# Your Costliest Mistake? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525 "2003-06-26T15:03:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/21 "2003-06-27T07:22:48Z")
Cash costly? My own darn fault? Current SO is a has been a huge financial drain. Huge. Am hopeful that, over time, there will be other types of benefits to me. ---
**Author:** ![MalFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@MalFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MalFrog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/22 "2003-06-27T10:58:33Z")
I did exactly what **UnwrittenNocturne** said :smack: ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/23 "2003-06-27T12:30:51Z")
A developer came to my office when I worked for the City of Richmond and wanted to open a strip club in a trendy and up-and-coming part of the City. At the time the Zoning Ordinance was silent as to whether the use was permitted so I gave him the go-ahead. He bought an old building and started investing very, very heavily in redoing it. Once the Administration got wind of it and freaked out because there was going to be a strip club in downtown they changed the Zoning Ordinance to prohibit the use. When it came to getting a certificate of occupancy it was “Sorry, no dice. The use isn’t permitted.” He sued, lost. It cost him about $750,000 all told. It also resulted in changes to State law governing when someone is “vested” for a particular land use (I’ll spare you the details). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/24 "2003-06-27T15:55:10Z")
I got a job that had insurance but the papers weren’t ready when we had new employee orientation. Later (a couple of months), they finally got around to forwarding them to us, but by then, things were nuts and I never got around to completing them. Then, I had an accident–nothing “major”, but enough to require emergency response plus a procedure (though I was able to walk out that day). The bill came like a ton of bricks, and things weren’t going to well for me in other depts., so I sorta ignored it for a while (“Out of sight, out of mind”). Screwed up my credit report pretty bad and had collection agencies after me. I got it fixed in time before things got worse, but I still had that on my rating for a while (though apparently, not anymore). Don’t want to even try to remember how many X thousands I was contending with, but it was definitely a pretty low point in my life. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/25 "2003-06-27T16:18:58Z")
2 words: Fertility Treatments Not covered by health insurance - and not successful. 2 years, at least $30K. But my gynocologists and pharmacists LOVE me. ---
**Author:** ![TexGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9d8465/32.png) [@TexGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/26 "2003-06-27T16:41:45Z")
My freshman year in college: “Fill out a credit card application, get a free t-shirt! How can I lose?” ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/27 "2003-06-27T16:54:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeVena \* > \*\*2 words: Fertility Treatments > > Not covered by health insurance - and not successful. 2 years, at least $30K. But my gynocologists and pharmacists LOVE me. \*\* Same here. Even though insurance covered some and it wasn’t 30K and 2 years for us, we did lay out some bucks for something that didn’t work and we ended up not wanting at all. We already have a young child and, when we spent time with a relative who had a young child and an infant, we changed our minds about having another baby. ---
**Author:** ![myrnajean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@myrnajean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myrnajean)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/28 "2003-06-27T19:49:27Z")
Spending part of my student loan for living expenses: when I couldn’t pay it back I needed 800.00 to register for classes the next year. Couldn’t get that money ANYWHERE, everyone I knew was broke, so I dropped out and started working. Worked for years, and was still broke, THEN they started garnishing my wages for the past due student loans, yippie! ---
**Author:** ![gobbles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@gobbles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobbles)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/29 "2003-06-27T19:58:43Z")
**another ex story** had a boyfriend, who wasn’t really a boyfriend, but a leech sucking all he could from me financially (and emotionally, but that’s a whole different can of worms). i didn’t have car, and had had only had one beater off and on (when i was allowed to use it by aforementioned prick) since the age of 16. Around 19 i decided i wanted and needed a car. not just a car, but a BRAND NEW car! would i listen to anyone telling me to go used first? nope. did I pay attention to the fact that boyfriend had already ruined my credit since most of the bills were in my name? nope. convinced a family member to co-sign. got the car. paid two car payments. got mad because i wasn’t driving the car, the boyfriend was because “he needed it more” Did he help me pay as he promised? _pause for laughter_ lost the car after about eight months. the family member and i are now paying for a car i don’t own. that’s a terrible feeling. but hey, only $8000 left to pay! woo-hoo! stupid bastard. (sidenote, i did leave him, and actually i left him for one of his friends…) ---
**Author:** ![mipiace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@mipiace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mipiace)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/30 "2003-06-27T20:30:08Z")
Getting married - 'nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/31 "2003-06-27T21:23:49Z")
Microsoft, $101/share. I don’t want to talk about it. Bubbles can burst? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/32 "2003-06-27T21:36:18Z")
That first cigarette. I wonder how many thousands it cost me. I don’t think I want to know. ---
**Author:** ![sirtonyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@sirtonyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirtonyh)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/33 "2003-06-27T21:51:57Z")
Turning down a senior(ish) level position at Yahoo before it went public. That cost me millions (assuming I’d have sold at the peak of course). ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/34 "2003-06-28T01:32:25Z")
I feel so much better now. All of you with misery! Be glad you cheered me up. Hope tales of my woe are able to do the same for others some day. ---
**Author:** ![TVGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@TVGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/35 "2003-06-28T02:42:07Z")
Personally, it was when I had to turn in a house in NH at the very, very bottom of the real estate market in the early 90’s because I got a job here in Oregon and I couldn’t even sell the house for what I owed. Not for 50 cents on the dollar. Not for 25 cents on the dollar. The bank finally liquidated it for about 8 cents on the dollar. I ended up owing the bank about $50,000 by the time all was said and done. I continued paying for that one for seven years after I moved to Oregon. The remaining debt was excused, but guess what? Excused debt is considered income by the IRS and I got a nice, whopping surprise tax bill that year… :mad: Professionally, I once recommended a particular tower manufacturer (as in big, tall TV transmission tower) to construct a tower for a station for which I was working in New England. I also selected the site upon which to place the tower - with the help of a big engineering consulting firm, mind you. We had the construction contract signed and land cleared when two things happened - the tower manufacturer went out of business and the town in which we were about to build the tower decided suddenly to make radical changes to thier tower ordinaces because of our tower… Total cost to the company? Roughly $3.6 million in lost time, lost revenue, lost deposits, legal bills, the need to find a new piece of property, etc. We took all sorts of legal steps, sued the tower manufacturer (or rather, its bank and law firm) fought with the town, etc. Ultimately, it wasn’t deemed totally my fault, but I sure as hell felt bad about the whole mess for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/36 "2003-06-28T04:02:47Z")
Didn’t listen to everyone who told me my contractor should pull all applicable work permits and not me. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/37 "2003-06-28T04:04:36Z")
Killed my poor, poor car. I’m still feeling the sting from that one. D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/38 "2003-06-28T04:05:44Z")
Oh, and in case anyone hasn’t figured this out (and I trust you all have or will soon), mechanics are 9,000 times worse than any lawyer I’ve ever met. Evil, evil batards. Long story, but they’re eeeeeevil. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/39 "2003-06-28T04:58:57Z")
Being the quickest sperm. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525/40 "2003-06-28T20:28:50Z")
My costliest mistake? Just monday night, I let my son take my truck to the next neighborhood over to check on his friend. This was our “good” car. Although we had it almost a year, it only had 3300 miles on it. Heck, I hadn’t even had the oil changed yet. My son’s costliest mistake? Letting the friend talk him into picking up their two girlfriends. His girlfriend’s costliest mistake? Grabbing the steering wheel from the passenger seat. The truck is totalled ($22 K), the insurance will probably drop me, my son probably won’t be able to get a driver’s license until he’s 18. (He’s 15 now, didn’t even have a permit). Stupid, :smack: , stupid :smack: , stupid. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-costliest-mistake/184525.md?page=3)