Nobody's perfect... what money mistakes have you made lately?

[cdttmm]

Got a $15 parking ticket because I failed to return to my car before the time on my parking meter expired and I was convinced it would go unnoticed. This happened the day after a major snowstorm that severely limited the available parking spots in a town that already has ridiculously limited parking. Doh!!!

[Dicey]

I got a speeding ticket recently that will cost me $1-2k by the time all is said and done.......ugh.

Ug. No traffic school option? Can you contest the ticket? Try to get the fine reduced by going before a judge? Hope so!

[Linea_Norway]

Got a $15 parking ticket because I failed to return to my car before the time on my parking meter expired and I was convinced it would go unnoticed. This happened the day after a major snowstorm that severely limited the available parking spots in a town that already has ridiculously limited parking. Doh!!!

This reminds me of my mistake last summer. We went to a sports events, where you could park for free. But it looked like the event was partly entering the parking place and the entrance was half blocked. I thought therefore that I could better park on another parking place down the road. It never entered my mind that the parking would not be free over there. I parked right in front of the sign that said you had to pay, but I didn't notice it at all. Of course, a fine was given. That became expensive parking.

[2Birds1Stone]

I got a speeding ticket recently that will cost me $1-2k by the time all is said and done.......ugh.

Ug. No traffic school option? Can you contest the ticket? Try to get the fine reduced by going before a judge? Hope so!

I got nabbed doing 63 in a 40, which in NYS is 6 points. Something like a $600 ticket + $300 NYS drivers assessment fee.

April 4th I meet with the ADA to plea it down, it will likely be $1000+ and 2-3 points or $1500+ a no points. Pure money grab -_- 

[Morning Glory]

January: $37 parking ticket for forgetting to put new stickers on license plate. I had them at home, it was too cold to put them on when I got them and then they got buried in a pile of other mail. Could have disputed the ticket but you have to show up in person on Wednesday at noon to do this. Had the day off work but there was an ice storm.  Ended up paying an extra $2 "convenience fee" to pay it online because the fine would have gone up if not paid within 10 days.

[VladTheImpaler]

I got a speeding ticket recently that will cost me $1-2k by the time all is said and done.......ugh.

What? How fast were you going?
Did you have proof of insurance in your vehicle?

[better late]

Purchased a textbook for DD on Amazon (at her request) and intended to send it to her for free via Prime shipping. Somehow after I entered her new address at uni I managed to mail the book to myself. I had purchased the last copy so my error necessitated a trip to the post office and $13 for priority shipping to her

[Dicey]

Purchased a textbook for DD on Amazon (at her request) and intended to send it to her for free via Prime shipping. Somehow after I entered her new address at uni I managed to mail the book to myself. I had purchased the last copy so my error necessitated a trip to the post office and $13 for priority shipping to her

Arrrrgh! Still you probably came out ahead, money wise.

I got a speeding ticket recently that will cost me $1-2k by the time all is said and done.......ugh.

What? How fast were you going?
Did you have proof of insurance in your vehicle?

See below. Fingers crossed for 2B1S on April 4th. It's both my sister's and my bonus kid's birthday, so maybe it will be a lucky day for him, too.

I got a speeding ticket recently that will cost me $1-2k by the time all is said and done.......ugh.

Ug. No traffic school option? Can you contest the ticket? Try to get the fine reduced by going before a judge? Hope so!

I got nabbed doing 63 in a 40, which in NYS is 6 points. Something like a $600 ticket + $300 NYS drivers assessment fee.

April 4th I meet with the ADA to plea it down, it will likely be $1000+ and 2-3 points or $1500+ a no points. Pure money grab -_- 

[dividendsplease]

I bought $10 worth of powerball tickets last night. not a winner. jackpot over 400M now.

[I'm a red panda]

Purchased a textbook for DD on Amazon (at her request) and intended to send it to her for free via Prime shipping. Somehow after I entered her new address at uni I managed to mail the book to myself. I had purchased the last copy so my error necessitated a trip to the post office and $13 for priority shipping to her

My mom somehow did this ordering a gift off my husband's wish list. She swears it said our address.
It cost her $25 to mail it to us, slowly (went to her via prime). I told her she should return it (free returns) and buy a new one, but she wouldn't.

[Loretta]

In a moment of extreme anxiety I purchased a second car when various mechanics were unable/unwilling to solve a problem I was having.  Fortunately Car #2 is small, cheap and sips gas but still was kind of...unnecessary.  $800 later I found a good mechanic shop and got Car #1 fixed.  Cars are my mustachios weakness.

