Best financial decision you have made? Worst?

ashleyjesse1112 · February 2014

Best:

Inexpensive wedding! It was a beautiful wedding, but I spent a LOT of time researching and doing my own thing. It cost $4,500 without the rings and honeymoon. We got about $3,700 in help from family. That was such a blessing. We paid cash for everything and that felt nice. We know another couple who financed their wedding, got pregnant right away and financed their "babymoon." They are now going through a lot of problems. [-( Just so glad that's not us!
Living with my mother-in-law right now. We all rent a house, and I don't enjoy it really because I want us to have our own place. However, it's SO beneficial for us right now. We are able to save around 50% of our net income each month for our future house.

Worst:

I decided to get student loans while I was in college. I just wish I would have done community college for the first 2 years and then transferred. It would have helped my gpa too! Now I am trying to pay off these darn loans - at least there is only 10k left to pay.

Xstatic3333 · February 2014

I don't think ever answered this one!

1. Best: Starting a Roth IRA young, ignoring it during the crash, and adding to it regularly before going back to school.

2. Worst: Running up $8,000 in CC debt while in school even though I had plenty of money in the bank to pay it off at any time. Yes, it's crazy. I was stubbornly saving that money to use for a house DP, and it was only joining this board once it was down to $4,000 and reading about getting debt free that I finally decided to give up on that dream.

hoffse · February 2014

Xstatic3333 said:

I don't think ever answered this one! 1. Best: Starting a Roth IRA young, ignoring it during the crash, and adding to it regularly before going back to school. 2. Worst: Running up $8,000 in CC debt while in school even though I had plenty of money in the bank to pay it off at any time. Yes, it's crazy. I was stubbornly saving that money to use for a house DP, and it was only joining this board once it was down to $4,000 and reading about getting debt free that I finally decided to give up on that dream.

Gah how could I have forgotten about the Roth IRA? That probably was the best thing ever now that I'm thinking about it. Though I can't claim the credit for it. My parents opened the Roth for me when I was about 8 and matched my earnings each year - babysitting, selling lemonade, whatever - they contributed the same amount that I earned to my Roth annually.

And then I graduated high school and they revealed that they had been funding this account for me all those years. I started college with about $12,000 in it, and they turned the reigns over to me to start learning how to invest with it. I didn't make any contributions in college or law school, but I did learn a lot from having control over it during those 7 years (with parental advice of course). I learned about different investment vehicles, risk, how to read a morningstar report to evaluate funds, etc. I also watched my balance grow (a lot), crash, and then come roaring back. All of that happened before I got my first real world job, so when I could finally afford to make my own contributions the process didn't intimidate me at all. And I learned incredibly valuable lessons about staying in the market.

I'm determined to pay it forward and do the same thing for our kids someday.

parcoeliz · February 2014

Best: always paying more than the minimum on my credit cards. One card is totally paid off as of last month, and after putting 11K on the other in April, it's already down to $3,000!
Another "best" was DH and I putting away $25/week each for a year and a half into our savings account and putting in yard sale money, tax returns, misc money, we had well over $5K to use for our honeymoon which covered everything!

Worst: spending too much on certain wedding things ($900 on a shitty photo booth is just one of the things)
And...buying a new car when my trusty ten year old Toyota probably had another 10 years on it! Hoping to drive my new car into the ground.

bingbongsmama · February 2014

Best: buying our house when we did. Housing in our area drastically increased within a few months as did interest rates.

Worst: getting my first degree in a field I have no interest in. I will be paying off those loans for years to come

smbenevides1989 · February 2014

hoffse said:

Xstatic3333 said:

I don't think ever answered this one! 1. Best: Starting a Roth IRA young, ignoring it during the crash, and adding to it regularly before going back to school. 2. Worst: Running up $8,000 in CC debt while in school even though I had plenty of money in the bank to pay it off at any time. Yes, it's crazy. I was stubbornly saving that money to use for a house DP, and it was only joining this board once it was down to $4,000 and reading about getting debt free that I finally decided to give up on that dream.

Gah how could I have forgotten about the Roth IRA? That probably was the best thing ever now that I'm thinking about it. Though I can't claim the credit for it. My parents opened the Roth for me when I was about 8 and matched my earnings each year - babysitting, selling lemonade, whatever - they contributed the same amount that I earned to my Roth annually.

