Retroactive measures?

[BlueHouse]

I'm curious to know what types of changes have other readers made that affect choices previously made, versus what changes were made on a forward basis only? 
For instance, if your car was a money and gas guzzling overpriced burden, did you sell it and buy a less expensive version, or did you keep it and vow to keep it longer before buying a new car? 
Or, did you sell a house and move or did you vow to learn to fix more things,Mathis being able to live in your larger house more cheaply? 
So, when you had choices, did you focus on undoing past errors or on avoiding traps in the future? 

[Retired To Win]

I'm curious to know what types of changes have other readers made that affect choices previously made, versus what changes were made on a forward basis only?...  So, when you had choices, did you focus on undoing past errors or on avoiding traps in the future?

My answer is both.

House example: we went DIY/frugal on the house we had... purposely looked for and found an equivalent house in a much lower cost of living area... sold the first house and used the profits to outright buy the replacement house.

Vehicle example: when the car we had bought when it was just 2 years old got totaled 4 years later, we replaced it with the same make and model -- which at that point we were buying as a 6-year old car for lots less money (but luckily also with lots fewer miles on it).

[jmusic]

I think the answer to your question is that, just as always, "It depends."

In my case, I found that once I challenged the status quo, it was easy to make big changes.  Example:  I sold a 1 year old car for $20K (with an equal amount of debt) and bought its replacement for $8K.  If my original car was already a bit older with a lower payoff, I probably wouldn't have switched and just paid it off instead.

[Retired To Win]

I'm curious to know what types of changes have other readers made that affect choices previously made, versus what changes were made on a forward basis only? ... did you focus on undoing past errors or on avoiding traps in the future?

On a general basis, I've avoided many known (and unknown) traps going forward by adopting the principle of never hardwiring anything optional to my basic living budget.  I don't incorporate into my basic living budget optional expenditures such as vacations, clothes, entertainment, etc.  Anything like that gets paid for out of my totally flexible -- and committed only in real time -- Discretionary Fund.  So, no gym memberships, no cable or other subscriptions, no pre-scheduled vacations, etc. get added onto my basic living expenses.  Flexibility is key.