[kissthesky]

I get so mad when I make stupid money mistakes. I even keep track of it: last year I spent $1840 on things I should have spent $0 on. Most recently was $350 for the damage a broken pipe caused. After I paid the guy I realized it would have been 100% covered by my home warranty. Ugh. Goal for 2017: <$100 in stupid money mistakes by always thinking through things before reacting.

[Poundwise]

2Birds1stone and any other NYS drivers, you can lower your points by up to 4 and/or get a 10% discount on your auto insurance by taking a Defensive Driving course every three years (18 months for point reduction).   You can do it online; it takes a minimum of 5.5 hours, so this means that you can't just flash through it but you have to wait for the timer to go off before proceeding to the next page. Pesky, but if you are going to waste your time on the internet you might as well save. There are various "schools" like New York Safety Council,  National Safety Council, Safety Serve, etc. The lowest price I've found is $24.95 so far.

[stoaX]

I got a speeding ticket recently that will cost me $1-2k by the time all is said and done.......ugh.

Ug. No traffic school option? Can you contest the ticket? Try to get the fine reduced by going before a judge? Hope so!

I got nabbed doing 63 in a 40, which in NYS is 6 points. Something like a $600 ticket + $300 NYS drivers assessment fee.

April 4th I meet with the ADA to plea it down, it will likely be $1000+ and 2-3 points or $1500+ a no points. Pure money grab -_-

Wow!  Are you sure this is the state of New York and not a Mafioso extortion scheme?

[stoaX]

The money mistake I made lately was fixing an electrical problem myself.  The electrician should arrive in about an hour....

[Monocle Money Mouth]

The money mistake I made lately was fixing an electrical problem myself.  The electrician should arrive in about an hour....

I know that feel. I killed our old stove about 7 years ago trying to replace a receptacle. I figured out what I was doing wrong eventually, but that was an expensive lesson.

[afuera]

In 2014, my fiancé (now DH) had been working in the oil field for about 6 months and we went from poor college couple to paychecks of >8K AFTER TAX.  Lifestyle inflation was real.  We bought loads of fancy electronics (PS4, TV, Sound System, etc.) and a 1 year old Mercedes C250 that we thought we were getting a great deal on since it was a dealership loaner with very low mileage. We planned on keeping it forever.  10K in depreciation and 2 years later we sold the car when my DH got laid off. Ugh.


In 2015, about a month before my mom sent me a link to MMM, I was feeling fed up with work and was looking for options to make passive income. FIRE wasn't even on my radar as possible.  I found Ramit Sethi and believed him when he said I could start my own online business even if I didn't have an idea.  Spent 2K on his Zero To Launch course for a bunch of scammy sounding material on how to start an online business which I've done nothing with because I still don't have an idea...

[stoaX]

Afuera:  love the tagline "The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it" - Henry David Thoreau.

[ringer707]

I switched to Geico car insurance 8 months ago and put the monthly payment on my credit card. When I spoke with the representative helping me, she just asked for my credit card for the payments. She didn't mention that there was a $5/mo fee for using a credit card. I know it's only $40, but I wouldn't have done it had I known there was an additional fee tacked on! Changed it yesterday so no more fees.

What's that new commercial? I think for cell phone service where the mom says "Oh god, we've got fees!" (like they're fleas). That's how I felt yesterday!

[plainjane]

I had a $3 coupon for Bulk Barn if I spent $10.  I got a number of bags of things, and it rang up at $9.60 and I didn't want to hold up the line or get back into the line after buying something else.  I realized as I was walking out of the store that I could have just picked up a chocolate bar and come out ahead.

I still haven't called the cable company about the fact that we are now paying more than their advertised price on internet because the SO wants to figure out the perfect TV package for us.  This has been going on for over a year.

I still haven't dealt with our hot water heater rental almost two months after I saw that it was stupid to keep renting instead of buying something.

[eyePod]

What if we avoided one?

We were on the fence about buying a house. Literally perfect one came up, but then they couldn't take a contingent offer. I thought about raiding our Roth's to get the down payment but my wife pulled me from the edge of the cliff. Usually I'm the one who doesn't get emotional too!

Looking at it though - we have many years before we really need to move, and even then, need is relative. We're going to have 3 kids in the house. We moved the 4/1.5 year old into the same room over the weekend, and the baby will have its own room in the fall.

