What is your dumbest money losing moment? A Redditor recently shared that her daughter, who lost her gift card, reminded her of how she made a stupid mistake with money. She flew across the country for work and was rewarded with a $1,000 Visa gift card.
“I put it in my wallet just to forget about it. So I went to use it a few years later, only to find that it had expired.” On top of that, $1,000 was included on her pay stub for taxes. So she also lost $1,000 and paid for it out of her own pocket. “Stupid move. What’s yours?” Here are the answers with the most votes.
1. Men’s warehouse
One man admitted that when he was 20, he shopped at Men’s Wearhouse to buy a suit for an interview. The costume cost $180, but you could buy one and get the other for free. The sales assistant suggested that if you buy one $80 shirt, then a $40 tie, $40 belt, and a $100 pair of shoes, you’ll get one free deal.
He also bought him bamboo hangers, which help suits keep their shape but fit into loose laces. When the price rose to $950, he panicked. “I had about $1,400 in my account at the time. My brain was in turmoil, so I stupidly handed over the card while my body went numb and walked out thinking, “This is what grown-ups do.”
Luckily, his girlfriend talked him into swallowing his pride, and he returned all but one of the suits before hitting the clearance counter at JC Penneys and buying everything he needed for $120. “From that day on, I became immune to sellers and I know that the “buy one, get two” scheme is one of the greatest scams.
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2. Stock options
Another got stock options in the dot-com bubble as a bonus when he was hired by a software company in the late 90s. He explained that the price went into the trash before the vesting, the price of the grant was not adjusted and it became worthless. – It’s not the worst.
He was still working for the same company many years after layoffs and takeovers. “I was buying my first house and determining how much down payment I could afford,” he recalled the options. They adjusted the grant price for outstanding employee options at the time of acquisition.
As a result, the options are now worth $6-7000 in profit! Dig into your brokerage account to see options status. Options expire five years after vesting. But that’s not the worst. See account options. Shelf life that day. It’s not the worst. The market is closed and cannot be executed. Try it anyway. Exercise rejected. There are no more options for the next day.”
3. Saying “no” to Google
One user admitted to working for a small company in Mountain View when he turned down a job at Google in 2000. When asked why he turned down the offer, he replied, “I wanted to graduate and didn’t want to work.” on an ongoing basis.”‘
4. College funds
Someone shared that before their father passed away, he raised money for college for her two children. So, in 2006, when her son started college, they both had about $10,000 in their accounts.
“Unfortunately, ALL of these were educational accounts invested exclusively in Wachovia shares! It dropped from $60 a share to a low when the bank went bankrupt. In the end, each was left with less than $200. Diversification lesson learned! So glad my sweet daddy didn’t know.
5. Sports betting
“On Friday, I got a big pay raise. I lost 12,000 sports bets over the weekend and I still beat myself up for it, ”shared one of them. Several people in the thread offered this user help with their gambling addiction.
6. Starbucks gift card
Someone confessed to throwing away a new $25 Starbucks gift card instead of an empty one. It was a small loss in the overall design, but it still worries them.
7. Train tickets
Another traveler explained that they each spent $500 on Euro Rail train tickets. However, they left them in the train car on the first leg of the journey. Instead, they rented a car, noting that “it’s cheaper than buying new tickets.”
8. Market time
“Trying to do something that is not recommended… Timing the market.” This user explained that they left the market in 2020 when “everything collapsed at first”. Then they bought out when things went up again. “The stupidest thing I have ever done and should have known better. The cost of this mistake: 220 thousand.
9. Motorcycle error
“I had way too much money in my wallet in college, about $500 if I remember correctly. It’s a lot of money to lose at any moment, but it was a LOT of money when I was in college.”
They specified that their wallet fell out of their back pocket while riding a motorcycle. They repeated their path about five times and could not find it; nobody returned. “I never again kept my wallet in my back pocket while riding a bike or motorcycle.”
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10. Handbag in the car
Finally, one shared: “The dumbest moment I lost money was when I was 18, all my rent was in cash, and I stopped by my mom to give her something. I left my purse in the car and five minutes later I was robbed. My fault and I had to get my savings to eat that month. At least it wasn’t a crazy amount and it was a life lesson learned early.”
We hope you enjoyed this Reddit discussion about the dumbest ways people lose money. This article is inspired by the Internet and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Wealthy Nickel.
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