And then I graduated high school and they revealed that they had been funding this account for me all those years. I started college with about $12,000 in it, and they turned the reigns over to me to start learning how to invest with it. I didn't make any contributions in college or law school, but I did learn a lot from having control over it during those 7 years (with parental advice of course). I learned about different investment vehicles, risk, how to read a morningstar report to evaluate funds, etc. I also watched my balance grow (a lot), crash, and then come roaring back. All of that happened before I got my first real world job, so when I could finally afford to make my own contributions the process didn't intimidate me at all. And I learned incredibly valuable lessons about staying in the market.

I'm determined to pay it forward and do the same thing for our kids someday.

You just gave me a great idea. I never thought about doing this for my kids. As soon as I can start and fully fund mine and H's, this will be a great option.

SmrBrd2012 · February 2014

Hmm..I never answered this one either...

Worst: Taking out student loans for college. It honestly wasn't THAT much debt though because I received quite a bit of aid and chose the school that gave me the most. I had ~25k of loans post-graduation. I wonder if it could've been a lot less if I went to a state school though. Now we have to work on H's.

Best: Understanding from the beginning that paying interest on things I can just pay cash for makes no sense. I have had credit cards but I always pay them off at the end of the month. I also paid off all my SL within 5 years of graduating and paid cash for our semi-low key wedding.

hoffse · February 2014

smbenevides1989 said:

hoffse said:

Xstatic3333 said:

I don't think ever answered this one! 1. Best: Starting a Roth IRA young, ignoring it during the crash, and adding to it regularly before going back to school. 2. Worst: Running up $8,000 in CC debt while in school even though I had plenty of money in the bank to pay it off at any time. Yes, it's crazy. I was stubbornly saving that money to use for a house DP, and it was only joining this board once it was down to $4,000 and reading about getting debt free that I finally decided to give up on that dream.

Gah how could I have forgotten about the Roth IRA? That probably was the best thing ever now that I'm thinking about it. Though I can't claim the credit for it. My parents opened the Roth for me when I was about 8 and matched my earnings each year - babysitting, selling lemonade, whatever - they contributed the same amount that I earned to my Roth annually.

And then I graduated high school and they revealed that they had been funding this account for me all those years. I started college with about $12,000 in it, and they turned the reigns over to me to start learning how to invest with it. I didn't make any contributions in college or law school, but I did learn a lot from having control over it during those 7 years (with parental advice of course). I learned about different investment vehicles, risk, how to read a morningstar report to evaluate funds, etc. I also watched my balance grow (a lot), crash, and then come roaring back. All of that happened before I got my first real world job, so when I could finally afford to make my own contributions the process didn't intimidate me at all. And I learned incredibly valuable lessons about staying in the market.

I'm determined to pay it forward and do the same thing for our kids someday.

You just gave me a great idea. I never thought about doing this for my kids. As soon as I can start and fully fund mine and H's, this will be a great option.

Yep you can fund it up to $5500 or the max earnings for the year, whichever is less. I'm sure some years they just put in a couple hundred bucks (if that) since that's what I earned babysitting, etc., but it sure did add up and grow over time.

luckybabydoll · June 2014

My best financial decision is that I bought a house in 2012. And now the price has been rised from 5million to 10million. And my husband are going to purchase the second house today

DandelionAZO · June 2014

Best: Following Dave Ramsey

Worst: Buying a house and a new car before we followed Dave Ramsey

CuriousKiddosMama · June 2014

@luckybabydoll We try not to bump old posts because half the time those people aren't here any more. In this case- this is probably still a relevant post because most of us are still here, and it's great for newbies since then, but we try to just comment on stuff from this year!

KatieCutie05 · June 2014

Best: To actually learn from my mistakes and get on a budget... paying off and cutting up the credit card. Before DR only thing i can think of is paying off my credit cards as soon as i got my real job.. unfortunately i stopped there, didn't stop borrowing after that and didn't carry it onto the student loans. oy.

Worst: Going away to college, going to my "dream" private college and dropping out after one semester, borrowing every dime i possibly needed and then some to finish college and then ignored the debt for 5+ years until it ballooned to 110k with interest...... Buying a house too far away in the sticks with a 0% down loan cus now we're stuck here until we pay enough off to break even and i just want to MOVE!..... Buying a brand new SUV that gets horrible gas mileage on a 6 year loan... and i'm sure i could go on.

