Ask Lemmy

Early in my software dev career I had a contract job at a young company called Microsoft. Without going into boring details, what I saw in terms of miscommunication, wasteful practices, and odd behaviors by overstressed managers led me to see it as a typical startup that was outgrowing its ability to run itself. At that time they were handing out full-time employment like candy - most of the programmers in my hallway got converted - but I left, because I didn't think the company would go anywhere. This was two or three years before the stock went nuts and programmers there became millionaires in their twenties.

When I was 25 I was making a lot of money. So I bought my childhood dream car, you know the one you have on your wall with the chick in a bikini on the hood. So I bought a '98 Diablo VT with I believe around 3k miles (this was in 2001). It was the absolute piece of shit. Don't get me wrong, it was gorgeous and sounded twice as sexy. But I shit you not, every other time it left the garage the most random shit would break, crap that shouldn't break on a car with 3k miles and 3 years old. Spark plugs were fowled, radiator hose blew, wires would be frayed and cause electrical issues. It was like non-stop. I soldnit for a 20k loss.

Mind you I'm 43 now and own 9 cars, 4 motorcycles, and grew up building engines with my dad. So I have no issues working on cars or doing whatever. I can tell tell you outside of Jeep, that Lamborghini was the biggest piece of mentally handicapped engineered vehicle I've ever seen.

Not the worst, but the weirdest:

When I got my first credit card they told me that the very first transaction would be divided into 12 monthly payments, with no interest. So my first purchase was a new cellphone that I needed.

Later the same day I bought something for like a dollar, and just to be funny I paid it with the credit card.

Well, that $1 dollar purchase was also divided into 12 payments. Nothing bad happened because of that, but it just felt stupid.

Got convinced by someone I very much trusted to join an MLM as a 19 or 20 year old. After my parents learned about it, they were able to talk some sense into me, and I realized I was part of a pyramid scheme. I got out and basically broke even, which was honestly the best possible outcome of that whole scenario. It unfortunately degraded my relationship with the person who convinced me to join, and I never really could fully trust them after that.

University

I spent 50 grand and 4 years of my life to be told by prospective employers that I either lacked real world experience, or that I was overqualified. It took me another 3 years to find a job after university - one that doesn't require training and is barely relevant to my field.

I get to hang a pretty piece of paper up on my wall, I guess.

so I bought a cheap old Porsche...I realize now there is no such thing.

Changed over the ownership of the house I bought with my own money to my now ex because he was the one with the job. Am now house-less and renting an apartment at triple the mortgage payments.

I was young and dumb and didn't know how to say no.

Timeshare.

It's so hard to get rid of. Fuck that thing.

Waiting for the bubble to burst before buying a house.

Anytime now....

Quit my job start of this year. Thought I could start a self employed thing with a secure client but they bailed (turns out they just went with my previous employer for lower prices).

Worst would’ve been having a kid at 21, second worse was. It grasping how predatory credit cards can be. Survived the first but the 2nd one hurt the longest, now I treat credit cards like poison, I try to avoid carrying a balance at all costs and expend any extra funds to eliminate any balances before I look at other possible uses of that cash.

Not a big one, but surely the worst one. There was a "make your own perfume" stall in our college fest. I didn't like the fragrance of most of what they had to offer. It took me time to pick one, but I picked one that I thought was the most unique one.

Then when I came home, I realised it smelt exactly like my dad's car freshner.

An old job where transportation literally cost me half my salary.

I was conned into going into ITT Tech out of high school. I learned a lot but didn't find out until later it was unaccredited so nothing would transfer to colleges and that they had lied heavily about their placement numbers. There were a few issues keeping from going after them: it was my parent's money, the point in time I went wasn't part of the lawsuit, and my parents were dead when the lawsuit came about. I cannot put ITT Tech on my resume because of everything related to it, it's a literal black mark. So I have to stretch the truth of those two years because of it.

Listened to the internet and held onto Gamestop for longer than I should have.

I still did ok, but fuck I could have paid off my mortgage.

Rolling over a payday loan. You write them a check for $300 post dated for payday, they hand you $255. On payday, I would go back with a fresh $300 check to replace the one they just cashed so they could hand me another $255. This would be after exhausting overdraft from my checking that cost something like $35 to overdraw by $200. I wasn't even on hard drugs or drinking, just weed and nicotine. By the time I was 30 I had $15k in financial judgements against me, it took another 4 years to pay everything off. It almost cost me a promotion during the credit check. Apparently you shouldn't be a financial advisor if you're terrible with your own finances but I talked my way out of it (and then failed as a financial advisor).

The most recent was waiting for the 32GB RAM sticks I needed to max out my hypervisor to go on sale below $120.

$400 tipping camgirls. it was the fastest lost just for a few minutes of flirting with naked women

Faceplanted off a Lime scooter. $6700 to remove and replace a tooth.

My first wife.

Not being born rich.

I used to sell plasma, and I used the funds on Robinhood to try investing without affecting my regular cash flow. Through sheer luck, in one day, my account went from around $200 to over $2500. I was overjoyed. I’d clearly made a genius-level decision that would only continue to pay out.

Anyway, I woke up the next day with less than I’d had to start. Should’ve taken the money and run. Or not tried to time the market. Either way, it felt like I’d lost $2300 instead of $50.

About 80% of my Steam library.

Underestimating the lengths that Trump admin would go to prop up equity markets during COVID

Bought a house with my ex and we were instantly house poor. We didn’t account for buying things for the house at all. Ended up selling and moving two years later at a loss even though we sold for a bit more than we bought it for.

Letting my partner quit their job so they could focus on working on a comic full-time.... I completely supported them. Buying them supplies and whatever else they needed. This lasted 2 years... with absolutely nothing to show for it. NOTHING. I have no idea what the fuck they did 10 hours a day while I was at work.

Not applying for scholarships. I didn't have my mental health under control in high school and just didn't apply for any. Not even the one I was guaranteed…

I bought a new, $100 android tablet a few years ago because I'd never had a tablet before and thought I'd try it. Assumed that since laptops around that price perform ok that it would be decent for basic stuff, but it really isn't. Just not enough ram (4gb), lags when doing literally anything, can't load most websites, can't even play most videos without it turning into a slideshow. Can't install a less shit more efficient OS. I would feel bad about reselling it because no one should be subjected to having to use this ewaste.

Changed major from civil engineering to computer science

Probably the time I used a cash machine in a weird place in my home town to draw out the maximum I could for Christmas spending and all I got from it was the receipt saying the money had gone from my account.

The place was weird because, although it was in a very public square, it was kind of high off the ground, like it had been installed for people over 6ft tall. I am not that tall. The novelty appealed to me anyway. Mistake.

I was so ashamed, I never reported it. I didn't think I'd be believed.

If you want actual things, I own a pre-smartphone electronic personal organiser that I used about five times and about a dozen calculators from when I got really into them for some reason. And at least one of those was "parts only" that I completely missed in the description.

But if I could undo anything, I'd rather have that cash machine money back.

Leasing a car.

I'd always bought a car and driven it into the ground. Leased an EV once. Hated the experience. Felt ripped off at the end.

Bought a used car after that. Back to normal.

Almost every single movie I've seen in theaters. At home is just better. Hell, sometimes the bike ride with my partner to and from the place is better than the movie-- could have just hung out at a park, lol.