, and guidance counselors thought of me. If I have kids of my own one day I’ll recommend they go to community college first.

Image credits: EnchantedClamCake

#29

Racked up $20k in credit card debt in my early 20’s. My mom always warned me to be careful but since I knew better I just knew it wouldn’t happen to me. Lol. Anyways, aggressively paying for a few years + two covid stimulus checks + totaling my car helped finish it off. Haven’t carried a balance since.

Image credits: lotsandlotstosay

#30

Secondhand, out-of-warranty BMW.

Image credits: Viperlite

#31

I bought a 2015 Jeep Renegade, FWD, automatic, brand new. I learned, never buy the brand new model of a car. That car was the biggest piece of s**t on wheels i had ever driven. It was way terrible on gas from what was listed. It was bad shifting between 1st and 2nd gears, and would only ever go into the 9th gear if you were going downhill at 70+ mph. It would have weird electrical glitches in the rain. When the battery died, it broke the computer so it wouldn't start, plus, it had a weird bug that drained the battery way fast, and it would need a new one in less than 2 years. It would have the check engine light pop on constantly because of the capless fuel tank.

#32

Bought a brand new car. No one can afford a brand new car unless they just have tons and tons of money. The $400 a month payment was the worst thing in the world and by far the worst financial decision I ever made. I grew to hate that car.

#33

Borrowed money to purchase a car. My wife and I were newly married and had started our first real jobs out of college. We purchased a car after 4 months of starting our jobs.

When we multiplied our payments times the number of months of the loan, we were horrified by how much that car was going to cost. This was made worse because she was a mathematician and I was an engineer.

We made double and triple payments to end the loan and swore to never again pay interest for anything. Except for a mortgage, we never have: no car loans, no credit card debt, no home equity loans, nothing.

#34

Being born to poor parents. Just don't do that.

#35

Got my first job at 18, decided I had too much disposable money and that it was fine to bet £50’s on sports bets every so often..

Was in 10K debt by 22 with nothing in my name.. loads of loans, pay days, proper cocked my early years up.

At 23, my Mrs told me to sort my s**t out or she’s out.. so I did. Never gambled again, 4 years later I was debt free, had 30K saved up and we bought our first house together.

I mean, technically I ended up in bigger debt than I started, but in the form of a mortgage and not payday gamble loans.

Image credits: RSDrebin

#36

Instead of starting my second year of college, I decided to drain my bank account to buy my (now ex) fiance a car. He swore he'd pay me back and that he only needed my money so he could buy the car before it was bought by someone else.




I was only ever paid back $200, our relationship ended a few months after the car was purchased, I nearly ended up homeless, I had to put off college for a few years, and I ended up having to get a restraining order against him. It's been nearly 17 years and I still regret every second of that whole relationship. Don't ever let relationships sabotage your security and independence...and don't be stupid with your money.

#37

Marrying the wrong person.

Don’t marry the wrong person.

#38

I bought a horse. What I learned from this was that I should buy another horse.

#39

Have children. I learned not to have anymore. .

Image credits: first_cat_2017

#40

A few years back I took out a loan for $34k to buy a Michael Jordan rookie card in mint condition (BGS 9 grade). This was at the height of the hype coming off of Covid/The Last Dance etc and I didn’t want to miss the chance to own one of my holy grails of sports card collecting that I’ve wanted since I was a kid. As with all markets there are ebbs and flows, and unfortunately I bought right around where it peaked in value and now you can get 3 of them in the same condition for that price. Coming full circle, i learned nothing just goes up and up forever and if something is setting new records for how high the value is going it’s probably not a great time to purchase. *Obligatory “timing the market is a fools game” disclaimer* but I feel like overspending at the peak of the hype because I was scared it would become unobtainable later taught me patience and a better way to analyze the trends.

#41

Motorcycle maintenance is not cheaper than car maintenance. Maybe a single routine is cheaper, but you do everything 2x often, tires wear out quicker, fuel usage similar as a hybrid car.

#42

Never buy a pet that’s prone to health problems and NOT have insurance on them. I preach pet insurance to anyone and everyone. My sphynx cat has heart disease and I learned about pet insurance too late so now he costs me… a lot in special food and cardiac care.

However since obtaining insurance for my other animals I can get my babies the gold standard care without having to worry about letting them die of something curable just because I can’t afford it.

#43

Co-signing on a loan is up there for sure.

#44

Living paycheck to paycheck when I didn’t have to. Learned that saving early gives you freedom later.

#45

Not going all-in on Bitcoin when I first heard about it. I think I'd have something like $50 million, but honestly I don't think there's much of a lesson there.

I chose not to gamble and it ended up hitting big, but that doesn't mean gambling is a sound investment strategy.

#46

College. didn't advance my career one bit.

i started my career without college, so i was told to go back in 2005. still paying them loans lol.

Image credits: Odd-Weather-4158

#47

Student loans. A s**t ton of them. But I’m grateful in a way for them because it led to me to learning a lot about personal finance and investing and now would consider myself somewhat financially savvy. About 33% through paying off all my debt but am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

#48

Getting credit cards to survive between jobs during COVID. I’m still paying them off, but after they’re cleared I am never carrying a balance again.

#49

Not me but - I had a roommate back in 2010 decide he was going to do a 2 month cross country road trip. He got a payday loan to cover his rent/bills for that time, and then whatever else he could get, basically asked for the max amount. Quit his job, gave me (less than the amount) of rent/bills for those two months, and hit the road.

