What Was a Bad Decision You Made That You Regret and How Did You Get over It?

ILikeThis124 on 20/09/2017 - 12:43
Last edited 23/09/2017 - 08:55

So I recently made this bad decision on a car and I regret it as it is costing me now. It's a ford focus xr5 if you are wondering. But anyway I made a bad and rushed decision on it which is now costing me (previous damage where it wasn't recorded on the ppsr, engine light has come on and all this other crap) where I feel shit about it. Now that I look back on it, the guy was dodgy but it didn't seem it at the time, everything is piecing together slowly.

What was a bad decision you guys made in any scenario, not just cars that you regret now?

Just need some ozbargain motivation to pull through this.

23/09/2017:
Thank you everyone for sharing your experience. I have read every single comment and gained a lot from your feedback, I wish the best for everyone always, I just felt bad about the purchase because usually I am more aware than what I was. I guess it was just the excitement that made me lose my senses making the purchase, I will walk out of this with experience to ensure this won't happen to me again or anyone I know.

General Discussion

Comments

      • sharks on 24/09/2017 - 00:49
        +2

        Thank you. It's been a long and hard road. I'm still getting there but hoping my life can go back to normal one day.

        • kiitos on 25/09/2017 - 18:05

          Would the outcome have been different of you had acted earlier?

        • sharks on 25/09/2017 - 18:42
          +1

          @kiitos: probably would have lasted a lot longer than 25 years. Hard to be sure though because you can never put a real number on it.

  • Dr Techno on 23/09/2017 - 12:51

    In the early 90's family buying our first i386 PC compatible, instead of upgrading my Commodore Amiga 500 to a Amiga 1200. I fixed that decision 20 years later when I found a good deal on a 2nd hand Amiga 1200. Still play it even today :)

  • majuks on 23/09/2017 - 16:45
    +1

    Did not achieve a GPA of 6.5 to study Dentistry, so proceeded with studying medicine that I was already in at a time where those OP 10s ahiceved a GPA of 6.5 and now are all dentist now..

    • MessyG on 23/09/2017 - 19:16
      +1

      Maj I wish you a long and brilliant career in Plastics telling the Maxfacs what to do ;)

  • apey2000 on 23/09/2017 - 16:51
    +1

    Bought an apartment. Then after living in it for a few months I came to know that it had a lot of issues. It's cost me a small fortune ($10's thousands) so far.

    Suck it up, move on and be wiser next time. ie. you live and you learn.

  • citybargainhunter on 23/09/2017 - 17:01
    +2

    Bought a very expensive European car which was disproportional to my income at the time. Worst part was I didn't and still don't know that much about cars which meant I got ripped off left right and centre by the mechanics whenever something needed fixing.

  • edwardcr on 23/09/2017 - 18:13
    +4

    Not marrying a woman I met down the Gold Coast who owned a penthouse at Broadbeach, and who drove a soft-top Jag sports car.

    But on the plus side - the sex was great and I always got to drive the car when I was down there!

  • keithality on 23/09/2017 - 20:00
    +1

    A decision I made a week ago that happened today. Was getting carpet replaced with timber in an apartment that I'm about to move into. Didn't realise how much noise the job would take. Scheduled it for 7am on a sat at the start of the long weekend. Think hammers, drills and a rotary saw.

    Probably the most hated person in the complex now, and I'm going to have to move in.

    • misu p on 24/09/2017 - 09:43
      +2

      Just buy some wine and take it to your near by neighbors. Just say sorry and admit that you made a mistake. You will be fine. We had a 3 month renovation, we went before to our neighbors told them sorry but we have to. We lived 10 years before that and 10 years after that with no problems with any of the (also long term neighbors). In a apartment building, it happens… nothing you can do about it.

      • citybargainhunter on 24/09/2017 - 13:35

        A 3 month reno for an apartment?

