I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

**Jacklad** · 08-17-2006, 10:44 AM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

Originally posted by Ima saver

We have all made many mistakes. What is one thing you would never do now, that you did back then??

I'd never be underinsured. In '92, we had a house fire that wiped us out. Our insurance was enough to pay off the mortgage, but we were massively underinsured for contents. Hadn't stopped to figure that as we bought furniture, appliances, kids' clothes, etc. that we didn't have enough coverage.

Three kids under six with one set of clothes each - we had to replace everything. It was a nightmare but we got through - and, rest assured, I have plenty of insurance now.

Jackie

**rob62521** · 08-17-2006, 11:26 AM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

Wow, the list could be a long one!

There have been many times I've "settled" for things instead of holding out to get what I really wanted and then been sorry. For example, a few years ago I was driving home and wound up hitting a deer. We had just paid off the van and wanted to drive it awhile before making buying another one. The insurance company didn't total it, although the repairs were just a few hundred dollars less than what the van was worth. Then things started going wrong with it. We went to the local gas station that still does repairs to get a water pump installed instead of taking it to the dealer. Not knowing what a water pump would be, we figured he would be fair. Well, I guess if putting on a used one was fair, then he was. He didn't tell us it was a used one and we figured he was being reasonable. It wasn't but a few months that it went out. By then, other things were going wrong, including the transmission had a leak. So, we took it to the dealer, which is where we should have gone in the first place since they have been very honest and upfront about things. We decided to trade the vehicle off and buy a new one and I took the cheapest one on the lot. I'm sorry I did. It was a good vehicle, but I never was happy with it.

**Broken Arrow** · 08-17-2006, 11:30 AM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

Ummm... get married?

**Fern** · 08-17-2006, 12:13 PM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

I would not have gone to law school, only to finish one year.

I would not have dated a number of men.

I wouldn't have moved around so much after college. I would have put down roots.

**boefixepa** · 08-17-2006, 12:17 PM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

I wish I had learned earlier in life to be better with my money, but hey figuring it out a few years ago (28) is better than my parents at 50 something....

There's a fwe men I would have passed on dating too....

A few roommates I would have turned down...

A few times I should have bitten harder on my tounge and not hurt the feelings of someone I cared about.

I would have spent more time enjoying life, and less time working...see first item..

**Ima saver** · 08-17-2006, 12:31 PM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

I would have definately not eloped with my first husband!!

**PrincessPerky** · 08-17-2006, 12:36 PM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

money wise I would have 'paid myself first' way long ago...money not seen is money not missed (usually)

**Jewelfine** · 08-17-2006, 01:48 PM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

waited so long to start my own business and concentrated only on my husbands business

When I went to Asia on business for a month I wish I spent ALOT of time travelling around while I had the chance - I really only saw 4 square blocks of Kuala Lumpur in Malyasia and I was there a MONTH

**jodi** · 08-17-2006, 03:14 PM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

Buying a new car. It hit me a while back that DH's car cost about $14k. I make $18k working part-time. After taxes, I worked an ENTIRE year to buy that car. No car is worth working a year of my life. Ugh.
It will only be several-year old used cars for us from now on. And paid in CASH.

**creditcardfree** · 08-17-2006, 04:41 PM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

leased a car

bought vinyl siding, windows for our house (looks great, but was more than we should have spent)and put it on a home equity line and then eventually rolled it into our current mortgage)

taken out an adjustable rate mortgage (its now been refinanced twice)

taken on a new car loan after being debt free for over a year...and it's only for $5000. Nice car, but I wouldn't want to do that again...stresses me out.

skipped the collision insurance on our $2500 vehicle...it was totaled, we didn't get anything. Sure, we saved some money but it wasn't equal to the value of the car. And it's a hassle to sell a wrecked vehicle...think towing, impound fees, ect.

I will never get a credit card again. I always paid on time, very rarely had interest accrue, but they are a hassle to keep track of and some get you to buy more than you might otherwise...i.e. Target!! I think there is a statistic on that, too. People buy something like 18% more on credit than if they had paid cash...and that is before the interest.

bought a house with less than 20% down.

I wouldn't have moved out of my parents place with out at least $1000 in an emergency fund...maybe even more!

I'm sure there are many more. Hindsight is 20/20. Maybe some of you will help me to avoid something I may have been apt to do in the future!!

**debtfreeme** · 08-17-2006, 04:54 PM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

never get a credit card

**Bookie** · 08-17-2006, 05:16 PM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

This thread reminds me of a quotation from Rita Mae Brown:

"Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment."

**mschluckbier** · 08-17-2006, 06:26 PM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

Married my first husband. Not just for the usual reason of him being an a**, but because he consistently made sure I was not able to use my brain. Alot of my dreams went down the toilet because of him, including being financially secure before I was 25. I could have done it too...but he was NOT supportive of things at all!!!

**LuxLiving** · 08-18-2006, 03:42 AM

Re: I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.

Twould've put my foot down on a lot of my spouse's car trading deals! EGADS he once had me paying over $200 MORE than my mortgage payment for a Toyota ForeRunner! Now, I loved that vehicle - gosh from a woman's viewpoint it was PERFECT - truck felt solid, I felt safe driving in it, etc. But my gosh it cost more than my house each month! NEVA AGAIN! All cars saved for and paid in cash Up Front - No Car Loans - No frequent trading. Buy and hold is my car policy!! I keep telling him it's transporation (Point A to Point B) not a fashion show. Yeah, I know, I'm no fun - but hey, debt free is FUNNER!!

We now have two vechicles that we paid cash for - a 2001 truck and 2005 car - and CD's put back to replace them with in a few years. Boy does that feel GREAT every month!! Go thee hence forth into the world and Debt No More!!

-LuxLivingFrugalis

I f you know then, what you know now, what is something you would never do again.