Financial Mistakes

YeLo

YeLo

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Have you made a financial decision in the past that you regret today? Any experience that we can hopefully learn from is welcome.
 
3WA said:
Saving in a money market account instead of dumping all my money into the JSE. Didn’t understand stock markets when I first started working.

Now it’s spending all my eBucks on lotto tickets instead of something of value.
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Same with crypto when I started. Jumped in during a bull market, thought I was Limitless seeing the code bro. All came crashing and I made nothing because I didn't wanna sell and take profit. Got to better grips with it later / had other luck with it.
 
Cars are a sure way of throwing money in the water. If you finance a car over 5 years, it will cost you 10% more in interest per year and when you sell it after 5 years you will only recover 50% of the original cost (if you are lucky). Lesson: buy that cheapest car that satisfy your use case.
 
Consumer debt. Its terrible. Debt is like being in bondage. Only things I will advise debt for:
Modest home
Modest car (if needed)
Good education

Otherwise avoid Personal debt. Obviously business debt is another story.

Second that cars are a big pile of money burning. Unless its your major source of joy in your life just get something cheap and reliable to get you from A to B. I know too many retired guys now who insisted on buying a new BMW every 3 to 5 years their entire working careers who are now down to something simple like a Suzuki or Honda and wishing they had never gone the BMW route. They retired with a lot less than they could have while spending millions on interest and depreciation on cars.
 
Cius said:
I know too many retired guys now who insisted on buying a new BMW every 3 to 5 years their entire working careers who are now down to something simple like a Suzuki or Honda and wishing they had never gone the BMW route.
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And that step down is painful! If you’re used to a luxury car, the entry level will hurt a bit because you’ve experienced how good a car can be. It’s why I’ll always drive a hunk of junk.
 
3WA said:
And that step down is painful! If you’re used to a luxury car, the entry level will hurt a bit because you’ve experienced how good a car can be. It’s why I’ll always drive a hunk of junk.
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Sometimes yes sometimes no. One guy I know switched from BMW down to decently kitted out Honda's at less than a third of the price and said other than the power difference the Honda's are incredibly comfortable and he really does not care much about the power these days. Sometimes its not even a comfort decision!
 
Thinking I can beat the banks at their own game, forex trading. Fortunately I wised up.

Yes there is definitely money to be made, but the time and stress involved ain't for me. Plus it's not an inflation linked investment you can leave growing over time, you need active decisions.

Walked away with 70% did make a killing with buying company shares beforehand though. So still in the clear.
 
Credit cards when I was younger. Maxed out a sizeable limit buying... I don't even know what.

Then got an overdraft on top of that.

To top it off I bought a property with insane levies in the middle of Fourways because moving out of the house as soon as I could seemed like a good idea.

Today I have zero debt, and will only ever consider it for the purposes of a mortgage.
 
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