“It cracked the mirror of my marriage and ended hers.
My wife has never really forgiven me, and I don’t blame her.”
Doing so left me with premature aging and no money I was broke and renting in my 50s.
With all the money I’d wasted, I could have owned three houses."
“Starting an affair with an ex-girlfriend.
We rationalized it by telling each other that it was ‘unfinished business,’ but it really wasn’t.
It was deceitful behavior, which both of our spouses eventually found out about.
It cracked the mirror of my marriage and ended hers.
My wife has never really forgiven me, and I don’t blame her.”
Anonymous
3.
“Getting romantically involved with a coworker.
For many people, including myself, this is a lesson you tend to learn the hard way.”
sidneykaler
4.
“At 29 years old, I married a guy with kids.
The thing is, he traveled to Europe for business several times a year.
Just as soon as his kids were old enough to stay home alone, that man divorced me.
Oh, and the ultimate slap in the face?
My stepkids quit speaking to me as soon as the divorce was final.”
“It was my fourth marriage.
I fell in love with a much younger Chinese woman.
I spent half my life savings to buy her family a home in China.
However, after a few years, she tired of me and returned to China.
The home is in her name, so there was no split with the divorce.”
Roger, 69, US
6.
“I took my chance to have children for granted.
I am now 40 with a toddler.
It’s exhausting, but I have zero regrets.”
“Not working on myself before getting into a relationship.
I was a teen mom with two kids by age 21.
After nine years, we divorced.
After that, I ended up finding my true soulmate.
He’s everything I never thought I’d find.”
Shawna, 37, Dallas
8.
“Purchasing a timeshare.
It’s like taking out a loan and never being able to pay it off.
The worst part is, though I’m unable to use it, I’m still paying for it.
No matter what is promised, just say NO!”
“I fell for a married man who’d kept telling me he was going to leave his wife.
Every year, he’d say he was leaving his wife for me.
I called the police on him and got a restraining order.
I should have dumped him six months after discovering he was married.
Oh, and he’s still married to his wife.”
Sarah
10.
“Being greedy and in a hurry to make money.
When I was in my 30s, I made and lost a $30,000 investment in another country.
Since it was so far away, I didn’t really have much control over it.
In my 40s, I made an even bigger investment mistake and lost $40,000.
I was impulsive and greedy and didn’t learn from my mistake the first time.
Making money that stays takes time and patience.
“Having a kid was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.
geow1234
12.
“Getting sort of involved with a coworker who was young enough to be my son.
Everything about him told me he’d be no good for me, but that didn’t stop me.
Now I know what it’s like to be that weak-willed woman.
I allowed that guy to hurt me.
It made me feel like a sexy cougar.
I made that mistake this year.
It seems that being nearly half a century old brings no wisdom.”
“I regret not being more involved in finances.
I just nodded in agreement during our meetings with our financial adviser.
Then, two years ago, my husband died.
At 58, I have no idea what the investment statements mean.
We have a school-age child.
I’ve had to figure out a budget and make lots of stressful financial decisions.”
“NEVER LEND MONEY!
At 67, I lent $9,500 to a so-called friend of 30 years.
He was someone I trusted, and there was even a notarized promissory note, too.
Because of that, there were no other assets to go after.
People tell me, ‘He didn’t know he was going to die.’
If that was the case, then why did he transfer the house to his brother?
The promissory note isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
“At 38, I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t trusted my intuition.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and he called me out of the blue.
I knew something wasn’t right; I could literally feel it.
Lesson learned: Don’t ignore your intuition, because there’s a reason you have it.”
16.Lastly: “Letting other people’s kids live in my home.
They were basically young adults that their own parents couldn’t handle.
In fact, they actually seem rather resentful and are simply not part of my life anymore.
There are other ways to help.”
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