In the long run, the extra 150k in a bigger house isn't that appealing. We love our neighbors, we love the community that a townhome provides (pool, walking trail, lots of shared space, not a lot of lawn maintenance)

Working from home more would improve things WAYYY more than a bigger house.

SO in the end, we're going to reno the kitchen. Will put in a new set of cabinets where none exist. Will upgrade all appliances and get some sort of nicer countertop. I think it'll come under 8k with a blend of our own work (installing and staining the new set of cabinets to match the existing ones, installing the appliances ourselves) and having the pros do the install on the countertops.

All in all - this new kitchen will bring us much needed counterspace and additional storage (win/win), and we'll have a large chunk of extra cash and up our retirement accounts as well. ON top of that, we'll also have our emergency-plus funds (old HVAC and furnace) which we want to replace but are riding out till they give up.

So we avoided a mistake and I feel wonderful knowing that I"m not looking for a stupid house. That is such a time waster.

[Morning Glory]

Love this idea:

I get so mad when I make stupid money mistakes. I even keep track of it: last year I spent $1840 on things I should have spent $0 on. Most recently was $350 for the damage a broken pipe caused. After I paid the guy I realized it would have been 100% covered by my home warranty. Ugh. Goal for 2017: <$100 in stupid money mistakes by always thinking through things before reacting.

February: Our sump pump stopped working and we called the company who installed it. They said it was under warranty and would be replaced for free. They came, replaced it, and then charged my husband $300 , and gave him paperwork to send in for the warranty (I was not home for this). He called the manufacturer and they said the contractor had to bring in the broken one for it to be replaced. Of course they had taken it away with them. We could have just bought the same pump at Home Depot for half the price, so total loss $150. Sigh.

Also I threw out some moldy cheese and broke a light fixture cover, ~$10 for both.

Total $199 so far this year:
January $39- parking ticket
February $160

[eyePod]

In 2014, my fiancé (now DH) had been working in the oil field for about 6 months and we went from poor college couple to paychecks of >8K AFTER TAX.  Lifestyle inflation was real.  We bought loads of fancy electronics (PS4, TV, Sound System, etc.) and a 1 year old Mercedes C250 that we thought we were getting a great deal on since it was a dealership loaner with very low mileage. We planned on keeping it forever.  10K in depreciation and 2 years later we sold the car when my DH got laid off. Ugh.


In 2015, about a month before my mom sent me a link to MMM, I was feeling fed up with work and was looking for options to make passive income. FIRE wasn't even on my radar as possible.  I found Ramit Sethi and believed him when he said I could start my own online business even if I didn't have an idea.  Spent 2K on his Zero To Launch course for a bunch of scammy sounding material on how to start an online business which I've done nothing with because I still don't have an idea...

The Ramit one is hard. I know some people who know him personally (or at least did before he got huge), and he really means well. I don't think he's wrong though. What his stuff does require is LOADS of time. You can't just sit on it if you don't want to work at it, which makes sense. I guess it's hard for me to think of his stuff without having an idea. I have tons of ideas with no time.

Worst-case though, 2k on a mistake is tough to swallow but you'll understand that a course isn't the solution. It's a toolbox/methodology to help you avoid common obstacles. He's definitely wearing rose-colored glasses though.

[AnswerIs42]

I'm a little pissed off with myself.

I have a credit card, that I haven't got round to setting up a direct debit to pay it off automatically in full every month yet, so I've been paying it manually.

For November 2016, the balance on my card was Ģ1355.46. Unfortunately when I paid it off, I went all number-dyslexic and actually paid off Ģ1335.46 (Ģ20 short).

That then meant, that because my card wasn't paid off in full that month, they could charge me interest on all of my purchases. So, for the sake of being Ģ20 short, I got charged Ģ19.33 interest for the month :(

The next month, I was going home for Christmas and I had to leave before my credit card statement arrived. No problem - I can just log into the website to check my balance. I do this, and schedule a payment for Ģ317.12 to cover that month's purchases so far, and resolve not to use the credit card again in the next week or so.

Great. However, at that point I didn't know about the Ģ19.33 interest I was going to get charged from the last month. So, my payment ended up being Ģ19.33 short of paying off the card in full - so I get charged another Ģ5.72 interest the next month!

Dammit, what a waste of money. I really should set up that direct debit...

[With This Herring]

I'm a little pissed off with myself.

I have a credit card, that I haven't got round to setting up a direct debit to pay it off automatically in full every month yet, so I've been paying it manually.

