What's the biggest financial mistake you've ever made?

[Renampun]

What's the biggest financial mistake you've ever made, and what lesson did it teach you?

I've had some financial mistakes so far, but the most regretful thing for me is taking vehicle installments and then getting into debt because of that even when the vehicle was paid off a long time ago. it was very unlucky I think because I shouldn't credit the vehicle because as a result I had to sell some of my Bitcoins when the price was so cheap and also get caught up in installments and fines which if added up were not equivalent to the price of the vehicle. so from this experience I learned that it's best if you want to credit the vehicle think again about it over and over again, because it is possible that this decision will bring you to a financial situation that is much more difficult than expected.

[barbara44]

The biggest financial mistake I've done is not trusting bitcoin at first, that made me miss the biggest opportunity that bitcoin has offered, I could have bought bitcoin when its still $1 in value and be able to build riches by now if only I have grab that opportunity.

However, I don't dwell so much on that because with bitcoin, there are no room for regrets. Everyday is a good opportunity to invest or DCA with bitcoin. Just invest on what you can afford to lose. Bitcoin is still a high-risk asset.

I think this is one of those regrets we all have but at the same time, I won't call it a mistake necessarily. Yeah, just buying $500 worth of Bitcoins would have achieved us financial freedom and secured a chill life, but what can one really do? It's not like we missed an obvious opportunity, so I don't feel that bad about it. It was a new concept and I'm sure even Satoshi wouldn't have anticipated or envisioned such a revolution

For me, the biggest financial mistake was doing a job for so long and getting stuck with something that was only enough to pay the bills. I wasted golden years where I could have run a successful business, moved towards trading as a full-time thing, or really something else that would pay over time. The job paid well, but as I left it, I had to restart from zero.

[justdimin]

At times there are somethings we do claiming it is the best without knowing that could be the beginning of once downfall. Honestly speaking one of the worst experiences I had was going into farming without proper knowledge about it, I choosed farming as a option because I saw my friends and relatives making life profit from there without knowing there are series of steps i must take to come out successful on the process. But my greatest lesson is never to do something because others are doing it because i received the highest lesson of my life

That is actually a good lesson, one I wish I had learned too .

I jumped into a local business because someone else was doing very well, and I thought I could easily capture some of their market share. I invested a lot of money, and I don't think I had even recovered it fully by the time I closed the business.

The problem with getting into a business just because someone else is succeeding at it is that we don't know the details of how it actually operates. We get lured in by the profits they appear to be making, without understanding the challenges behind the scenes.

But the biggest mistake in terms of finances was when I lost a heck of a lot of money into crypo trading. It was new and on the rise, so I put in a good amount and lost it pretty quickly. That one still hurts because if I had just held that amount, I would be rich now.

[Primark]

The problem is not that you bought during the bull run, but your problem was in your planning. Some people think that if the price is going up, then buy now and sell it later for a profit. Many people have suffered losses due to this idea. Because the Bitcoin market never works as expected. If you think of buying and selling for a profit when the price is going up today, that profit may not come, but the market may go further down. That is why new investors are always advised to plan for the long term. Because Bitcoin is strong in the long term, but in the short term, it can often cause you huge losses.

[bakasabo]

Financial mistake that everyone made and are making all the time - not using their money. People dont see difference between saving, economizing and holding money. So many people lose money during their whole life due to inflation. They have a false understanding, that if they had for example $10k today, then when they retire (which will happen in 10-20 years) they will still have $10k. Combination of greed, fear of losing/spending money and lack of financial education is deadly.

[Fortify]

As for me, one of my biggest financial mistakes was not having an exit strategy. I bought Bitcoin during a bull market and watched my investment grow far beyond what I initially expected. Instead of taking some profits along the way, I kept holding because I believed the price would continue rising. Then the market turned. Bitcoin fell sharply, and fear took over. Rather than sticking to a plan, I sold after a major drop and locked in a significant loss. Months later, the market recovered and continued climbing, but I was already out.

I learned that investing without a clear strategy can be just as dangerous as not investing at all. Greed kept me from taking profits, and fear pushed me to sell at the wrong time.

Looking at how the market is dropping lately, it kind of reminded me of this.

What's the biggest financial mistake you've ever made, and what lesson did it teach you?

There is no point dwelling on mistakes and it can actually be bad for your mental health if you keep thinking about them. You should definitely try to learn and keep improving at all times, but people sometimes fret about money too much, but it's even more prevalent when you don't have much. The biggest mistakes I've made were probably holding off from buying a house earlier, because the prices would have been cheaper and it would have appreciated more since that time. Secondly it would be related to crypto - I had a lot of physical coins around 2015 that were sold too earlier and could possibly have seen greater gains if I'd had more patience. Ultimately they still made a nice profit and I'm happy with the outcome.

