Second Biggest Financial Mistake I’ve Ever Made

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it is possible to live of moments not alive for moment.

I wasn’t much of a risk taker, but I used to be someone who closed my eyes to an inconvenient reality. Yes I learned from them. And yes, the effects of those mistakes make me smarter today.

One bad move leads to another

To talk about the second biggest financial mistake I’ve ever made, I have to talk about the biggest. My biggest financial mistake was buying a house I could barely afford. Prior to purchasing that house, my husband and I owned a small starter house. We were both working and could afford to pay the mortgage even though we were both in college. We were saving for the future and were on a steady pace overall.

I want to blame my husband, but the truth is he always wanted me to be happy and I convinced him to move out. Persuasive when she made up her mind, she filed her new home lawsuit with the zeal of a lawyer defending a client on death row. I answered all his questions and manipulated his emotions to convince us that his two boys needed to live in an area with better schools.

Before moving into the house, I never used credit cards and focused on paying for everything I needed in cash. After the move-in date, keeping up with the Jones family became a way of life. We’ve found ourselves spending money on things we can live without and reaching for credit cards when we don’t have cash.

Worse, the move led to the second biggest mistake. It’s a failure to invest in the future. We had access to employee-sponsored 401(k)s with generous matches, but investing in a future that seemed like a thousand years away was not on my radar. I told myself there will always be. At that moment, I just wanted to live the wonderful life that we couldn’t have.

$400

Back then, if I hadn’t been caught up in living moment by moment, we would be far ahead of where we are today. It was cramped when I overused it, but if I stayed on a monthly budget, I could cover the bills, pay for miscellaneous expenses, and have him $400 left over as a cushion.

Every time I remembered that wasted opportunity, I could kick myself—I found a way to waste $400 instead of investing it.

We were 24 and 25 when we moved into our second home. Let’s say you invested $400 a month in a 401(k) or IRA and earned an average annual return of 7%. By the time her husband turned 50, we would have racked up her $303,000-plus nest egg. If he retires at full retirement age, the account will be worth more than his $1.1 million. And that’s if we didn’t increase our contribution.

cost of delay

I think we are young and mistakes were inevitable, but we are still paying for our late arrival to the investment party. It is done. It’s okay when retirement comes around, but it comes at a cost.

Unfortunately, most of the financial hit has hit my husband. I never want to retire, but he wants to one day. He will be working several years longer than expected to meet our financial goals. He loves his job but it bothers me that he doesn’t have the option of quitting early. I remember being the one who persuaded him to live.

The good news is that I’ve instilled in my sons the adage that “the best time to start investing was yesterday.” Not only are they now men, each living below their income, but they’re serious about building a healthy portfolio.

I know I’m not your mother, but I encourage you to learn from my mistakes. will be