I still get calls from those collectors looking for him because we had that shared address at the time he pulled the loan.

He ran out of money after 3 states and just didn’t come back for like 6 months.

Also noteworthy - I have a good childhood friend that got a wild hair to join a bjj gym. His second week he was paired with an elderly man, and in the midst of doing a walkthrough on something, the man either tore something or broke something.

He was a lawyer and decided to sue my friend AND the gym, which he promptly won and my friend had to file bankruptcy at 23 and will likely spend his young adult life paying that man back.

#50

For me it was buying into workout supplements… not steroids but the glutamines, bcaas, pre workouts… thinking one was better than the other etc.

Probably lost 5-10k over the years till I one day gave it all up.

Wish I saved the money instead of going down that road but lesson learned. Part of the issue was living at home, not truly knowing the value of a dollar or budgeting.

#51

Upending my entire life to dart across country to help/fix another family fiasco.

It ended horribly for me every time. Personally and financially. I lost jobs, apartments, relationships, etc. and I was never compensated for it because “that’s what family does.”

And sadly, I taught my family that I’d suffer financial ruin and anything else to help them and it’s been very hard teaching them that I won’t do that anymore.

#52

Leaving my stable job of 30 years. Still looking for work a year later.

#53

Spending beyond my means in my 20’s, spending most of my 30’s clearing debt….

#54

Purchasing and running a restaurant. The margin of net profit is thin. It’s damn hard work. And I also discovered I had no passion for the industry. The covid pandemic finally forced my hand and decided to close up shop.

#55

Timeshare.

#56

I was living at home rent free at 18-22 and managed to still rack up debt taking out $1k loans and not paying bills bc I was spoiled and dumb. I have regrets.

#57

Buying a brand new 8k motorcycle as my first bike that I was using to learn to ride 🙃 ending up reselling for 2.5k because of all the cosmetic damage and only had it for a year. huge loss.

#58

Delayed serious efforts to save money for retirement until I was in my 30s.

Advice? Put everything you can into retirement money regardless of your age. Remember, this money can go towards your first home.

I realize that is not possible for everyone. I also realize it is far more possible than the number of people doing it.

#59

Grew up way poor, so my spending when I started making ANY money (think: $30k) couldn't keep up with credit cards and student loans.

It took 5+ years of discipline (and closer to poorness) to unwind.

I solved it by marginally changing my spending behaviors, but increasing my income by 4/5/6x and marrying someone who also makes that much.

Follow me for more life hacks.

#60

Agreeing to co-sign a college loan from American Education Services for my son in law, now ex son in law. they are loan sharks, and I ended up paying it all back. Probably cost another 15 thousand over the amount he borrowed. My ex son in law knew nothing about money. He did get educated and has a career. It would be nice if he had told me thank you, but he was poorly raised and never taught that. I paid it off with an inheritance and then gave him 10 grand as a gift from the inheritance. He is the father of my grandchildren and is a decent guy.

#61

When my aunt died, she left me and my siblings her house and the rest of her estate. I had the opportunity to use that money to pay off my current car, house, and credit card debt. I could've been completely debt free and saving around $2,000 a month.

Instead, I paid off my current car and bought a new car, and paid off my credit cards. Then I ran my credit cards up again so at this time, I am still paying off my credit cards and I am also paying off the new car. Nothing has changed, except the clock.

Did I learn from it? I would like to think so, but we'll see.

#62

Not consistently investing

You can't save your way to wealth, you must invest it.

Automate it and set & forget it.

#63

I gave my wife £4000 from an inheritance to buy a kiln which has never been fired once in the last five years. I learned not to pour money into projects.

#64

Impulse buying for myself and buying for other people who couldnt afford.

One year I was splurging on Video game collectors editons. I was addicted to the steel books and statues. That same year me and my buddies were going to Comic Con. One friend didnt make alot of money and was suffering from depression. I paid for his ticket for the 4 days. Burned a hole in my wallet but seeing him being happy and there with us was good enough for me

But the lesson Iearned was to take a step back and not to buy anything I couldnt afford.

#65

Apple Watch. I’ve owned three and all of them wound up not being worth it long-term. Garmin is a lot better.

#66

Going back to graduate school at midlife thinking I could recareer. Took on a lot of debt before I realized that you really cannot start over anytime.

Age discrimination ruined the return on investment. However, what little work I did get at that age was better than what I was doing before. But it set me up to be poor for the rest of my life.

#67

I spent $23,000 on chemotherapy for a cat. Cat died anyway.

Image credits: No_Artichoke7180

#68

Getting into real estate.

I own two rentals. The only one that was making any money just had the tenant default and now we have to evict him. I drove past it for the first time in too long and found a massive pile of garbage in what was supposed to be its parking space.

Just stick with a mutual funds account. If you find you need money for an unexpected expense, you can't just call your realtor and tell them to sell $20,000 worth of the townhouse and send you the cash. Mutual funds don't call you at 3:00 a.m. to tell you the toilet is stopped up. Mutual funds don't suddenly need $50,000 for a new roof. Mutual funds' neighbors don't call you to complain about the loud parties. With mutual funds, you don't live in fear that you'll have a vacancy that causes you to start losing money out of your paycheck. Mutual funds don't have tenants that neglect to let you know that a pipe burst in the wall.

#69

I kept working through the pandemic, i lost about $3000 in unemployment I would have gotten if I didn't volunteer to keep working, and I would've had a few months off instead of majorly burning myself out.

#70

Trusting my wife with finances.