Worst investment you ever made?

[financemailer]

MJ DeMarco just posted one for the best investment and I posted.

I want to try, What is the worst investment people have ever made that they regret?

I must say for me, it's my 4 year college degree program at a public university. I put in all that money, all that effort, all that time. Got nothing out of it. Never once did I get a job that fits my bachelor's degree in finance in this whole country. I applied to all the entry levels and corporate office work for Fortune 1000 in my home state and surrounding states, but all I got was decline emails or no replies. Yeah, they called me a loser because I tried hundreds of thousands of business jobs over 17 years after college and got none. Tried direct, tried staffing agencies, tried referrals, tried services, tried all online job sites that ever existed in the world...... After spending tens of thousands on college degree, I got nothing in return, NOTHING!!!!!

Used to be angry... no more. I finally realized corporate jobs are not meant to be, that I'm meant to be a business owner, not to listen to managers all day. I'm going to show the whole country who's boss. I may be old, but I still have time to make it. I'm gonna make it big and make the whole country look bad. Everybody will be working jobs driving their luxury cars and eating out, but they cannot afford true luxury NEVER EVER. I'm going to become a multi millionaire and gonna shop at Neiman Marcus while everybody else shops at dinky Nordstrom and Macy's.

Yeah, I'm upset. 17 years of poverty due to no job, working in retail and banks getting abused by bad customers and dealing with bad coworkers all day. F*ck THIS!!! I've had it!!! I quit retail recently. On my own, as always. Am taking a few classes online for entrepreneurship and other topics of my interest and I have read all of DeMarco's books and online info. Just taking some time to better care for myself.

Feel free to comment.

Jae Lee

 

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[AppMan]

MJ DeMarco just posted one for the best investment and I posted.

I want to try, What is the worst investment people have ever made that they regret?

I must say for me, it's my 4 year college degree program at a public university. I put in all that money, all that effort, all that time. Got nothing out of it. Never once did I get a job that fits my bachelor's degree in finance in this whole country. I applied to all the entry levels and corporate office work for Fortune 1000 in my home state and surrounding states, but all I got was decline emails or no replies. Yeah, they called me a loser because I tried hundreds of thousands of business jobs over 17 years after college and got none. Tried direct, tried staffing agencies, tried referrals, tried services, tried all online job sites that ever existed in the world...... After spending tens of thousands on college degree, I got nothing in return, NOTHING!!!!!

Used to be angry... no more. I finally realized corporate jobs are not meant to be, that I'm meant to be a business owner, not to listen to managers all day. I'm going to show the whole country who's boss. I may be old, but I still have time to make it. I'm gonna make it big and make the whole country look bad. Everybody will be working jobs driving their luxury cars and eating out, but they cannot afford true luxury NEVER EVER. I'm going to become a multi millionaire and gonna shop at Neiman Marcus while everybody else shops at dinky Nordstrom and Macy's.

Yeah, I'm upset. 17 years of poverty due to no job, working in retail and banks getting abused by bad customers and dealing with bad coworkers all day. F*ck THIS!!! I've had it!!! I quit retail recently. On my own, as always. Am taking a few classes online for entrepreneurship and other topics of my interest and I have read all of DeMarco's books and online info. Just taking some time to better care for myself.

Feel free to comment.

Jae Lee

I dont think your finance degree was a bad investment, I think you might just didnt a good guide to help you make use of it.

For me the worst investment was over buying options before Ukraine war , and now their values is near to zero. it was big loss in my investment history.

 

[Kevin88660]

MJ DeMarco just posted one for the best investment and I posted.

I want to try, What is the worst investment people have ever made that they regret?

I must say for me, it's my 4 year college degree program at a public university. I put in all that money, all that effort, all that time. Got nothing out of it. Never once did I get a job that fits my bachelor's degree in finance in this whole country. I applied to all the entry levels and corporate office work for Fortune 1000 in my home state and surrounding states, but all I got was decline emails or no replies. Yeah, they called me a loser because I tried hundreds of thousands of business jobs over 17 years after college and got none. Tried direct, tried staffing agencies, tried referrals, tried services, tried all online job sites that ever existed in the world...... After spending tens of thousands on college degree, I got nothing in return, NOTHING!!!!!

Used to be angry... no more. I finally realized corporate jobs are not meant to be, that I'm meant to be a business owner, not to listen to managers all day. I'm going to show the whole country who's boss. I may be old, but I still have time to make it. I'm gonna make it big and make the whole country look bad. Everybody will be working jobs driving their luxury cars and eating out, but they cannot afford true luxury NEVER EVER. I'm going to become a multi millionaire and gonna shop at Neiman Marcus while everybody else shops at dinky Nordstrom and Macy's.

