Things I Got Wrong

[talksthetorque]

Said "If that's what you want to do I'll support you with it" twice
Neither projects saw the light of day.

Once again, norks may have been involved.

Now with new ( financially independant) norks.

[Skeptisk]

Sometimes mistakes lead to different paths that might be better in the long run. Many years back I got kicked off a degree. At the time that was certainly a mistake but I wouldn’t have met my wife, done a more interesting degree nor likely had the career I’ve had if I hadn’t been kicked out.

That was illustrated a few years back when I was at a works Christmas party when a junior person in the accounts department asked me had I been on his course (the one I was kicked off). He had scrapped through and got the degree but he hadn’t managed to get a good job afterwards and his career had stalled. (Not that a career is everything - he might have been otherwise happy with his life).

[Pinkie15]

I'm not a betting man, but in Mar 1997 wandered into a bookies and asked odds on J Villeneuve being F1 champion, A Zanardi CART champion & A Menu BTCC champion.

Was offered about 500‐1 on an accumulator. Bottled putting the £100 bet down I'd been convincing myself for weeks to place.

[Magnum 475]

Dating the hot redhead I met in a Birmingham salsa club in the 90s. She was hot but totally off the scale crazy.

Buying the 2 year old Alfa 155Q4, that cost more in repairs over the next 2 years than it cost to buy.

Forming a semi-pro partnership (no dating or shagging involved) with a woman that a colleague describes as “the psycho loony bh from hell”. Forming a similar partnership with someone who turned out to be a major league alcoholic.

Staying in the UK after the 2016 referendum. I hope to be proved wrong about this one though, but the signs aren’t looking good.

[Jim the Sunderer]

Selling my Jaguar XF because "those duplicitous bds won't make me return to the office because there's a fkin' pandemic on".

[Doofus]

Had a public falling-out with a PHer who I treated appallingly.

My apology has been accepted, but I'm still ashamed when I think of what I said, and wonder why I did.

[slopes]

Throwing my lot in with someone for 13 years and then after the first 3 years wondering why i was staying.
Still, could be worse...i could have married the silly woman.

[Drawweight]

Had an affair with a married woman then married her.

After all who could have predicted she’d do the same again to me

[ARHarh]

January 1986 went for a chat about a contract covering someones holiday at a start up mobile phone company. 2 weeks cover. I thought who would want a phone in their pocket, that will never catch on. 26 years later i left.

[Tyre Smoke]

Doofus said:

Had a public falling-out with a PHer who I treated appallingly.

My apology has been accepted, but I'm still ashamed when I think of what I said, and wonder why I did.

Doesn't sound like you at all!

[Caddyshack]

Sending my 205 away to someone that loads of people tried to warn me about…it was only 3 months work. 3 years later I had to take it away unfinished and have a handy paratrooper with me.

[Al Gorithum]

Oh yes. Selling my Mexico, RS2000's, Sierra Cosworth etc back in the day...

[lrdisco]

Shagging mates sister. She got pregnant. I was 17.
Doing a job for a solicitor. Wife told me not to trust him. I trusted him. He did me for £70k.

But all roads lead you to where you are now.
I’m happy, have 2 lovely kids, great wife. Beautiful house with another one I’m redeveloping ATM.
Planning on retiring to Spain in 3 years.
All the mistakes make you who you are.

[AB]

Skeptisk said:

Sometimes mistakes lead to different paths that might be better in the long run.

100% - I made a mistake in my early years which meant I had to leave my job. My next job lead to me meeting a lot of people which lead to ultimately doing a lot better than I could ever have imagined or was ever possible stuck where I was. A lot of things aligned which wouldn't otherwise.

[Doofus]

Tyre Smoke said:

Doesn't sound like you at all!

Some people wouldn't have got an apology, it's true.

[siovey]

Bought £3k worth of shares for 3.5p. Sold them for 7p. Was chuffed with my trading skills. Checked them a few years later and they were £60.

Bought £4k of shares in another company for 20p. Sold them for 20p as I got bored. Later saw them go to £50.

Had £1500 worth of shares in a company at £1.50. Sold at similar price, probably even lost money. Later on the company was sold for £350 per share.

I'm probably never going to be able to afford to retire but I can't ever say I haven't been given the right opportunities.

[Buster73]

siovey said:

Bought £3k worth of shares for 3.5p. Sold them for 7p. Was chuffed with my trading skills. Checked them a few years later and they were £60.

Bought £4k of shares in another company for 20p. Sold them for 20p as I got bored. Later saw them go to £50.

Had £1500 worth of shares in a company at £1.50. Sold at similar price, probably even lost money. Later on the company was sold for £350 per share.

I'm probably never going to be able to afford to retire but I can't ever say I haven't been given the right opportunities.

Got a tip about Ashstead shares years ago , bought them at about 80p went down to about 20p , forgot about them for ages and checked they were trading about what I paid for them so sold them.

Read your post and I’ve just checked they are £34 now

[eltax91]

siovey said:

Bought £3k worth of shares for 3.5p. Sold them for 7p. Was chuffed with my trading skills. Checked them a few years later and they were £60.

Bought £4k of shares in another company for 20p. Sold them for 20p as I got bored. Later saw them go to £50.

Had £1500 worth of shares in a company at £1.50. Sold at similar price, probably even lost money. Later on the company was sold for £350 per share.

I'm probably never going to be able to afford to retire but I can't ever say I haven't been given the right opportunities.

Worked for a company in network security for a couple of years. Got a bunch of shares when I joined and bought the maximum they would allow me each month on an employee purchase scheme.

Sold it all when I left at $17usd per share. Some of which were 100% free and some which cost me about 85% of that. Was happy with myself for making a tidy profit and moved on to my
New job. I had around 1000 shares which head in total cost me about $12k, sold for $17k.

3 years later they topped out at $380 per share.

[Zumbruk]

eltax91 said:

Worked for a company in network security for a couple of years. Got a bunch of shares when I joined and bought the maximum they would allow me each month on an employee purchase scheme.

Sold it all when I left at $17usd per share. Some of which were 100% free and some which cost me about 85% of that. Was happy with myself for making a tidy profit and moved on to my
New job. I had around 1000 shares which head in total cost me about $12k, sold for $17k.

3 years later they topped out at $380 per share.

I did that one right. Bought the maximum they would allow me each month on the employee purchase scheme. Still have them (apart from the ones I sold to buy a new engine for my Westfield) and the dividends provide about 5% of my retirement income plus I have a nice 5 figure chunk of capital.

[Louis Balfour]

Petrus1983 said:

1st marriage.
2nd marriage.

I’m done.

No, you need a 3rd. If you look at the obituaries in the papers, rich old boys always die leaving their third wife. A fact that I point out to Lady Balfour, when she becomes uppity.

She usually retorts by way of asking exactly when I am planning to become rich, because she has yet to see any evidence of it.