        • misu p on 24/09/2017 - 14:10

          maybe not 3 months but it was 2 months, we got kind of rebuilt it, walls taken down, etc

      • keithality on 25/09/2017 - 14:02

        Yep am planning to do just that. Thanks for the tip

      • GourmetFoodie on 08/10/2017 - 15:03

        Good idea but not everyone drinks wine. Maybe some nice chocolates or movie tickets. Plus a "sorry" card!

  • Lvl1pro on 24/09/2017 - 11:40
    +1

    Not taking a job at the height of the mining boom because I didn't want to work FIFO. As an intern I was getting paid more than I currently am being fully qualified 5 years later. With these things though you never know, most the people I know didn't invest that money wisely and just spent it all and also it does put a strain on your relationships. It's difficult to say whether my decision previously was good or not but at the end of the day I am still with my partner and we are both happy and healthy and that's all that matters.

    • Hunter14 on 27/09/2017 - 15:25
      +1

      Guessing you are from Perth/WA? I was also a recent graduate during the peak of the WA mining boom. I don't think I regret it per say as I've heard a lot of people get depressed on site and it effects your relationships. However, it probably would have been nice to make some quick bucks for a few years and really set me up for the future. It was a bit disheartening to see people with no uni degrees making triple what I was just from admin positions. I'm doing okay now and saved up a decent amount of money to buy a house but I could have got there quicker with a bit of short term pain.

      • Lvl1pro on 27/09/2017 - 17:40

        Yes I am. Exactly especially since going through university is meant to get you a better job. I am in the same position as you though. I guess we have to look at it from more of a perspective of yes it would have made it more financially easier for us to get a house but would have cost us a lot in other areas of our lives.

        • Hunter14 on 27/09/2017 - 17:51

          Yep, as I grow older I realize time is much more valuable than money. Both go quick though. I had a lot of fun in my early 20s. Got to hang out with my mates and play futsal whenever I wanted to. Went travelling whenever I wanted to. Had a decent work/life balance. Plus, career wise I think it was the right move to stay because it's hard to find financial roles out on site with a good mentor. Unless you're an engineer, most FIFO work is kind of dead end which you don't really learn much from. I now have a good role in a good company something which would have taken me longer if I went down the FIFO route. My only regret is I didn't do my post grad studies earlier. I've only recently started. It's a bitch trying to get back into study mode when you're in your late 20s with a full time job.

        • Lvl1pro on 27/09/2017 - 20:41

          @Hunter14: Yes that's very true very specialised area if you are in the finance space and at the mines. Unfortunately I am an engineer, so for me it would have been great getting that site experience and definately is applicable in other fields too. Yeah that will be a bit tough doing full time work and studying, hopefully it is only like 1 unit a semester?

  • ego22 on 24/09/2017 - 11:47
    +3

    i remember in 2009/10 there was alot of buzz in the other forum that i frequent about bitcoin. i thought it was stupid but u know, what the hell. i went the site signed up and was going to purchase about 50 or 60 bitcoin just for fun. to complete purchase i had to confirm through my email to link the account but i never got the email. refreshed like 10 times. got frustrated and just didnt bother. a week later i got the email and tried again. bitcoins in cart, purchase, go to email and the links in the email didnt work. didnt bother to try again just shut it down and laughed at how dodgy bitcoin was and left it at that. if i cared more back then that $60 experiment would be worth $290k now…… it was in my cart!

    • keithality on 25/09/2017 - 14:04
      +5

      It's alright. You would have probably sold 40-50 bitcoin long before it reached the valuation it is today. Sometimes the hardest part is knowing when to sell, rather than when to buy.

  • Meliodas on 24/09/2017 - 19:49
    +5

    I probably never made a great mistakes before so i have nothing to share, so, by reading this, i wanna thank all ozbargainers thats share their story, and help me learn something from your experiences,

    Thank you

    • Neptunes on 24/09/2017 - 20:24

      Second this!

