Best Financial Decision You’ve made

[Samuel]

I actually find it difficult to identify one "best" financial decision I've made. Turns out there's a lot to be said for simply avoiding the biggest money pitfalls (large student loans, spendypants partners, prolonged unemployment, lifestyle inflation, consumer debt, major health issues, gambling or substance addictions, etc) while always living solidly below your means.

[BicycleB]

Turns out, quitting my tenured, full professor job almost seven years ago to be a full-time author has been my single best financial decision. Go figure.

@Kris - very impressive!

[PDXTabs]

My BS in Computer Science from a state school.

[Metalcat]

Turns out, quitting my tenured, full professor job almost seven years ago to be a full-time author has been my single best financial decision. Go figure.

@Kris - very impressive!

I know, every time I read that about Kris, I'm like "wooooooooow."

[Reader]

To switch into tech.

Similar to this I decided to self-teach data science and machine learning. It's hard to tell what would have been, but I think it's safe to say that this move at least doubled my comp over the past 6 years (actual comp is up about 3x over the past 6 years) and I didn't have to move to a HCOL city to do it.

i'm wondering whether to get a masters in data science or self-teach. any thoughts?

[EliteZags]

surprised with all the answers of divorce no one has mentioned "staying single" which is what I owe most of my net worth too, and being economically efficient enough to be able to live a comfortable high-end single lifestyle on the beach while still investing a majority of my earnings

[Shuchong]

This isn't really "staying single," but I think my best financial decision was getting a roommate in a small 2-bedroom apartment in my VHCOL area while I still had law school debt, and keeping that roommate for years and years after the debt was paid off.  The percentage of my income spent on rent each month was well under 10%. 

(Then I bought a house of my own, which may turn out to be a bad financial decision, but a great lifestyle one.  Either way, all the savings from years of living with a roommate mean it's a decision I can easily afford.)

[JupiterGreen]

# 1. Married a hardworking and thrifty person

but these were also significant:

2. lived in various crappy apartments with roommates to save for a downpayment on our 1st house
3. 1st house was a fixer-upper, we are handy so we made a good profit when we sold
4. max out 401k as well as other investing
5. paid off house

[jeninco]

Marrying someone who was naturally thrifty and adept at doing a lot of things, and both of us (and then our family) living beneath our means. We're pretty high earners, but we've had all kinds of flexibility and options by teaching the kids "you can have (almost) anything you want, but you can't have everything you want" and modeling it.

[seemsright]

I was the weird kid reading investment books in High School. I married my High School Sweetheart at 19. We were on the same page financially and had big goals.


We have so far exceeded our goals.

[Just Joe]

I WISH I knew my DW in HS. We would have been a great pair from the start. And probably alot richer.