What is the worst mistake you have ever made?

[DawnM]

Agreeing to move away from the place I loved living. We will never move back and sometimes I still have tears, 11 years later.

 

[DawnM]

I regret becoming a SAHM and being out of work so long.

I am having a hard time getting a job now and the ONLY difference between now and then is the gap in my work history.

 

[Colleen27]

I can't say any of the obvious things because it is my belief that past mistakes land us in our present circumstances. So while I probably should regret my ex, I can't because I got my son out of that lapse in judgement. And as much as I wonder "what if" about standing up for my top choice of major instead of bowing to parental pressure to choose something practical, that too would probably have meant I wouldn't be where I am today.

But there is one thing... The house next door to us. It sold at tax auction a few years ago, and I vetoed DH's desire to take out a home equity loan on our paid-for home to buy it because I had grown attached to mortgage-free living. We should have taken the risk. It ended up selling at auction for just a hair under 20K, and just resold for 90K last fall.

 

[mnrose]

Failing to exercise some stock options I had when they were worth well over 1 million dollars to me. We didn't need the money, we'd have taken a tax hit, and I figured it would be worth that (or more) before they expired. The stock plummeted in value. My options were ALL underwater, and before they expired, only a handful had climbed to have any value at all. I got less than $30K out of them. LOL. Live and learn. It was only "paper" value, and it's not like I "lost" a million dollars in "real" money, but still.

 

[Kimkimba]

Not sure if it was the first marriage or the second marriage.

Fortunately, third times the charm.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

I see a lot of people live a life of "what if".

That's no way to go through life.
Your "mistakes" are what made you who you are today. Embrace them and love them...

I'd rather live a life of oh wells than what ifs...

 

[DawnM]

Sometimes regrets can be regrets and you simply can't make lemonade out of them. No amount of sugar can fix it.

 

[Kitty 34]

Having that first drink (ever) with my boyfriend's mother back in the early 70s.

 

[Jaspers]

The only thing that came to my mind is that I really hope I'd never have met one certain guy who seduced my classmate into things while she was underage. Some of his doings also affected me too and knowing him has led to many insecurities.

 

[leebee]

Two things. First was agreeing to let DH "invest half" of the stock I'd received when leaving a biotech start up in CA. NEVER should have done that. I had no idea of how the stock market worked and he kept buying on margin, because his "half" was worth more as the market climbed. I'm an idiot... should have made him move "his half" to a separate account. If he'd left it alone, I could have sold it for $80K (initial investment $1200), but at that point he owed about $60K on margin. When the stock market tanked, we sold it for barely enough to keep from losing everything. I almost divorced him- seriously, and I told him if he EVER dabbles again, I WILL be GONE. So far, so good... that was 16 years ago and our only connection with the stock market is whatever TIAA/CREF is doing with our retirement.

Second... My mom owned a cottage-type house on the coast of Maine. It had a LOT wrong with it, it was owned by the family trust when mom died, the 4 kids were happy to keep it there and rent out the top floor w/my brother living in the bottom apartment. We probably owed about $12K on the mortgage (at 11% ). Anyhow, 2 of us lived out of state and the 2 who were there in town were over being landlords, and the house really needed work, and nobody had any money. My brother moved in with my sister&BIL (BIG sea captain's home, plenty of space for everyone to come vacation,etc.). You can see how this is going to go. We sold mom's home and each cleared about $50K, which was nice to make improvements here at home, put towards retirement, do some special things for DD, purchase her a used car, etc. Within a year, my BIL left my sister and the kids, partly because he'd finagled them into terrible financial state and it was all coming apart. They lost the house, BIL is gone, sis, 2 kids, and brother now live in a 2br apartment. What really eats at me is that at the time, I had no idea of how home equity loans work. We could have swung $50K easily, fixed up the house, and my bro and sis and the kids would have had a place to live. I know it was an incredibly stupid decision to sell now, but at the time, I just couldn't see how financially it would have worked out. I kick myself every time I drive by in the summer and see the upstairs rented out at $1500 a week, downstairs at $900. Sigh. I'm the oldest, I had the best/most credit, and still feel that I somehow should have made it happen for us. But no...

 

[goofyernmost]

That's a hard questions because there are errors in judgment, things that didn't turn out the way you envisioned and just flat out actions that nothing was gained from.

Personally, I have made hundreds, if not more, moves or actions that didn't turn out the way I had thought it would or anticipated, however, I can't think of any massive mistakes. When I say that, I have to qualify it by saying not every decision was a wonderful experience, some were downright awful. That said, there isn't a single thing that I would change about my life. Everything that I experienced in my life molded me into what I am today. They contributed to where I am, the good and the bad.