  • magikz on 24/09/2017 - 23:00
    +2

    My regret is wondering if I asked a certain girl out earlier, if we'd be more than just friends now. (Nothing wrong with being friends but always that anxious feeling like you're losing them when they're with someone else.)

  • congo on 24/09/2017 - 23:15
    +1

    Two things:
    1. Listen to my financial adviser and invested a lot into trees and cattle. All went belly up.
    2. Didn't invest in properties when I had the chance!

  • cashless on 25/09/2017 - 11:00
    +2

    Mate bought a barrel of Nant Whisky
    Ouch

    • pilchard on 25/09/2017 - 16:30

      Is your mate a cricketing legend?

  • eckoflyte on 25/09/2017 - 12:27

    bought a new toyota 86 for $40k in 2012 when it first launched. Got caught up in the hype and being a car enthusiast, I thought based on the specs (and the test drive) that it was the car for me and that I would keep it for a long time and enjoy it. Ended up selling it exactly 2 years later for $30k. Just couldn't fall in love with the car and seeing plenty of them on the road certainly didn't help. Essentially lost $10k on being impulsive. I now own a second hand Honda S2000 and love it to death, upside also is the S2000s retain their value well due to bouyant demand in the second hand market. Bottom line is if you have to buy a car for whatever reason, always buy second hand!!

    • wannagrababargain on 25/09/2017 - 13:48
      +6

      I think you did quite well to lose only $10k in 2 years. Probably sold at the right time, check out the value of 2012 models now :)

  • Word on 25/09/2017 - 15:16
    +1

    Consumed free sushi from a gas station, it passed.

  • The Wololo Wombat on 25/09/2017 - 23:27
    +2

    Not listening to my body when I was sick and pushing myself for months, travelling around the world. It turned out I had a parasite and it took me two years to recover.

    • T1OOO on 27/09/2017 - 00:47

      Wtf?!? How do u check it out ?

  • secondstory on 26/09/2017 - 00:52
    +3

    This is probably very petty and not really a decision, but I was falsely accused of shoplifting once back when I was in uni.

    The lady waited till the unsuspecting me was at checkout, pulled me to the side to a "different register" then closed the checkout isle gates around me and made me stand there waiting for about 15 minutes with some cashier girl watching me before coming back and proceeding to check out normally. After the transaction was finished (i.e. I'd paid for all my goods already was about $40 worth of stuff) the lady just looked at me and goes "so what else do you have to pay for?". When I said that was all for today the she directly asked me what I "stole". When I said I hadn't she called another girl to the counter and told me to hand them my bag, ransacked it, found an already open pack of gum and accused me of stealing that.

    At the time I was so shocked I couldn't do/say anything but felt so horribly treated and singled out that I just quietly left after they let me go when they maybe realized I hadn't actually done anything wrong - no apologies or anything, just a "you can go now". I actually think they were probably still convinced there was something they just couldn't find. I felt so crappy and was depressed for a long time after that and I'm actually still a tiny bit traumatized by it. I never set foot in that store again even though it was the most convenient one for me at the time. I was having some other hardships in life at the time so this was kind of just a kick in the stomach while I was already down.

    If I could go back in time I would make them refund everything I'd bought on the spot, and call them out for being outrageously disgusting for treating paying customers so disrespectfully and violating their possessions before even knowing any real facts. I'd get their names and make a complaint directly to management and make sure they knew it was coming (even if nothing resulted from it, just to at least feel a bit better about standing up for myself).

    tl;dr was falsely accused and regret that I didn't stand up for myself at the time, although for a while I secretly hoped they would develop back pain but not anymore.

    • Meliodas on 27/09/2017 - 07:21
      +1

      Sorry to hear what happened to you, i guess the statement, "Shit" Happens apply, but i really hope that you do go over it

    • Hunter14 on 27/09/2017 - 15:33
      +1

      Geez, I'm getting angry for you just reading that. Why would you pay for $40 of something and then proceed to steal some gum? To check your bag is fair enough if they really think you stole something but then no apologies after? I would have got them to refund everything and thrown all the items on the ground and tell them clean up on checkout.