Yeah, I'm upset. 17 years of poverty due to no job, working in retail and banks getting abused by bad customers and dealing with bad coworkers all day. F*ck THIS!!! I've had it!!! I quit retail recently. On my own, as always. Am taking a few classes online for entrepreneurship and other topics of my interest and I have read all of DeMarco's books and online info. Just taking some time to better care for myself.

Feel free to comment.

Jae Lee

My worst investment started with buying warren buffet and Charlie munger books on investment and learning about value investing topic.

They taught you to ignore technical analysis which costed me dearly later on.

It is so traumatic that I believe it kind of changed my personality partially. I become much more of a “believe nothing fully”, “analyze everything”, and “ready to change my opinion anytime based on new evidence” kind of person.

 

[TheKingOfMadrid]

My worst investment started with buying warren buffet and Charlie munger books on investment and learning about value investing topic.

They taught you to ignore technical analysis which costed me dearly later on.

It is so traumatic that I believe it kind of changed my personality partially. I become much more of a “believe nothing fully”, “analyze everything”, and “ready to change my opinion anytime based on new evidence” kind of person.

Ha this is too true. Back when I started I fell for the idea that these were the original OG's and therefore must have all the secrets to riches - there's basically a cult around them.

Have you ever read 'taming the lion' by Richard Farleigh? That book helped me to see just how much BS there is.

 

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[Kevin88660]

Ha this is too true. Back when I started I fell for the idea that these were the original OG's and therefore must have all the secrets to riches - there's basically a cult around them.

Have you ever read 'taming the lion' by Richard Farleigh? That book helped me to see just how much BS there is.

Not that book in particular.

I even dived into research papers on quantitative trading related topics.

There is nothing wrong with value investing. The problem with Buffett and Munger is that they arrogantly dismiss everything else as nonsense.

The reason is if they admit that everything else is not nonsense, they might lose their appeal towards the fans and the holding company might stop trading at a premium .

Everyone sprouts something with their own agenda and nobody owes us an objective assessment.

 

[TheKingOfMadrid]

There is nothing wrong with value investing. The problem with Buffett and Munger is that they arrogantly dismiss everything else as nonsense.

The reason is if they admit that everything else is not nonsense, they might lose their appeal towards the fans and the holding company might stop trading at a premium .

Exactly, this also happens to be the same underlying phenomena with all modern grifters - arrogantly dismiss anything else that's trendy in your niche. Very easy to fall for black and white thinking when you're young or inexperienced though.

 

[SSTrey]

MJ DeMarco just posted one for the best investment and I posted.

I want to try, What is the worst investment people have ever made that they regret?

I must say for me, it's my 4 year college degree program at a public university. I put in all that money, all that effort, all that time. Got nothing out of it. Never once did I get a job that fits my bachelor's degree in finance in this whole country. I applied to all the entry levels and corporate office work for Fortune 1000 in my home state and surrounding states, but all I got was decline emails or no replies. Yeah, they called me a loser because I tried hundreds of thousands of business jobs over 17 years after college and got none. Tried direct, tried staffing agencies, tried referrals, tried services, tried all online job sites that ever existed in the world...... After spending tens of thousands on college degree, I got nothing in return, NOTHING!!!!!

Used to be angry... no more. I finally realized corporate jobs are not meant to be, that I'm meant to be a business owner, not to listen to managers all day. I'm going to show the whole country who's boss. I may be old, but I still have time to make it. I'm gonna make it big and make the whole country look bad. Everybody will be working jobs driving their luxury cars and eating out, but they cannot afford true luxury NEVER EVER. I'm going to become a multi millionaire and gonna shop at Neiman Marcus while everybody else shops at dinky Nordstrom and Macy's.

Yeah, I'm upset. 17 years of poverty due to no job, working in retail and banks getting abused by bad customers and dealing with bad coworkers all day. F*ck THIS!!! I've had it!!! I quit retail recently. On my own, as always. Am taking a few classes online for entrepreneurship and other topics of my interest and I have read all of DeMarco's books and online info. Just taking some time to better care for myself.

Feel free to comment.

Jae Lee

Hi Jae, I can almost hear the frustration in your text.
Ag, it's definitely never to late to have a better tomorrow.

Look, re the 4 year degree thing, I myself do have a 4 year degree, it's in engineering (& a few other post grad certifications etc over the years).
Honestly, it has helped me along my +14 year career (I'm in my late 30s right now) however I do believe that the type of degree & some sort of experiential luck does play a role. I find that just because you have a degree won't guarantee you a job, one still has to insert tenacity & an ability to get the job. The piece of paper get's you the doorway, how you walk through is entirely another story.