This came up in a discussion that I had with my daughters recently. We were talking about a lot of difficult situations, one of which was how my marriage ended after 29 years, many of those years were miserable. They asked, if I had it to do over again, would I not marry the same person. The big problem with thinking differently is that the very people that I was discussing this with would not be here if I hadn't married the person that I did. The grandchildren that were running around playing, joking and laughing would not be in existence. How can I possible wish that I hadn't done what I did, no matter how part of it turned out? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, is really a true thing.

 

[ronandannette]

It's only in hindsight that we can even identify mistakes. I sure do wish there were many things I'd done differently but I also know that given the same situations and only the information I had at the time, I'd do every single one again.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

It's only in hindsight that we can even identify mistakes. I sure do wish there were many things I'd done differently but I also know that given the same situations and only the information I had at the time, I'd do every single one again.

EXACTLY! given the opportunity to screw it all up again, I'd screw it up in a heartbeat. It's what made me who I am, has given me some fun and not do fun stories, and has taught me things I would I'd never learned if I didn't make the mistakes.

As Been Franklin said, I never made a mistake, I just learned 100 ways that didn't work.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Too many to count or none at all as I have learned as I have lived? I guess it's all in your perspective...

 

[IDoDis]

Not reading my FIL's will when he gave it to DH and I a few years before he passed away. He really wanted us to read it so that we'd understand everything, but we didn't want to think about him passing away nor what he was leaving DH and instead wanted to focus on enjoying life with him.

Fast forward a few years when he passed away. We pulled out the will and read it. The paragraphs about what my FIL was leaving to DH didn't make sense. The wording was weird. Turns out that the attorney who wrote the will made a huge copy/paste error when writing the final draft which resulted in DH losing his dad's 401k which was several hundred thousand dollars, plus stock and a vehicle. He basically lost 90% of what was intended for him because of a copy/paste error.

It took years to hash out in court and a lawsuit against the attorney who wrote the will. We won the lawsuit via jury deliberation after a week-long trial, but then the attorney who wrote the will (and who had let her malpractice insurance lapse) filed for bankruptcy (resulting in us not getting a cent from the lawsuit) and the attorney's husband killed himself the day after the jury verdict. It was an awful result for everyone and could have been avoided had we read the will when DH's dad gave it to us because the error would have been caught and corrected.

 

[Coonhound]

I regret becoming a SAHM and being out of work so long.

I am having a hard time getting a job now and the ONLY difference between now and then is the gap in my work history.

I am sorry it is making it more difficult now!! But you are to be commended for the sacrifice you made and the invaluable work you did investing in the lives of your children. They will be reaping the benefits of that for years to come. I wish you well in your job search. I wish that companies made it easier for women to come back after raising children.

 

[DawnM]

I am sorry it is making it more difficult now!! But you are to be commended for the sacrifice you made and the invaluable work you did investing in the lives of your children. They will be reaping the benefits of that for years to come. I wish you well in your job search. I wish that companies made it easier for women to come back after raising children.

Thank you. I am starting to get some interviews so I am somewhat hopeful. It will work out, it may just take a while. I am trying to stay confident.

I need to pay for college for these said kids somehow!

My oldest has special needs, that is why I stayed home. He needed me home.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

That's a hard questions because there are errors in judgment, things that didn't turn out the way you envisioned and just flat out actions that nothing was gained from.

Personally, I have made hundreds, if not more, moves or actions that didn't turn out the way I had thought it would or anticipated, however, I can't think of any massive mistakes. When I say that, I have to qualify it by saying not every decision was a wonderful experience, some were downright awful. That said, there isn't a single thing that I would change about my life. Everything that I experienced in my life molded me into what I am today. They contributed to where I am, the good and the bad.

This came up in a discussion that I had with my daughters recently. We were talking about a lot of difficult situations, one of which was how my marriage ended after 29 years, many of those years were miserable. They asked, if I had it to do over again, would I not marry the same person. The big problem with thinking differently is that the very people that I was discussing this with would not be here if I hadn't married the person that I did. The grandchildren that were running around playing, joking and laughing would not be in existence. How can I possible wish that I hadn't done what I did, no matter how part of it turned out? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, is really a true thing.

"I made decisions some right and some wrong
And I let some love go I wish wasn't gone
These things and more I wish I had not done

But I can't go back
And I don't want to
'Cause all my mistakes
They brought me to you"

Avett Brothers - All My Mistakes

 

[daisyduck123]

Allowing my two children to get the Gardasil vaccine.

I do not want to get into an issue at all about vaccines...so please, no one, comment about this. I just want to answer the OP's question & leave it at that. Thanks!

 

[aristocatz]

Not buying Disney stock when it was $24 or so back in 2008 - 2009.

Not buying Google stock 10 years ago when it was still affordable.