  • squaredonut on 26/09/2017 - 07:29
    +4

    Some interesting stories, the ones where people have given up their lives for their partners, only to be turned around with little gratitude is very heart breaking. I find that these days it's more of a each to their own thing. It's no longer like traditional times where if you devote time and effort to your partner they will feel forever indebted to you or feel that loyalty needs to be at least met. These days it's like nope, times are tough I am calling it quits after all that you've done for me.

    • iamw0man on 27/09/2017 - 09:46

      At the same time though, is feeling like you 'owe' someone a good reason to stay in a relationship?

      • Hunter14 on 27/09/2017 - 15:37
        +1

        I don't think anyone should be obligated to stay with someone because they 'owe' them. However, the decent thing to do if you are leaving them is pay back some of the money they put towards you during your time together. Some of the people here went through hell for their partner.

        • iamw0man on 27/09/2017 - 16:27

          I guess it is the 'decent' thing to do but I don't really think it's necessary. There are plenty of legal options for de facto couples these days. The idea of paying someone back after a failed relationship doesn't feel right to me. You could invest your money anywhere else and not expect to always be guaranteed a return so why should you when you're investing in a person you love? This is like…the OzBargain attitude to the absolute max.

        • Hunter14 on 27/09/2017 - 16:46

          @iamw0man:

          I'm not talking about just normal de-facto relationships because I agree in those instances it's a matter of just splitting up by what the law says. I'm talking about some of the stories listed here where the guy goes through hell to save a foreign girl only for her to leave in the end.
          So in those instances, if your SO worked their ass off to pay for your school tuition, visa applications, and rent, you would feel no guilt whatsoever to leave them broke because you don't love them anymore? It's not the OzBargain attitude that's the problem, it's the modern attitude attitude where moral and ethnics are replaced with self entitlements and 'rights'. Again, nothing wrong with having a choice to be with who you want to be with but if you can walk away from a scenario like this guilt free then wow.

  • desmondnnk on 26/09/2017 - 08:39
    +3

    discovered ozbargain and spent all the money that i probably wouldn't have spent otherwise.
    haven't figured a way out yet

  • ptl93 on 26/09/2017 - 12:16
    +4

    I regret sponsoring my ex gf to stay in aus and wish we had broken up sooner.
    Solution: Finally broke up. Then a few months later, I stopped sponsoring her after knowing she's going to marry someone else.

    • T1OOO on 26/09/2017 - 16:53
      +3

      cam girl or russian bride?

  • dufflover on 26/09/2017 - 13:37

    Another one here for getting married. Still am, not over it.
    There's the obvious answer on what to do but I'll prob just end up here again over that too …

  • PAOK11 on 26/09/2017 - 14:20
    +11

    got involved with drugs. Typical stereotype of a drug user, got chewed up and spat out. I hit rock bottom more than once. I've rebuilt my life from the ground up without any help expect from my family. Not asking for sympathy, I'm just sharing my story. I know the young people Of Australia hear this all the time but say NO to drugs as it will ruin you even if it does not happen right away. I still wear the emotional and physical scars & that two years of my life i'll never get back and I'm still picking up the pieces 7 years later

    • Meliodas on 27/09/2017 - 07:24
      +4

      I'm proud of you for giving up on drugs and not giving up on life, i hope that you will fare better in the years to come

      • PAOK11 on 27/09/2017 - 09:42

        thanks =)

  • t-money on 26/09/2017 - 14:51
    +1

    Started studying engineering in QLD in 2011 after finishing school and graduated in 2015. Always wanted to be a doctor but was told Engineering was a great path and I was good at maths. Worked for a big company in Brisbane then moved to Ballarat for a year. This year I moved to Melbourne for another job. Good pay and conditions but I can’t stand it to the point I’m anxious and depressed which I have never been in my life. I have no friends or family in Melbourne and work with two other people so it’s hard to make friends. The one upside is I have a great girlfriend who I’ll marry one day. Do I regret ending up in Melbourne, no. But I do regret studying engineering. I plan on entering a medicine degree in 2019 and fulfilling my dream of becoming a doctor. I think this will really make me happy

    • Meliodas on 27/09/2017 - 07:25
      +1

      Don't let your dreams be dreams

  • grabngo on 26/09/2017 - 16:14

    joining ozbargain.
    costing me eternally !!!

