quote:

Originally posted by Shotgun Zeke:
Not buying Amazon and Google at IPO prices

Add Apple to that list.

turning down a full scholarship to Marietta College and enlisting in the ARMY instead. Then not finishing college (yet) on my GI Bill.

In my defense, I did get recalled to Active Duty for GWOT, but I also chose to go into LE instead of back to college full time.

In my youth I panicked during a market downturn. Ended up selling low and buying back in after the recovery. That was the biggest hit but I don't feel it was the worst decision.

That honor goes to me financially backing someone in a business venture. My gut told me they'd screw it up and I was old enough to know better. Things went south and they left me twisting in the wind. Took a year to get the property sold in a foreclosure auction and by the grace of God the sale netted me every penny I was owed.

Two mistakes I will never repeat.

Not becoming a Christian early in life....

quote:

Originally posted by justsigin:
Not becoming a Christian early in life....

Neither was Paul. So, you're in good company, imo.

In the mid/late 90s I read an article on this new thing called Bitcoin that you could mine on your computer. I went so far as to download a wallet but never pursued any mining. That was back when it was relatively easy to mine.

Taking that first drink when I was 14 years old. That resulted in 10 years worth of horrible decisions, which eventually led me to recovery and a spiritual awakening. Hmmm, maybe it wasnt so bad after all...

I have the same two regrets. However, I have two beautiful daughters from my first marriage and through the divorce learned to have faith even in adversity so it wasn't a total loss.

I also went to college and grad school rather than join the military. Everyone should realize there is something larger than ourselves that needs to be served (God, our country, your employer, other people's needs) and respect that. Took me most of my life til now to learn how not to be a self-centered ass and I think the military would have taught me that at a much earlier age.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Marrying my ex-wife, despite the warning signs. Should have trusted my gut, not my heart and her words. I just recently rectified that situation.


I've also always regretted not joining the military. I considered it, but jumped straight into college, and then directly into law enforcement. Now, older and wiser, I know I would have enjoyed it and gotten a lot out of it.

When I talk about the "road not taken," I invariably mention turning down an offer to come to work for a small startup company my wife had worked at (she left before the offer). I was young, with a newborn child, and a job I enjoyed. So, I declined to go to work for a company that within a year would rename itself America Online, Inc.

Not spending more time with my children when they were growing up/younger. I traveled non-stop for my employer for nearly a decade. I was paid well but I can never get those years back.

I don’t regret any of the bad decisions I have made, as I have learned, and grown from them. They have made me who I am.

Not buying a house in Garland Texas in the late 90’s. It was $47k. Worth five times that now.

Not buying a house here in Cottonwood in 08/09. My wife suggested we buy a couple of houses, as they were so inexpensive.

Buying over 30 cars with my wife. Pretty much a new car every year, or when we got bored with the current one. While it was fun, and I made plenty enough to afford it back then, I would be so much farther ahead financially, had we each just kept the first ones we bought.

Not joining the military.

No regrets, just wish I had been a little wiser.

Listening to others and not forging my own path. On the inverse, I have made some great decisions based on input from the same people.

Selling my first car in 1990 or so to a friend who trashed it. A 1967 Firebird 400

Walking away from a running and driving 1963 Z06 Corvette coupe in 1978. It was in rough shape and the price was $7.5K which in my infinite wisdom I deemed to be too expensive. That car restored would end up being worth deep, deep, deep into six figures 25 years later.

There have been many bad decisions. The absolute worst was going home on leave from the Navy and attending a Fourth of July parade in 1964.

I was standing on the corner of Main Street waiting for the parade to start when a female cousin joined me. I saw a girl on the other side of the street.

She was 5'8" with dark brown hair down to her ankles. She had a playboy centerfold body. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

I commented on her to my cousin. She said the girl was a good friend of hers. We went across the street and my cousin introduced us. We got married six months later.

She got pregnant and I was sent to Viet Nam. I came home and she got pregnant again. I was sent to Viet Nam again.

I came home from Viet Nam to find my wife and my mother-in-law had been bar hopping and picking up guys. Her mother had obtained a fake I.D. for her underage daughter. They laughed and told me about sharing the same bed and swapping partners. They told me our second child was not mine.

We got divorced and they made my life a living hell for the next twenty years.

quote:

Originally posted by LimaCharlie:
There have been many bad decisions. The absolute worst was going home on leave from the Navy and attending a Fourth of July parade in 1964.

I was standing on the corner of Main Street waiting for the parade to start when a female cousin joined me. I saw a girl on the other side of the street.

She was 5'8" with dark brown hair down to her ankles. She had a playboy centerfold body. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

I commented on her to my cousin. She said the girl was a good friend of hers. We went across the street and my cousin introduced us. We got married six months later.

She got pregnant and I was sent to Viet Nam. I came home and she got pregnant again. I was sent to Viet Nam again.

I came home from Viet Nam to find my wife and my mother-in-law had been bar hopping and picking up guys. Her mother had obtained a fake I.D. for her underage daughter. They laughed and told me about sharing the same bed and swapping partners. They told me our second child was not mine.

We got divorced and they made my life a living hell for the next twenty years.

Brutal. I feel for you. No great sex is worth 20 years of abuse.

mine would be not joining the military when I graduated High School and also not getting into law enforcement. And I would have been retired by now.

I was offered Marine Corps Officer Candidate School right out of boot camp and turned it down. At the time it seemed like the right decision. It was a 7 year obligation and they needed more warm bodies to replace the officers getting killed off in Vietnam. Now, I regret not accepting the offer.

I had a three year enlistment. Just before I was due to get out, I was offered a promotion to E6 if I extended for 6 months and worked as part of the communications team at the White House. My wife was pregnant and I turned it down.

With maturity comes the regret over not excepting either of the opportunities I was offered.

A few come to mind, but one stands out:

Trading my 1965 Shelby Mustang (SFM 5S-408) in on a rattle-trap 1968 Corvette.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Selling my first car in 1990 or so to a friend who trashed it. A 1967 Firebird 400

I had a 68 400. Not the worst decision to sell it but I get a sting of regret every time I see one.


The following is more like a 'Missed it by that much' event. Back in my misspent youth in college I met this green-eyed blond with a thick Tennessee accent and smart as could be. We had a mutual attraction and hung out together a lot. When her dad learned I was going to spend Christmas in student housing alone, he bought me a last minute 1st class round trip ticket to spend the holiday with them. Yeah, she was from money too.

While I was there the pressure to marry her was so great it alarmed me. The pressure came from every member of her extended family. On Christmas eve her dad invited me into his office and asked me what it would take. I told him I couldn't possibly have anything to offer her that she could get better from somewhere else. He ultimately promised me I'd inherit his business and offered to write me a 6 figure check to start us out.

That scared me. What is wrong with her that they would have to do all of that? I ran the other way. These decades later I'm glad I did. Mrs DF came along shortly thereafter. We have had a fantastic marriage. Sometimes though........I think about the wealth. On the other hand, I'm certain I would have remained a selfish and shallow person without the benefit of our struggles. So, I missed fortune by that much, but it was the best that I did.