[Umulala-alala]

As for me, one of my biggest financial mistakes was not having an exit strategy. I bought Bitcoin during a bull market and watched my investment grow far beyond what I initially expected. Instead of taking some profits along the way, I kept holding because I believed the price would continue rising. Then the market turned. Bitcoin fell sharply, and fear took over. Rather than sticking to a plan, I sold after a major drop and locked in a significant loss. Months later, the market recovered and continued climbing, but I was already out.

I learned that investing without a clear strategy can be just as dangerous as not investing at all. Greed kept me from taking profits, and fear pushed me to sell at the wrong time.

Looking at how the market is dropping lately, it kind of reminded me of this.

What's the biggest financial mistake you've ever made, and what lesson did it teach you?

Fear an inpatient made you to sell when you are still supposed to be holding your BTC maybe I will say you entered the market with the hope of buying and selling when the price increase to make some small gain or profit, bitcoin has been a volatile asset which means it will drop and also go up so selling when off when you haven't reached your goal was actually a big financial mistake made by you and instead of holding the remaining so you can still have some bitcoin with you, you sold off all and become a no coiner.

[Junii]

What's the biggest financial mistake you've ever made, and what lesson did it teach you?

The mistake you did is normal in the financial market this happens to many peoples this is called fear  . No doubt exit strategy is necessary but the one thing that i believe is better then the exit strategy is proper mindset. In 2018 i bought bitcoin at 11k and in the end of 2018 i sell it around 5k . At that time i was less experienced and due to fear i sell it but what i learn from it is that ups and downs are a part of the financial market and that is how the financial market works. Another point is that market rewards those who has patience. If any beginner reading my reply if you want to develop a proper mindset and want to act and think  like a trader my suggestion would be start reading a book with a name of trading in the zone by mark douglas it will help you a lot because financial decision is more about psychology.

[SquallLeonhart]

The problem is not that you bought during the bull run, but your problem was in your planning. Some people think that if the price is going up, then buy now and sell it later for a profit. Many people have suffered losses due to this idea. Because the Bitcoin market never works as expected. If you think of buying and selling for a profit when the price is going up today, that profit may not come, but the market may go further down. That is why new investors are always advised to plan for the long term. Because Bitcoin is strong in the long term, but in the short term, it can often cause you huge losses.

There is no loss if you don't sell at a loss. Someone buying Bitcoin when the market is going up should understand that if the market starts going down from there, they might not get their desired profits within the period they are expecting, but if they keep holding, they will eventually get their profits.

This is why it's important for the one taking the step to know whether they are doing it for the short-term or long-term, because if you are doing it for short-term, then you should plan your purchases more carefully since the market is unpredictable, but if it's for the long run, then there should be no problems, especially if they are confident that they can add more if the market goes down.

Remember, there are people who buy at the top, like in this cycle, when Bitcoin reached $126k, people were still buying, which is why others were able to sell, and now they are all probably holding and waiting until the price goes up to $126k and above and then their investments will turn profitable, and they will, because we have seen this happen in every cycle. Those who bought at $67k in the previous bull run managed to get their returns in this bull run, but only if they kept holding, which is what's important. So, as long as you don't sell, you don't lose.

[Obulis]

As for me, one of my biggest financial mistakes was not having an exit strategy. I bought Bitcoin during a bull market and watched my investment grow far beyond what I initially expected. Instead of taking some profits along the way, I kept holding because I believed the price would continue rising. Then the market turned. Bitcoin fell sharply, and fear took over. Rather than sticking to a plan, I sold after a major drop and locked in a significant loss. Months later, the market recovered and continued climbing, but I was already out.

I learned that investing without a clear strategy can be just as dangerous as not investing at all. Greed kept me from taking profits, and fear pushed me to sell at the wrong time.

Looking at how the market is dropping lately, it kind of reminded me of this.

What's the biggest financial mistake you've ever made, and what lesson did it teach you?

You sounded like a trader in the first place and what you experienced is what usually happens to traders. For you, you think you should have cashed out when there was significant quick gains but waiting for more significant quick gains lead to your decision which you call a mistake. A holistic view on your experience one can say that you were waiting for a quick gain and what followed is usually the case of waiting for quick gains.
Just asking
When you saw a serious increase you tried to withdraw, right?
And
Waiting longer didn't mean you decide to hold for a long term?

Well, my biggest financial mistake is not investing in Bitcoin say at least ten years ago.

[blockman]

Some people think that if the price is going up, then buy now and sell it later for a profit.

Not that some but actually many people think that this is going to work for them. They'll wait for the next bull run and when they see the signs, that's the right time for them to buy which is what they believe is correct. But IMHO, that's wrong after seeing the past years and past bull runs and bear markets. The good time to buy is during the time when everyone fears of buying it and that's during the bearish time. It encompasses the thought that they're better than DCAing during the bear market. We know what's better, and that's a financial mistake for thinking about this. As for mine biggest financial mistake was to fall for some scams long time ago and a couple of times related to crypto and as well as pre-crypto time of mine.