For November 2016, the balance on my card was Ģ1355.46. Unfortunately when I paid it off, I went all number-dyslexic and actually paid off Ģ1335.46 (Ģ20 short).

That then meant, that because my card wasn't paid off in full that month, they could charge me interest on all of my purchases. So, for the sake of being Ģ20 short, I got charged Ģ19.33 interest for the month :(

The next month, I was going home for Christmas and I had to leave before my credit card statement arrived. No problem - I can just log into the website to check my balance. I do this, and schedule a payment for Ģ317.12 to cover that month's purchases so far, and resolve not to use the credit card again in the next week or so.

Great. However, at that point I didn't know about the Ģ19.33 interest I was going to get charged from the last month. So, my payment ended up being Ģ19.33 short of paying off the card in full - so I get charged another Ģ5.72 interest the next month!

Dammit, what a waste of money. I really should set up that direct debit...

Yes, do it!  If your credit card company reps are like mine, they will be REALLY confused that you want the card to automatically be paid in full on the due date every month, instead of just the minimum payment being made, but it is well worth the 15 minutes of convincing them this won't leave you in financial straits so that you don't have to deal with this again.

[aspiringnomad]

I switched to Geico car insurance 8 months ago and put the monthly payment on my credit card. When I spoke with the representative helping me, she just asked for my credit card for the payments. She didn't mention that there was a $5/mo fee for using a credit card. I know it's only $40, but I wouldn't have done it had I known there was an additional fee tacked on! Changed it yesterday so no more fees.

What's that new commercial? I think for cell phone service where the mom says "Oh god, we've got fees!" (like they're fleas). That's how I felt yesterday!

This is strange. Geico is my insurer, and I've been enrolled in auto payment using my credit card fee-free for a couple years now.

[ringer707]

I switched to Geico car insurance 8 months ago and put the monthly payment on my credit card. When I spoke with the representative helping me, she just asked for my credit card for the payments. She didn't mention that there was a $5/mo fee for using a credit card. I know it's only $40, but I wouldn't have done it had I known there was an additional fee tacked on! Changed it yesterday so no more fees.

What's that new commercial? I think for cell phone service where the mom says "Oh god, we've got fees!" (like they're fleas). That's how I felt yesterday!

This is strange. Geico is my insurer, and I've been enrolled in auto payment using my credit card fee-free for a couple years now.

Do you do the monthly autopay or every six months? Someone else told me there's no charge if you do it every six months. I've just always done monthly on paying for my auto insurance so I never even thought about it when setting it up that there might be fees for monthly since my last auto insurer didn't charge one.

[talltexan]

I've been shuffling some credit card balances around (left money in the market instead of paying them off, which is working out well at the moment). Those things change their MINIMUM payments all the time! I've gotten stung by one--wound up just paying the sucker off rather than enjoying that float to invest in the market--and just happened to notice another one on which I was $6 short for the month. Paid them $12 because I was so pissed off.

I've got about $9K built up on another card, which I expect to be interest free until May. I think I need to get proactive about where that balance will land now.

[AnswerIs42]

However, at that point I didn't know about the Ģ19.33 interest I was going to get charged from the last month. So, my payment ended up being Ģ19.33 short of paying off the card in full - so I get charged another Ģ5.72 interest the next month!

Dammit, what a waste of money. I really should set up that direct debit...

Yes, do it!  If your credit card company reps are like mine, they will be REALLY confused that you want the card to automatically be paid in full on the due date every month, instead of just the minimum payment being made, but it is well worth the 15 minutes of convincing them this won't leave you in financial straits so that you don't have to deal with this again.

Now done! It took me all of five minutes, and I didn't even have to speak to them - just logged into my online account and set it up. Thanks for the push :)

[With This Herring]

However, at that point I didn't know about the Ģ19.33 interest I was going to get charged from the last month. So, my payment ended up being Ģ19.33 short of paying off the card in full - so I get charged another Ģ5.72 interest the next month!

Dammit, what a waste of money. I really should set up that direct debit...

Yes, do it!  If your credit card company reps are like mine, they will be REALLY confused that you want the card to automatically be paid in full on the due date every month, instead of just the minimum payment being made, but it is well worth the 15 minutes of convincing them this won't leave you in financial straits so that you don't have to deal with this again.

Now done! It took me all of five minutes, and I didn't even have to speak to them - just logged into my online account and set it up. Thanks for the push :)

Good job!  It's really nice that you could set it up online.  I've been able to do that with every other bill, but not that credit card.

