I started day trading during covid. Made $3,000 in the first month and thought I was the next Warren Buffett. Quit my risk management and started using my daughter's 529 college fund to place bigger bets. Over 8 months I turned $47,000 into $4,100. She starts college in 2 years. I haven't told my wife. I pick up Uber shifts at night trying to make it back.
In 2019 I had two offers. One from a startup nobody heard of, paying $110K with equity. One from a big bank paying $145K. I took the bank job because "stability." The startup was acquired 3 years later for $2.1 billion. My equity package would have been worth roughly $1.2 million. I still work at the bank. I got a 3% raise last year.
My best friend since high school wanted to open a barbecue restaurant. He had the recipes, the passion, the whole dream. I took out a $85,000 home equity loan to invest. The restaurant opened, was busy for two months, then foot traffic died. He didn't know how to manage cash flow. It closed after 9 months. I still owe $72,000 on the loan. We don't talk anymore.
We wanted a "small intimate wedding" in Santorini. Started with a $15K budget. The venue alone was $9K. Then flights for the bridal party. Then the photographer who "specializes in Greek light." Final total: $67,000. We put $31,000 on credit cards. We spent our entire first year of marriage fighting about money. We couldn't even afford a honeymoon because we had the wedding.
I had $28,000 in savings. A rapper I follow tweeted a rocket emoji next to a coin ticker. I'd never heard of the coin but I figured he must know something. I went all in within 20 minutes. The coin went up 40% in the first hour and I felt like a genius. Then it dropped 95% over the next three days. My $28,000 became $1,800. The rapper deleted his tweet.
He needed a car for his new job and his credit was bad. I cosigned a $32,000 auto loan because "we're a team." Three months later he moved to another state with someone else. He stopped making payments after month two. I'm now paying $580/month for a car I don't have, can't drive, and don't even know where it is. My credit score dropped 140 points.
I had a stable software engineering job with benefits. But I kept hearing about people making millions from podcasts. I quit, bought $4,000 worth of audio equipment, rented a small studio space, and launched "Tech Bro Confessions" (ironic, I know). After 6 months and 42 episodes, my most-downloaded episode had 23 listens. I burned through $38,000 in savings before crawling back to a job that now pays $78K.
She literally sent me the link. Said "this is the one." It was $14,200. I saved for 8 months. I planned the proposal at the restaurant where we had our first date. She said she loved me but wasn't "ready for that step." We broke up a month later. The jeweler's return policy had expired. I sold it to a pawn shop for $3,800.
I was in three Discord servers telling me to ape in. I bought pixelated animals, generative art, and something called a "meta-land parcel." I even took out a small personal loan for the last purchase because I didn't want to miss the mint. My OpenSea portfolio now shows a total value of about $120. The personal loan is still $4,800.
Everyone at my new job drove nice cars. I was driving a 2012 Civic. I convinced myself that "image matters in business" and leased a BMW 3 Series. The monthly payment was $620, insurance went up to $280/month, and premium gas was killing me. Nobody at work ever said a single word about my car. Not once. I was spending 40% of my take-home on a car to impress people who take the elevator to the parking garage.
Ran into my ex at a nightclub. She was with some dude. My ego couldn't handle it so I ordered bottle service for my table. Then I ordered another round because she looked over. Then I ordered a THIRD round because I wanted to seem like I was having the time of my life. I spent $4,200 in one night to impress someone who wasn't even watching. My friends had a great time though.
Found this guy on Instagram showing his Lamborghini and Dubai lifestyle. He was selling a "forex mentorship" for $8,500. I paid it. The mentorship was a Telegram group where he posted signals that were wrong 70% of the time. When I asked for a refund he blocked me. I later found out the Lambo was rented and he lives with his parents.
Watched 20 YouTube videos and thought "how hard can it be?" Ripped out the old tile on a Friday night. By Sunday I had no functioning bathroom and exposed pipes I didn't understand. Over the next 7 months I made it worse at every step. Cracked the toilet trying to reinstall it. Put the shower valve in backwards. Eventually hired a plumber who charged me $8,500 to fix everything I'd done. The original quote from a contractor was $4,200.
Met a woman on a dating app. She was beautiful, funny, and seemed genuinely into me. After two months of constant texting and video calls (that always had "bad connection"), she said she was in trouble overseas and needed help. I sent $3,000. Then there was a hospital bill. Then a flight home. Then customs fees. I sent money five separate times before a friend told me to reverse image search her profile photo. It was a stock photo.
