“I’m genuinely surprised at how some of these people weren’t responsible with their money.
Here are some of the most insightful stories:
1.“COVID-19.
“I dated a guy who unexpectedly inherited $6 million.
Every time I saw him, he had a new car.
He bought an extravagant house and insisted on taking these big vacations.
He would go to our local comic shop and buy EVERYTHING.
His spending was a major factor in why we broke up.
It was all too much, watching him blow through money like that.
He didn’t invest any of it.
He blew through all his money in five years.
Last I saw him on Facebook, he was destitute.”
u/moonbunnychan
3.
Divorce laid me low.
An ex-wife, a lawyer, and a judge stripped me of at least 75% of that.
And I still had to pay alimony.
I negotiated my way out of alimony by giving up more of the company and liquidating everything else.
I bought a boat and fucked off.
26 months later, I sailed back into my life and started over.
I’ve earned enough to live a modest retirement, and that’s where I am today.
Don’t get married, boys.
I’ve done it twice.
The first time was a disaster, and the second time was an annoyance.
Just my opinion and experience.”
“A family member of mine did very well in tech.
He was an incredibly smart physicist but a horrible businessman.
He retired, having made his millions, then bought a beautiful antique yacht.
10 years later, he’s in debt and has struggled to sell the boat for years.
His family is so pissed at him.
TL;DR: don’t buy a boat.”
u/thetipsykitty
5.
“I was close to being a millionaire after selling my company to a bigger competitor.
I basically bought a fantastic holiday destination facility from someone who did not own said fantastic holiday destination facility.
“My grandfather died and left everything to my mom.
Then, my father died and left everything to my mom.
Mom always thought she was a smart gambler that would win.
As proof, she won maybe $25k from the lottery once and went out and bought a car.
After that, she was hooked.
When Dad was alive, he didn’t let her gamble; he kept it under control.
After he died, my mom found a boyfriend a former bookie who was a ‘professional’ gambler.
They used to like going to casinos, squandering every penny and more.
Then, my mom sold the big house for another $500k and bought a small condo.
She took out a home improvement loan for it for $50k, but no improvements were ever made.
Casinos and lottery tickets.
A cool million or two gone.”
u/Trutherist
7.
“My dad is an ex-millionaire.
8.“Divorce.
I was a millionaire, and my divorce nearly sent me to insolvency.
I buckled down and worked my butt off and have since kept my millionaire status.
Don’t underestimate a bad divorce’s pernicious impact on net worth.”
u/Erioph47
9.
“My dad made some really shrewd stock market investments after he retired.
They were options for an oil refiner at a time when the US had a real shortage of them.
My dad had done some research on this and studied the situation carefully.
He got rich to the tune of maybe $2 million.
He could have been set for life.
Then, he’d always be rich.
Well, he’s pretty far from that now.”
“I know a guy who made a fortune during the housing boom in the 2000s.
He took all the money he made and put it all back into the real estate market.
Then, housing crashed.
He never recovered.”
u/endlessinquiry
11.
“My great-grandfather started a candy company that serviced most of Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania.
My grandfather (his son) sold the company for upwards of about $100 million.
During this time, he divorced my grandmother and married another woman with children.
“I have a relative who is a self-made millionaire many times over.
He had shipped the pot to nine different states, seven of which weed was still illegal in.”
u/SeattleSushiGirl
13.“COVID.
My parents had tons of money in stocks and lost their millionaire status due to the crash that happened.
At one point, they were losing tens of thousands in a day.
u/OnyxScorpion
14.
When his father died and my uncle took over, he didn’t care about the businesses.
He just partied and squandered everything.
Like, he bought a new luxury car and boat every week.
Every few months, he’d move into a new luxury home and buy new furniture.
Everyone in the family hates him now.
Despite being an unproductive loser, he managed to marry a bank director.
For some people, consequences just don’t seem to exist.
I mean, how can you go broke owning oil fields?
It boggles my mind.”
u/[deleted]
15.
“My parents were both smart people.
They went to the best universities and graduated with B.A.s and Masters in architecture.
It was a hit, and they became incredibly wealthy.
My parents went all out.
They had to sell everything just to cover the cost of the restaurant.
u/sushitrash69
16.
All papers were in order; no indictments came.
Regardless, most of the employees and management quit due to the investigation.
“The worst part is the DEA won’t admit that they found nothing.
They’ve left the case open indefinitely, making my dad unable to work in his field.
My dad won’t lie, so they won’t shut the case.
The government took my dad’s life’s work and savings and ruined hundreds of others' lives.
We have zero recourse.”
u/PianoToonr
17.
“My best friend was a national sales manager for a big tech company.
He made a quarter of a million a year and had a million in company stocks.
Then, the tech bubble burst.
His company froze his stocks and refused to let him sell them.
He watched them dwindle to pennies.
Then, when he was about to make a sales trip to London, he was laid off.”
“He got in his limo and asked his driver for a job.
He’s been driving limos for over a decade now.
He’s afraid that after driving limos for so long, he’ll never get another high-paying job again.
Even though he loves his job, he’s embarrassed to put ‘limo driver’ on his resume.
Although, he doesn’t want to return to a corporate job anyway.”
u/Queen_Serenity_I
18.Lastly: “My first husband made a million a year.
He was enjoying life spending frivolously, but he made enough that it didn’t matter.
We divorced amicably; there was no alimony or child support.
He just paid for whatever the kids needed.
Then, he got leukemia.
He fought like hell for three years.
The last two years were very expensive, but it was worth it.
Money won’t make you happy, but the lack of it can destroy you.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