[MoonLiteNite]

My biggest, and current one is still ongoing, even though i COULD change it.
I am fully investing into all tax shelter accounts as i can, but rather than putting any overflow into tax accounts, i am choosing to pay down my house first.

Math says it is better to invest, but i want that little peace of mind :D

[aspiringnomad]

I switched to Geico car insurance 8 months ago and put the monthly payment on my credit card. When I spoke with the representative helping me, she just asked for my credit card for the payments. She didn't mention that there was a $5/mo fee for using a credit card. I know it's only $40, but I wouldn't have done it had I known there was an additional fee tacked on! Changed it yesterday so no more fees.

What's that new commercial? I think for cell phone service where the mom says "Oh god, we've got fees!" (like they're fleas). That's how I felt yesterday!

This is strange. Geico is my insurer, and I've been enrolled in auto payment using my credit card fee-free for a couple years now.

Do you do the monthly autopay or every six months? Someone else told me there's no charge if you do it every six months. I've just always done monthly on paying for my auto insurance so I never even thought about it when setting it up that there might be fees for monthly since my last auto insurer didn't charge one.

Every 6 months when I first set it up, now monthly. No fees either way.

[cookielover]

My last kid left home for college already many months ago, and I still haven't got around to sell the car they used yet. I am too lazy.  I need to get my act together and get this done soon.

[talltexan]

cookielover, if you're near Charlotte, NC, my in-laws are looking for a car. What kind is it?

[Poundwise]

Oy, I was going to post in http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/what-small-things-did-you-do-today-to-save-money   but I think this deserves to be called a money mistake.

Mr. Poundwise and I have separate credit card accounts, and up until this year I indulgently gave him the illusion of autonomy by not looking at his statements.  This resulted in a $500-$1200 hole in my budgeting monthly.  Recently, I asked for and got the password to his accounts. Nothing surprising to see in the purchases... the occasional grocery run, his Netflix subscription,  a cheap lunch at the cafeteria, some reimbursable work expenses, Christmas shopping. However, today I noticed that he had over 48,000 reward points.  As far as I can tell, he's used his points three times on car rentals for our infrequent family vacations, but I wanted to know what else they were good for, so I did some further probing.

It turns out that he has been letting between 500-1200 points expire each and every month!  Considering that he has had this card since something like 1990, can you imagine the amount of gift cards etc. we could have gotten??  Probably over $3000!!  I promptly purchased $400 worth of gift cards, still leaving him with $100 worth of points if he wishes to exercise autonomy.

^&*%%*&  money monks!!

[MountainFlower]

I forgot to tuck the gas grill back into it's corner on our deck.  The wind blew it across the deck and into the $750 DeWalt Miter saw knocking it to the ground.  Both are destroyed.  The winds are my house are wicked, close to 100 mph some nights. 

[Linea_Norway]

I forgot to tuck the gas grill back into it's corner on our deck.  The wind blew it across the deck and into the $750 DeWalt Miter saw knocking it to the ground.  Both are destroyed.  The winds are my house are wicked, close to 100 mph some nights.

Sorry for you. Everyone makes a mistake from time to time, but this was a hard punishment for a mistake.

[Poundwise]

I forgot to tuck the gas grill back into it's corner on our deck.  The wind blew it across the deck and into the $750 DeWalt Miter saw knocking it to the ground.  Both are destroyed.  The winds are my house are wicked, close to 100 mph some nights.

Sorry for you. Everyone makes a mistake from time to time, but this was a hard punishment for a mistake.

So true!  Is there no hope to fix either?

[MountainFlower]

DH thinks that the saw might be okay.  The Grill, no way.  Totally destroyed.  The good news is that it was 15 years old and end of life due to multiple deteriorating parts. 

[Poundwise]

Ouch!! You might be able to find a good used grill though. I've noticed that typically people don't want to take their grills when they move.

[Linea_Norway]

Ouch!! You might be able to find a good used grill though. I've noticed that typically people don't want to take their grills when they move.

We did bring along our grill when we moved. It was bought new, but a simple one and quite cheap. It works well.

[aprilchem]

Ugh, this one broke my heart.  Friends of my mom gave us about 30 lbs of venison roast, and my mom gave it to us when we were visiting.  When DH unpacked the van he somehow managed to unpack everything EXCEPT the bag that the venison was in, and it sat in the van long enough that it was no longer safe to use.  30 lbs of good meat wasted. :(

[VladTheImpaler]

Awww that breaks my heart too.
I actually just finished eating some venison sausage for dinner tonight. Had bits of cheddar cheese and jalepe o.
Couldn't heat it up super hot to kill all the bad stuff?