  • heynik on 26/09/2017 - 16:48
    +1

    I came early one day from work. Found a car parked in my car port. Blocked the car and left a note saying "Please call me on *** to move the car". Came back a few hours later and saw the car keyed on 4 panels and the car that was illegally parked was gone because the car next to me had moved. The cops won't help neither would the real estate. Haven't gotten over it yet as its a insurance job with $850 access and i loose my no claim bonus.

    • abuch47 on 26/09/2017 - 18:43

      get quotes may be able to touch up for less than $850

      • heynik on 27/09/2017 - 09:48

        Its a three panel keyed goes from passenger side door continues to wheel arch and ends on the bonnet.

    • Meliodas on 27/09/2017 - 07:26

      should have taken a photo and license plate photo for prove

      • heynik on 27/09/2017 - 09:47
        +1

        I have the photo and showed the cops. I have photo of mine and her car from every angle and with the note on the windscreen.

        They said if she doesn't admit, they can't do any thing about it.

    • GourmetFoodie on 08/10/2017 - 15:07

      I feel for you. We had so many issues with people parking in our spot when we first moved into our apartment building. People are so arrogant and self entitled. Even when they are in the wrong they will lash out at others instead of apologizing! Makes my blood boil! You really see the worst of humanity in apartment living,

  • T1OOO on 26/09/2017 - 16:50

    I have never done anything for anybody who couldn't do something for me. I string along an eager kids with promises I'll pay them money one day. I only keep them around because they looks up to me. Kids, if you're reading, don't be like me. You're too good for it. I lie in person and on the phone. I lie to my friends. I lie to newspapers and magazines who, who sell my lies to more and more people. I am just a part of a big cycle of lies, I should be fn' president. I wear all this Italian shit because underneath I still feel like the Bronx. I think I need these clothes and this watch. My two thousand dollar watch is a fake and so am I. I've neglected the things I should have valued most. I valued this shit. I take off my wedding ring to call Pam. Kelly, that's Pam. Don't blame her. I never told her I was married. And if I did she, she would have told me to go home. Kelly, looking at you now, I'm ashamed of myself. Allright? I mean, work so hard on this image, on Stu Shepherd, the (profanity) who refers to himself in the third person that I only proved I should be alone. I have just been dressing up as something I'm not for so long, I'm so afraid no one will like what's underneath. But here I am, just flesh and blood and weakness, and uh and I love you so fkn much. And, um, I take off this ring because it only reminds me of how I've failed you, and I don't, don't want to give you up. I want to make things better, but it may not be my choice anymore. You deserve better.

  • T1OOO on 26/09/2017 - 17:00
    +2

    Not going professional playing football, if coach had put me in we would have won state. No a doubt in my mind.

    • starvingartist on 26/09/2017 - 18:28

      Uncle Rico?

      • T1OOO on 26/09/2017 - 18:51
        +2

        The time machine dosnn’t work. I coulda told you that

  • flame21 on 27/09/2017 - 09:41
    +3

    I didn't invest in property 10 years ago…

    9-10 years ago, it was so easy to invest in property, you can easily get a 95% loan! So I heard some guys are buying one property per year, "10 property in 10 years, and you will never need to work again!" they said.

    I didn't believe that nonsense, they will be broke because the risk is too high and market will come down…so I didn't do anything.

    after 7 years, property price in many suburbs in Sydney had doubled the price. And all those "10 year 10 properties" guys are multi-multi-millionaire now.