[kawetsriyanto]

As for me, one of my biggest financial mistakes was not having an exit strategy. I bought Bitcoin during a bull market and watched my investment grow far beyond what I initially expected. Instead of taking some profits along the way, I kept holding because I believed the price would continue rising. Then the market turned. Bitcoin fell sharply, and fear took over. Rather than sticking to a plan, I sold after a major drop and locked in a significant loss.

It is surprising, you invest in Bitcoin but you have no profit target. Usually, people buy Bitcoin after they know the exit plan (profit target). Also, most people buy Bitcoin when it is bearish season. When it is in bullish season, people will rarely buy Bitcoin (even stop buying Bitcoin). People will focus on monitoring the Bitcoin price and will take profits immediately once it reaches the profit target. You do it in an opposite direction, so it makes sense if you end up with losses.

I learned that investing without a clear strategy can be just as dangerous as not investing at all. Greed kept me from taking profits, and fear pushed me to sell at the wrong time.

You do it like playing gambling, it isn't a proper way in investment. Next time, you need to understand how to invest in a proper way firstly before you start your Bitcoin investment again. Don't repeat the same mistake!!

What's the biggest financial mistake you've ever made, and what lesson did it teach you?

In the past, I trusted too much on some new coins. Instead of earning money, I lost all my money in those new coins. Now, I stay away from the new coins. The lesson I got from the experience that I don't need to trust any new coins. 

[Wind_FURY]

Financial mistake that everyone made and are making all the time - not using their money. People dont see difference between saving, economizing and holding money. So many people lose money during their whole life due to inflation. They have a false understanding, that if they had for example $10k today, then when they retire (which will happen in 10-20 years) they will still have $10k. Combination of greed, fear of losing/spending money and lack of financial education is deadly.

That's a debate for another topic, although it's not what OP was asking for, you're right. That's why as Bitcoiners, we should always be here to remind each other that we should HODL some of our savings in only Bitcoin, NOT shitcoins. There are many people in this topic, including me, who thought that investing in shitcoins would give better LONG-TERM returns than Bitcoin.

It probably did for SOME plebs, but the majority or MORE than the majority?

  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Die_empty]

That's a debate for another topic, although it's not what OP was asking for, you're right. That's why as Bitcoiners, we should always be here to remind each other that we should HODL some of our savings in only Bitcoin, NOT shitcoins. There are many people in this topic, including me, who thought that investing in shitcoins would give better LONG-TERM returns than Bitcoin.

It probably did for SOME plebs, but the majority or MORE than the majority?

  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In my observation, both on the forum and outside is that people's financial mistake is investing in altcoins. But the issue now is that they are still making the mistake of buying shitcoins as a long-term investment. Their excuse is that Bitcoin is expensive, so they want to buy shitcoins that they assume are cheap.

I was fortunate not to make that mistake because of the information I got from the forum. I knew about cryptocurrencies, but never got involved because of my perception that it was filled with scam projects. The forum introduced me to Bitcoin, and I have never gotten involved in any other crypto project. The truth is, I have never regretted keeping Bitcoin because it has proved to be a good financial decision.

[Wind_FURY]

That's a debate for another topic, although it's not what OP was asking for, you're right. That's why as Bitcoiners, we should always be here to remind each other that we should HODL some of our savings in only Bitcoin, NOT shitcoins. There are many people in this topic, including me, who thought that investing in shitcoins would give better LONG-TERM returns than Bitcoin.

It probably did for SOME plebs, but the majority or MORE than the majority?

  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In my observation, both on the forum and outside is that people's financial mistake is investing in altcoins. But the issue now is that they are still making the mistake of buying shitcoins as a long-term investment. Their excuse is that Bitcoin is expensive, so they want to buy shitcoins that they assume are cheap.

 
Although they're right that Bitcoin is "relatively" more expensive, but WHAT actually holds long-term value? Plus what network/blockchain will continue to exist for DECADES?

I was fortunate not to make that mistake because of the information I got from the forum. I knew about cryptocurrencies, but never got involved because of my perception that it was filled with scam projects. The forum introduced me to Bitcoin, and I have never gotten involved in any other crypto project. The truth is, I have never regretted keeping Bitcoin because it has proved to be a good financial decision.

  👍

I was also fortunate enough to learn from my mistakes EARLY, sold ALL my shitcoins, then bought only Bitcoin during 2019.

[Furious 7]

It's likely that everyone has made financial mistakes that they've been guilty of, which makes them think that they've made financial mistakes and need to fix them. One of the things that I think about is financial mistakes such as spending money very easily without considering it first, this can be seen from today's children, Gen-Z. They tend to spend money easily without considering it first, as long as the things they will do can make them happy then they dare to spend money easily.

