“Take out a 401k loan to build a pool. It will raise the value of your house.”
Jazz_Cigarettes
"My father would tell me to max my credit card on a new car and if they asked for payments just say f@#k em, what are they going to do?
My father is several levels of debt hell deep that he’s trying to get out of now."
LuluTopSionMid
“Just get it at Rent A Center”
Tbables
"I had a coworker that got pretty much everything there.
“It’s only $20/week, and they’ll replace it if it breaks.”
$20/week for how long? Oh cool, so you’re paying more than double for it? Got it."
homomomoatx
"So when I was 24, I was financially struggling. I had a job that worked me a LOT of hours, but only paid me $10 an hour.
My parents talked me into buying a BRAND NEW 2004 4-Door Honda Civic, the pre-interest price tag on it was about $25,000. A few weeks after getting it, my hours got regulated and it took one entire paycheck to make the monthly note on it – I could NOT afford the insurance on it.
I very quickly realized my parents were bad at money."
Worlds_Best_Coffee
"I’ve lived on my own since I was 17. I bought a car and worked my @$$ off to pay it off. It needed new tires so I called my mom to ask her how to go about it. I literally didn’t know tires had sizes for Pete’s sake! She told me to just go trade it in for a new car. And I f@#king listened to her. I traded a paid off 5-year-old car because it needed new tires. You guys."
somethingwittyaz
"My mom opened a bank account for me when I was 7 promising to put a small amount there every month so once I’m 18 I’ll have a nice fund to start my life with. Turned 18 and found out she used the account to take out a s@#t ton of loans that I now have to pay back."
JohhnyTheKid
"My Father in Law when I mention our retirement plan, “I never contribute to my retirement account. Money now is always better than money later”.
I needed to have a conversation with my husband how we would NOT be supporting his mom and dad and their insane spending when they have no retirement plan and make huge financial mistakes on a weekly basis."
luvbugsweetheart
"“Spend it quickly or it’ll get stolen.”
Coming from someone with a history of losing and blowing their money."
ChilledGopher
"That an emergency fund wasn’t necessary when you can always get a payday loan or use your credit card. He wasn’t joking."
girlfromspfd
"$1000 on a credit card at 19.99% will take 26 years to pay off if you only pay the minimum payment."
Dayofsloths
"When I got to university and opened a student current account, I received an interest-free overdraft of about £1200. I wasn’t entirely sure of what that meant.
My brother informed me “So that’s like your new zero”, and encouraged me to use it to buy a new gaming PC. For the next few years I really really wish I hadn’t taken that advice, he’s never been too amazing with his money so I should have seen that one coming."
SeveralAioli3
"1976 San Franciso – Keep renting, no one will ever pay $35,000 for a 2 bedroom house and garage with a sweeping view of the East Bay. (Added later – I went back to vist the old neighborhood a few years ago, those $35,000 stucco homes up many flights of steps perched on the top of Potrero Hill were now all gentrified, remodeled, gated, and asking $1M+ and that was 5 years ago)."
Maui96793
“Don’t worry about a career, Armageddon will come before you finish high school.” My parents, Jehovah Witnesses.
Havamar
"“Once you cut up the credit card, you don’t have to pay it.”
My cousin is not doing so hot. I’m pretty sure there are warrants out for his arrest in several states."
SalemScout
"“Just get another credit card” – my friend who hasn’t worked in 3 years and is currently just vibing with his new credit cards he somehow got approved for."
Prannke
"One of my uncles once told me that I never really had to pay my phone bill. He suggested that I simply jump to another carrier and let the first company cut you off.
His life has turned out exactly as you’d imagine."
kor_hookmaster
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See Lewis Black description of that time here:
https://youtu.be/CnN8nKSzIBU
I clearly recall lying in bed, I think as a high schooler so early 80s, having a serious contemplative moment about dying and came to peace with it. It was also then that I came to the conclusion that there was no point in having ambition. We were all going to die soon anyway. If I made it to 20 years old, that was good enough. Any additional years would be bonus.