[Rocket]

A couple of years ago my checking account was drained to zero without me noticing.  The only reason I noticed was I should have had a couple of thousand in it.  Someone was writing checks all over town.  Not exactly sure how thats possible.  I was able to get most of it back by reporting the bogus checks to the bank.  All but the oldest charges to the tune of about $500.  Lesson learned, I now pay attention to every transaction that occurs, checks, credit card charges etc through personal capital.

Two oldies.  When I was in my twenties just out of college I lent two friends money, one 5k and one 2k.  Guess what? Neither made any attempt to pay me back?  How naive I was back then.  In hindsight it was a good lessen to learn. 

[acepedro45]

We contributed the max to our Flexible Spending Account in 2016. It's a use it or lose it setup. We overestimated our 2016 expenses by $1,500. We can roll forward $500 of that, but we will be making an unwitting donation to the company of the remaining $1,000!

[Poundwise]

Ouch!! You might be able to find a good used grill though. I've noticed that typically people don't want to take their grills when they move.

We did bring along our grill when we moved. It was bought new, but a simple one and quite cheap. It works well.

But you are not a typical person, Linda! You are a Mustachian. :)

I see a lot of gas grills on Craigslist.

[LAdria27]

1) 2012 I purchased $30k (the vast majority of my net worth at the time) in gold and silver. It has since dropped ~35-40% in value......I hold it to this day.

Not a mistake if you haven't sold yet and locked in the loss!


For my own mistake, I messed up while booking Xmas travel, didn't notice until 2 days before leaving and had to rebook last minute at Xmas prices. Lost about $500 sheerly through my own negligence.

Iīve also got 10 oz of gold + 300 oz of silver. Unlike you I bought it 3 months ago, and already made almost 1k$ profit. The thing is, Itīs just working as a edge if everything goes bad, thats why I will never sell my PMS. I wouldnt invest in PMS with the mentality of reselling it down the road. Also, PM stackers mentality is very frugal if you ask me. Iīd rather buy 1oz of silver than eat a fancy meal outside.

I know a lot of people who got "burn" in 2012, however itīs not a loss unless you sell it at loss.

[dodojojo]

Lost $40 in tax free transportation fares.  A few years ago, I worked for a company that gave me $125 each monthly in transportation fees.  I would go to a train station kiosk each month and the amount would transfer to my card. When I left the company, I had $600 loaded onto 2 cards. This total lasted for 4 years as I only go into my current job's office once a week.

After the $600 finished, I found out that my current company won't give me transportation money (damnit!) but they do allow me to set aside money pre-tax.  So I set up $25 to be deducted each month from my paycheck.  I had trouble loading the money onto my card though. And compounded it by putting it off and not addressing it for a couple of months.  Turns out the loading the dough process had changed since 2011.  And more importantly, they instituted a 'use it or lose it' policy.  Since I procrastinated over 2 months, I lost the money I didn't use during that period.

It's always the procrastination! 

[dodojojo]

My biggest money mistake was not investing properly after the 2009 crash.  I moved to a new job in 2008 which had gold plated benefits and 403B plans.  Being a good saver, I maxed out my annual contribution and the company matched at 6%. Being a lazy ass procrastinator, I selected cash as my investment while I worked out the time to research the investment options.  Well, I kinda took about 3 years to do the research.  Meanwhile, the market crashed in 2009 and I should have been nearly 100% in stock after the crash to buy low.  Instead my monthly contribution was going to a cash account.  It's not that I completely forgot about it, but once every blue moon, I would remember that I needed to move my investments from cash to stocks and then would...put it off.

It was only in a work meeting where the budget director talked about how the company was in good shape--due to buying shares at low prices after the crash--did it dawn on me what an idiot I had been.  That meeting took place just a few months if not weeks before I left the company.  At my next job, I invested wisely as quickly as I could but I think about the lost opportunity to buy low from 2009 to 2012 and cringe. I look at my current stash and imagine it would probably be 25-33% higher if I hadn't a been a lazy dolt.  It wasn't ignorance either, I had been a casual Boglehead for years so I have no excuse any than I'm a procrastinating fool.

[MissPiggy]

After successfully completing Dry February (no alcohol) and realising the enormous financial and health benefits, I went out this weekend and blew over $100 on drinks and to make it worse had a horrendous hangover the next day.

SO much regret.