So let's get into it ... the worst investment I probably ever made was not starting earlier! At least, I always tell myself this.
Look, we all have made bad monetary investments, I've learned to gain the lessons but never to look back otherwise.
Keep learning, executing, pivoting & learning some more.
I often wish I could have thought differently when I was younger, but every generation get's smarter & every year we learn more about ourselves, no point moping. Just use what we have, and make it better.

 

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[Itizn]

Evidently paying off my student loan a few years back....

 

[Albert KOUADJA]

MJ DeMarco vient d'en publier un pour le meilleur investissement et j'ai posté.

Which, please ??

Je veux essayer, Quel est le pire investissement que les gens n'aient jamais fait et qu'ils regrettent ?

Je dois dire que pour moi, c'est mon programme d'études collégiales de 4 ans dans une université publique. J'ai investi tout cet argent, tous ces efforts, tout ce temps. J'en ai rien tiré. Jamais je n'ai obtenu un emploi qui correspond à mon baccalauréat en finance dans tout ce pays. J'ai postulé à tous les niveaux d'entrée et au travail du siège social pour Fortune 1000 dans mon État d'origine et dans les États environnants, mais tout ce que j'ai obtenu, c'est refuser des e-mails ou aucune réponse. Ouais, ils m'ont traité de perdant parce que j'ai essayé des centaines de milliers d'emplois commerciaux pendant 17 ans après l'université et que je n'en ai obtenu aucun. J'ai essayé directement, essayé les agences de recrutement, essayé les références, essayé les services, essayé tous les sites d'emploi en ligne qui n'existaient jamais dans le monde ...... Après avoir dépensé des dizaines de milliers d 'euros en diplôme universitaire, je n'ai rien obtenu en retour, RIEN !!!! !

pour être en colère ... pas utilisé. J'ai finalement réalisé que les emplois en entreprise ne sont pas censés exister, que je suis censé être propriétaire d'entreprise, et non écouter les managers toute la journée. Je vais montrer à tout le pays qui est le patron. Je suis peut-être vieux, mais j'ai encore le temps de le faire. Je vais le rendre grand et faire mal paraître tout le pays. Tout le monde travaillera au volant de leurs voitures de luxe et mangera au restaurant, mais ils ne peuvent JAMAIS s'offrir le vrai luxe. Je vais devenir multimillionnaire et faire du shopping chez Neiman Marcus pendant que tout le monde fait du shopping chez Dinky Nordstrom et Macy's.

Yeah, I'm upset. 17 years of poverty due to no job, working in retail and banks getting abused by bad customers and dealing with bad coworkers all day. F*ck THIS!!! I've had it!!! I quit retail recently. On my own, as always. Am taking a few classes online for entrepreneurship and other topics of my interest and I have read all of DeMarco's books and online info. Just taking some time to better care for myself.

Feel free to comment.

Jae Lee

Life is for trying, and you did it even though you didn't get what you wanted. At least you learned something. Nothing is late.

.so it's you who thinks you haven't got anything after all this journey. You had to do all this to get more experience, lessons in your life. .at least the diploma already has some good things even if it won't be of much use to you, it has given you a title on your personality. So take it all as life experience.

.pS: The only one I regret is letting myself go down a path where I felt like a fish out of water. I spent two years there at university and got nothing. But I quickly realized that this path will steal all my money and not allow me to get what I want. .it started when my debts accumulated at 50.000 f but I quickly pivoted To repay that the following year, at the end of 2021. .so the time i wasted in college and not being more focused on what i really wanted are my only regrets and now i'm not complaining as i'm healthy and out of it. .other things, such as small investments in Businesses that never worked are very minimal, so no regrets

It's really beautiful to take full responsibility . .

 

[Albert KOUADJA]

MJ DeMarco vient d'en publier un pour le meilleur investissement et j'ai posté.

Lequel, s'il vous plaît

Je veux essayer, Quel est le pire investissement que les gens aient jamais fait et qu'ils regrettent ?

Je dois dire que pour moi, c'est mon programme d'études collégiales de 4 ans dans une université publique. J'ai investi tout cet argent, tous ces efforts, tout ce temps. J'en ai rien tiré. Jamais je n'ai obtenu un emploi qui corresponde à mon baccalauréat en finance dans tout ce pays. J'ai postulé à tous les niveaux d'entrée et au travail du siège social pour Fortune 1000 dans mon État d'origine et dans les États environnants, mais tout ce que j'ai obtenu, c'est refuser des e-mails ou aucune réponse. Ouais, ils m'ont traité de perdant parce que j'ai essayé des centaines de milliers d'emplois commerciaux pendant 17 ans après l'université et que je n'en ai obtenu aucun. J'ai essayé directement, essayé les agences de recrutement, essayé les références, essayé les services, essayé tous les sites d'emploi en ligne qui aient jamais existé dans le monde ...... Après avoir dépensé des dizaines de milliers d'euros en diplôme universitaire, je n'ai rien obtenu en retour, RIEN !!!! !