BlinkMe182 · July 2014

Best: Getting rid of and not using CC's... I did some stupid credit card choices at 18 and I've been paying for it ever since. we now live CC free. NEVER opening another one!

Worst: Buying our house. I regret it all the time. we have been on the verge of walking away several times, but pride keeps us there- We don't want to be "those" people- who give up.. so we stay. I know deep down it is a big reason behind so many of our issue.

uncreatedsnow · July 2014

Best: Finding out I might lose my job, FREAKING out and asking a friend for help to make a budget I actually stuck to!

Worst: Spending my Financial Aid Refund Checks like candy while in college. Some of it I needed for living expenses. Most I should have just put back onto my loans, but seeing that you are going to owe tens of thousands of dollars when you get out of college you get kind of numb to the numbers. I wish I would have paid more attention so I wouldn't have to pay so much now!

heygirlitsme · July 2014

I had an experience maybe 8 years ago and was awarded a settlement as the result of a personal injury. For a few years I couldn't work but later went back. Since then I've slowly been sliding further into debt and was needed to make the decision about whether to sell my settlement payments. Everyone told me what a fool I was for selling at less than the value of the settlement. I was really depressed for a short time but then found out that no one gets the full value. They call it a discounted rate and won't get into it here. Anyway, what seemed like one of the worst decisions I could have made actually turned out to be the best one. I'm now happy to say everything is coming up roses and looking great. I even got engaged 4 months ago! After getting rid of my settlement I took care of my debt, made a down payment on a comfortable condo and have money in the bank for the first time in my life. I allowed myself one sort of crazy purchase and got a gucci bag but the rest I was smart with and very cautious. First the first time in my life I feel like I'm ahead.

Sisugal · July 2014

Worst - getting rid of my first car too soon (under 5 years old with low mileage - dumb, dumb dumb!) We replace that good vehicle with a VW that was nothing but a money suck of repairs, repairs, repairs.
Best - paying off mortgage (was before the super low interest rates of past few years) and investing the $$ we had been paying on the mortgage

stokesm21 · July 2014

Worst: Taking out a loan for college. My tuition and books were paid for but I really wanted to focus on school and not have to work. DH worked and I got OSAP to help out with living expenses. We did not spend it on any stupid stuff and in fact it helped at one point when my DH (then fiance) had a stroke and was in the hospital for 2 months. However, it is 4 years later and I'm still paying it off. 4 years might be a short period of time for some but I am just so sick and tired of it hanging over my head. Diploma got me no where and currently I am unemployed with my last job having nothing to do with my diploma. (Did that sentence even make sense? LOL!)

Best: Well, we had $2300 of just random savings in the bank recently, preferably to go towards a DP on a house. One day DH and I made the decision to just drop it all on my student loan. 2 weeks later, I lost my job. #fml However, we have and still are managing to get by. Losing my job also gave me access to the money I had in my work Profit Sharing Plan (about $8000). We went back and forth from paying off debts, to buying a house, to saving it for our first year with baby if we started TTC. We also considered just keeping it in the bank to help with bills while I am unemployed but in the end we decided to pay off debts. We do okay on DH's income and by the end of this week I will be car payment free. That will put more money in our budget each month plus we will be putting the remaining balance of the lump sum (after paying off the car), on my student loan. If Murphy doesn't come to visit me again any time soon (lol) I will be student-loan free in 6 months as well.

l9i · August 2014

Best: Choosing the go to college where my parents worked (hello free tuition) despite hating that I wasn't leaving town on my own adventure like most my other friends. I ended up loving the school and my decision. Now when all my peers are paying off hefty student loans I've been able to purchase a home much sooner than otherwise. While H has student loans they are managable and we are in a great financial position for our age group.

Worst: Having a big wedding. It was fun and wonderful but in the long run not worth it. Looking back, both H and I have said we would have choosen differently. And, money wise, the money could've gone to pay on student loans or a bigger down payment on the house.

Fingerscrossed14 · November 2014

Best: Deciding to pay off my SL debt in 15 years over 30. Also, refusing to finance anything except a house. Anything else I have saved and bought.

Worst: Choosing to go to an out of state school and borrowing everything (tuition, housing, dining) from studen loans causing the above mentioned debt.

Best financial decision you have made? Worst?

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