One of them is from most of the current cases that occur in my neighborhood, many young people are dying to do things that are not supposed to get what they want, such as the latest cellphone. Not a few of them force themselves to have the latest cellphone by borrowing money or making purchases in installments, because to buy it directly they are not quite able to although there are some who consistently save from their income and buy what they want.

When talking about bitcoin I think most will also remain the same when initially doubts arise due to lack of understanding and are still quite unfamiliar making us make mistakes but in this case experience can be the best teacher we can have so that over time those who originally did not believe in bitcoin even when they were already in bitcoin they will definitely feel a change in mindset about bitcoin and that I have experienced.

[DiMarxist]

Some people think that if the price is going up, then buy now and sell it later for a profit.

Not that some but actually many people think that this is going to work for them. They'll wait for the next bull run and when they see the signs, that's the right time for them to buy which is what they believe is correct. But IMHO, that's wrong after seeing the past years and past bull runs and bear markets. The good time to buy is during the time when everyone fears of buying it and that's during the bearish time. It encompasses the thought that they're better than DCAing during the bear market. We know what's better, and that's a financial mistake for thinking about this. As for mine biggest financial mistake was to fall for some scams long time ago and a couple of times related to crypto and as well as pre-crypto time of mine.

Bear season is a time when any investor who truly understand how Bitcoin accumulation works to buy and hold. This is because during dip there's more of people selling when compared to those who are buying, this makes the price to drop causing fear among investors. So any investor is futuristic will buy in the bear market at a lower rate which afford the investor with the probability of acquiring more Bitcoin due to a drop in price.

[leonair]

I would say your biggest mistake from what I can tell is fear
You chose to sell at a way lower price
Which showed that you invested without even understanding what you investing on
I have been there before
Hence why I promised myself that even if I don't sell at peak I would never sell at loss
I would never make myself a nocoiner.

This is a common problem, in fact, those who have not made such mistakes never understand them. Those who initially invest in Bitcoin, when they see the price of Bitcoin falling, think that they are probably going to make a big loss and they need to protect this loss. And with this kind of thinking, they sell Bitcoin or any other coin they invest in at a loss. I think you yourself have made such mistakes and you have learned from there, but those who invest for the first time do not understand these things that if they sell at a loss, it is harmful for them. But if they hold, it will recover again. These things happened to me in the beginning, but now I myself regret those previous things when I think about them.

[Versatile_choice]

Just as we usually say don't use money you will be needing any time soon, invest from your discretionary income, make provisions for emergency funds, these are part of the approach that will always help in keeping calm whenever the market is dropping, selling at lost must have come with a great fear and of course the money is something you can't afford to lose, majority will never sell at lost no matter what because even if they lost the money they invested it will not affect their normal ways of life, let's have it that every mistake should be a lesson.

Some investors don't apply this rule while investing in bitcoin that is why they usually end up selling their Investment when emergency need arises, the reason why it is advised to invest from our discretionary funds is so that the pressure will be low when the market is not going as expected since it is a Left over money. But when you invest with the money that is meant for your basic necessities, you mind will not be at rest especially when there's a dip. Because at that point you will be thinking about how you're going to sort yourself out since your investment is not going as planned, and the only thing that will come out from your mind that very moment is to sell your holdings without minding if you're in profit or at lost.

[blockman]

Some people think that if the price is going up, then buy now and sell it later for a profit.

Not that some but actually many people think that this is going to work for them. They'll wait for the next bull run and when they see the signs, that's the right time for them to buy which is what they believe is correct. But IMHO, that's wrong after seeing the past years and past bull runs and bear markets. The good time to buy is during the time when everyone fears of buying it and that's during the bearish time. It encompasses the thought that they're better than DCAing during the bear market. We know what's better, and that's a financial mistake for thinking about this. As for mine biggest financial mistake was to fall for some scams long time ago and a couple of times related to crypto and as well as pre-crypto time of mine.

Bear season is a time when any investor who truly understand how Bitcoin accumulation works to buy and hold. This is because during dip there's more of people selling when compared to those who are buying, this makes the price to drop causing fear among investors. So any investor is futuristic will buy in the bear market at a lower rate which afford the investor with the probability of acquiring more Bitcoin due to a drop in price.

Those who are selling at this point are bad investors and maybe first timers, they don't see the importance of this period that shall create them wealth in the next cycle. It's understandable that they're in panic for seeing all of a sudden drops that they can't take. Even I before, I'm that type of investor that usually panics when I don't like what I am seeing but they'll get to realize that it shouldn't create them fear and panic but, looking outside the box that when the world is in that fear, they should start to be greedy through DCA.