Whats been your biggest financial blunder

gadgetmind

I'm blown away by some of the sums people have lost on individual shares. I've been an equity hog for many a year but don't have any comparable war stories.

I've never thought of myself as cautious, but maybe everything is relative!

xmodz

forex, Lost quite a lot of money

racing_blue

not buying a big house in 2001
buying a big house in 2007

probably £200-£300k down due to ignorant timing

realised the mistake, took the pain, don't plan on making one again!

Glen_Clark

A common story I guess.
My biggest financial loss is through inflation caused by BoE money printing.
My biggest financial mistake is in keeping cash waiting for an asset price drop which hasn't happened.

typistretired

Not selling my Bradford & Bingley shares before the government decided they were worthless. Just hoping they don't do the same with my HBOS shares.

Perelandra

Listening to an IFA when I was working abroad, and not reading the small print and charges associated with the investment...

Cost me a lot in terms of immediate financial lost, but also in terms of confidence in investing in shares at all. I only started again 12 years later.

Glen_Clark

typistretired wrote: »

Not selling my Bradford & Bingley shares before the government decided they were worthless. Just hoping they don't do the same with my HBOS shares.

Highly unlikely they will decide HBOS shares are worthless because of the political embarrassment that would cause.
Its politically expedient to prop it up with hidden subsidies.

sabretoothtigger

The government took out bank shares not debt. They cant legally force a loss on owners of the business like that. Even Hugo Chavez RIP repaid the owners losses of those firms he took 'under his wing' to abate their evil capitalist ways, so the chances in UK are hopefully slim of them doing that.

HBOS should be fine so long as people pay mortgages, lots of mistakes but doing that amount of successful business should right many wrongs, just might take a decade

markwilkinson

Couple of recent notables for me.

Like others, the first was a car. 4 year old 3 series convertible for the wife. Owned it 9 months and cost £100's, nearly £1000's in repairs and lost £5000 in value over that 9 months - probably paid too much at the outset but it was a sunny day and the wife loved it.....

Not listening to my instinct and buying lloydstsb shares at 29p. I'd be in a happier place right now if I had.

Gong further back, not paying more into a pension. Alongside that, not keeping track of the pensions I did pay into. Hopefully thatis sorted now, but being older its costing me dearly to try and catch up.

Just_Some_Guy

Blunders:

* Buying a new car. I paid more in depreciation than in petrol, insurance, and food put together. Still have it but it is worth about a third of what I paid into it. Never, ever, again. A car needs four wheels, an engine, an AA contract and nothing else.

* Doing a postgraduate degree. I should have gotten a job straight out of uni. Probably cost me £60k in lost income and another £10k in costs I didn't know existed. But at least I have letters after my name right???