For spring break years ago I was flying into Colorado for a skiing trip. I had to transfer in Vegas (a family thing)(Not vegas, Flagstaff AZ, to be exact).
Worst possible thing I could have done.
No one told me the slot machines in the airport were tight. Any number of people mentioned to me they were, after the fact. Thanks a whole bunch.
I lost over three hundred and fifty bucks within an hour of landing.
Considering I only brought five hundred for the week, I was pretty screwed. Parents had to wire money and the lot.
I’ll never forget it. Has me off gambling for good.
My aunt had a habit of keeping large sums of money pinned to the inside of her waist band. One day she flushed several hundred dollars down the toilet, as well as the safety pin.
When I was in Israel, someone stole NIS 400 (about US $100) from my room, and more painfully, my camera, which was full of film from my trip to Europe. It still hurts to think of all those pictures that were probably dumped in a garbage can somewhere. :: sighs ::
My pocket was picked in Italy. There was only about $15 (like a million lira, though!) in the wallet, but in the half hour between the theft and me cancelling my debit card, the thief managed to spend over a thousand dollars. Because it was my debit card, not a credit card, I was suddenly overdrawn. Plus, I had no ID, including no passport. Broke with no identification in a foreign country is not a good situation. Fortunately, I was with friends who lent me money until I could get my parents to wire me money, and I got a new passport in the US consulate in Florence. The worst part was my dad having to go to my bank in the US, explaining that I had not spent that thousand dollars, the bank insisting that I come in in person, being absolutely obtuse when my dad explained (yelled) that I was in Italy, that I lived in Israel, and that I wouldn’t be in the US for several months. The bank finally gave in and credited my account for the money I had been ripped off, but it was a not fun couple of days.
I once left $150 in the inside pocket of a suit jacket. Found it when I wore the suit again about six months later. I’d never even realized I was missing $150 (which, considering my income level at the time, was strange) so I don’t know if that counts.
Once thought I had lost a $20. When I did a mental reenactment of the day I realized that when I reached into my pocket to pull out one more dollar for a T.G.I.F waitresses tip I must have thrown down the $20 without paying attention. It made for a 60% tip. The next time I was there the waitress remembered me.
Once had $60 stolen from my room whil I was in the bathroom; I thought it was taken by this one guy who was around, though it turned out he hadn’t. He ended up being a close friend, too–it makews me laugh to think that the first time I met him, I thought he’d stolen money from me.