    What did I do about it?
    I bought my first apartment near Arncliff 5 years ago. Then the second property, a house in Dubbo last year. Then another house in Wauchope this year. working on my 4th property now.

  • RockSand on 27/09/2017 - 09:52
    +1

    Slater Gordon shares. I stupidly kept averaging down thinking such big company would recover but here we are now at 7 cents. So far down $14,000 and no point in selling now

  • c0balt on 27/09/2017 - 10:11
    +4

    Got into a long term relationship with a person diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

    My advice is for people to put their own well being before others. You can help anyone if you are helpless, and over time a BPD person can easily make the strongest people helpless.

    • DemocracyManifest on 27/09/2017 - 12:38
      +1

      Thankfully missed the boat on one of those, so many loose units around. Thankfully danger signs came early

      • c0balt on 27/09/2017 - 14:49
        +2

        I used to think that the person who she was two timing on me during the last month of our relationship was the most evil person I've met.

        It's taken a couple of months to realise that they were closer to an angel for taking my ex from me. I came close to not only ruining my life, but we had talked about having kids which we thankfully we did not. In the months after I've been travelling around the world, and my ex has been doing significant self harm, doing what ever she can to make a few $$ to pay for newly picked up hard drug addictions, been in and out of psych wards, hooked up with the ex before me and is putting the person who she cheated on me with through 1000x worse hell than she put me through.

        I'm lucky that my assets are under a family trust and that she knew it the entire time. I didn't stand to risk my apartment or bulk of my savings in the family court.

        It sounds vindictive - but a couple of months after separating I can sit back and laugh at their predicament in between the periods of feeling pretty sad for myself that I allowed myself to fall in love with someone not capable of feeling love, yet alone empathy.

        • DemocracyManifest on 27/09/2017 - 15:45
          +1

          Yeah don't beat yourself up over it and lucky about your money!

  • 2ndeffort on 27/09/2017 - 11:45
    +1

    Back in about 2003-2004 I thought about property investment in inner Melbourne. I had a bit of cash and went to a new type of business that was just setting up, buyer's advocate. This guy found me an art deco style 2 bedroom apartment in St Yarra (just next to Fawkner Park) for $250K, It needed a bit of love, new carpets and a lick of paint but seemed like a good thing, also came with 2 parking spaces under the building. i thought about it for a week or so and then decided instead to spend my money on an old sports car instead. Car was fun but i only had it for 2 years before the novelty wore off, by which time property prices had exploded. The same place now would be worth many hundreds of thousands more. Added drama is that I now work about 2kms from that place, rent a parking spot of somebody nearby and commute to my house in the outer suburbs.

    • GourmetFoodie on 08/10/2017 - 15:09

      Ahhhh…..glad I'm not the only one in this unfortunate "club". It sucks!

  • AlienC on 05/10/2017 - 15:34

    Chased after a girl well many girls and focused on uni and family instead of dropping out and following my own instincts and building the next minecraft, terraria, rts game etc.. and instead just became extremely ridden with anxiety, stress and depression still recovering from many sleepless nights from terrible bad food choices, eating and insomnia.. life is weird and I only got 2/3's of it left if I play my cards right

    Sorta back on track now but still many unforeseen new obstacles, each day however I feel gets better and although even some days I fall back every extra second spent on the internet here and with other people I feel safe with and trust lol and can share Wyeth and have fun and serious conversations I feel like I get wiser and more healthier and more knowledgeable some way some how.

  • GourmetFoodie on 08/10/2017 - 15:15

    Biggest one for me is property. I was 24, had just been through a massive breakup and was considering buying a terrace house in an inner city Melbourne suburb for 500-600k. I couldn't work up the guts to do it on my own when so young (though I had a very well paying job and could have easily afforded the loan!)

    6 years later, same property would be worth $1.2m minimum and I'm now ready to buy but closest I can afford is the distant burbs….

    Thank you Federal Govt and your out of control immigration rates. Melbourne has too many people now.

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