Utilisé pour être en colère ... pas plus. J'ai finalement réalisé que les emplois en entreprise ne sont pas censés exister, que je suis censé être propriétaire d'entreprise, et non écouter les managers toute la journée. Je vais montrer à tout le pays qui est le patron. Je suis peut-être vieux, mais j'ai encore le temps de le faire. Je vais le rendre grand et faire mal paraître tout le pays. Tout le monde travaillera au volant de leurs voitures de luxe et mangera au restaurant, mais ils ne peuvent JAMAIS s'offrir le vrai luxe. Je vais devenir multimillionnaire et faire du shopping chez Neiman Marcus pendant que tout le monde fait du shopping chez Dinky Nordstrom et Macy's.

Ouais, je suis contrarié. 17 ans de pauvreté due à l'absence d'emploi, à travailler dans le commerce de détail et les banques, à se faire abuser par de mauvais clients et à traiter avec de mauvais collègues toute la journée. F * ck CE !!! Je l'ai eu!!! J'ai arrêté la vente au détail récemment. Tout seul, comme toujours. Je prends quelques cours en ligne sur l'entrepreneuriat et d'autres sujets qui m'intéressent et j'ai lu tous les livres et informatiwen ligne de DeMarco. Je prends juste un peu de temps pour mieux prendre soin de moi.

N'hésitez pas à commenter.

Jae Lee

Life is for trying, and you did it even though you didn't get what you wanted. At least you learned something. Nothing is late.

.so it's you who thinks you haven't got anything after all this journey. You had to do all this to get more experience, lessons in your life. .at least the diploma already has some good things even if it won't be of much use to you, it has given you a title on your personality. So take it all as life experience.

.pS: The only one I regret is letting myself go down a path where I felt like a fish out of water. I spent two years there at university and got nothing. But I quickly realized that this path will steal all my money and not allow me to get what I want. .it started when my debts accumulated at 50.000 f but I quickly pivoted To repay that the following year, at the end of 2021. .so the time i wasted in college and not being more focused on what i really wanted are my only regrets and now i'm not complaining as i'm healthy and out of it. .other things, such as small investments in Businesses that never worked are very minimal, so no regrets

It's really beautiful to take full responsibility . .

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Here's a pretty big thread on a very similar topic...

GOLD! - HOT! - EXECUTION - What Are the Dumbest Financial Decisions You Have Ever Made?

I will start. 1. I sank 80% of my net worth into stocks in May 2019, and sold when they bottomed in March 2020, 2 or 3 days before the Fed rolled out QE. Then I bought options with the remaining money I had left, and lost everything. Lesson: read about the financial products you are buying...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[fastlane_dad]

Here's a pretty big thread on a very similar topic...

GOLD! - HOT! - EXECUTION - What Are the Dumbest Financial Decisions You Have Ever Made?

I will start. 1. I sank 80% of my net worth into stocks in May 2019, and sold when they bottomed in March 2020, 2 or 3 days before the Fed rolled out QE. Then I bought options with the remaining money I had left, and lost everything. Lesson: read about the financial products you are buying...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

I think the financial aspect is a small fraction of the overall picture of 'investments'. To many time, effort, relationships etc - poses a much deeper regret on 'investment' rather then the financial side.

Overall this question to me is a question of mindset. I don't view any of my 'investments' in any façade of my life as the worst - as they got me to this point today, and that point is pretty damn good!

Whether time was invested in relationships that didn't work out, schooling that didn't give me a 'payoff', or buying 'equities' that didn't put me on the overnight millionaire streak (quite opposite actually many times) - overall I look at the congregate of my decisions in a meta way and decide they were all investments that led me to grow and get to where I am at.

Every 'investment' in whatever I did or tried was at the least a learning experience, that worked itself into my current being.

Now if there was something more irrecoverable - losing a limb or an eye, my life savings in a hot bet, or getting a DUI etc - I'm sure I would have probably a slightly different outlook.

I am fairly risk averse (especially getting closer to mid life age) in quite every area of life so no serious catastrophic decisions/results have been made to date. I have made more reckless decisions and was more impulsive in younger years, but none with detrimental effects. I believe MJ talks about this in his books as asymmetric returns - that aren't worth taking.