Just moved into my first real apartment after college. Wanted it to look like an adult lives here. Went to Restoration Hardware and bought a cloud sofa ($4,800), a dining table I eat at alone ($2,200), and bedding that costs more than my first car ($1,400). Total came to about $14,000. I financed it at 29.99% APR because I didn't read the terms. I'll be paying for this furniture until it's out of style.
My girlfriend and I were doing great. We were going to get fit together. I bought two Peloton bikes plus the all-access family membership. Total cost: $5,800. Six days later she told me she'd been thinking about this for a while and she wasn't happy. She moved out. I now have two Peloton bikes in a one-bedroom apartment and I hate cycling.
I was going to save money by building my own deck. Bought all the lumber, rented tools, spent every weekend for two months on it. Failed the city inspection the first time for improper footings. Fixed it. Failed again for railing height. Fixed it. Failed a third time because the structural calculations were wrong. The inspector said it needed to be torn down. I paid $3,200 to demolish something I spent $7,800 building.
Everyone told me an MBA would open doors. I went to a mid-tier business school, took out loans, sacrificed two years of income, and graduated with honors. Applied to 200+ jobs. Got zero callbacks that mentioned the MBA as a factor. I'm now doing the exact same marketing job I had before, just with $22,000 more debt and two years less experience.
The Instagram ad showed infinity pools, organic meals, and "transformative healing sessions." What I got was a tent in the woods, lentil soup three times a day, and a guy named River who led 5am breathing exercises. The WiFi didn't work. The "luxury amenities" were a shared outdoor shower. I spent $3,200 to be cold, hungry, and spiritually unchanged.
It was a Tuesday night, I couldn't sleep, and I was three episodes deep into a backyard makeover marathon. Before I knew it I was on some website configuring a 6-person spa with LED lighting and a built-in Bluetooth speaker. I even paid for white-glove delivery. The hot tub arrived two weeks later. My apartment has a balcony that's 4 feet wide. The hot tub is sitting in a storage unit now and I'm paying $180/month to keep it dry. I've never used it once.
My mom called me panicking because her computer had a popup saying it was infected and to call Microsoft immediately. I called the number for her and the guy sounded legit. He asked for remote access, found "viruses" everywhere, and said the fix was $6,000 for a "lifetime protection plan." I paid with my debit card while he was on the phone. Bank couldn't reverse it.
Signed up for some productivity app that promised to "10x my workflow." Did the 7-day trial, didn't like it, forgot to cancel. It was $49/month. I didn't notice for 24 months because I never check my credit card statements (another problem). That's $1,176 for an app I opened exactly once on the day I signed up.
I joined a CrossFit box ($185/month), a regular gym ($50/month), and a yoga studio ($120/month) because I thought having options would motivate me. Paid for all three for 14 months before I finally canceled. Total damage: $4,970. I went a combined total of maybe 12 times across all three. I could have hired a personal trainer for that money.
This wellness influencer was selling a "total body optimization stack" -- 8 different supplements you take daily. She said it changed her life. I bought a 2-year supply because it was "cheaper in bulk." Total: $2,400. I took them religiously for 3 weeks. They made me nauseous. My doctor said most of them were either useless or things I was already getting from food. Two shipping boxes of pills are now expiring in my closet.
Saw a YouTube video of someone flying a drone over mountains and thought "I need this in my life." Ordered a DJI Mini 4 Pro with every accessory. It arrived, I charged it, took it to a park, realized I had no idea how to fly it, almost crashed it into a tree, got anxious, packed it up, and it's been in the box since. That was 8 months ago.
Got a $3,200 tax refund and told myself I'd put it in savings. Then I walked past a sneaker store on Saturday morning and saw they had limited edition Jordans. Bought two pairs. Then I went to another store. Then I started looking online. By Sunday night the refund was gone. I now own 11 pairs of shoes I don't wear because I'm afraid of creasing them. They sit in boxes in my closet.
It started with one $65 parking ticket I forgot to pay. Then another. Then I figured I'd deal with them "later." Later turned into 11 months and 8 tickets. The city eventually booted my car and I had to pay $2,340 in fines plus a $250 boot removal fee to get my own car back. I could have parked in a garage for $150/month this whole time.