What Is The Largest Amount You Have Lost Trying to Make More Money?

amazonaddict on 08/08/2020 - 16:19
Last edited 29/11/2022 - 13:18 by 1 other user

I bet quite a few folks here must have lost a bit of money trying to make more of it. Still we all keep trying and never give up. With that good spirit I wanted to share my losses.

2012- Stock market $1000
2017 - Primary House (If I sell it now, I am looking at $200,000 in loses, so not planning to sell for next 10 yrs)
2018 - Alt coins: $600 ( Sold my eth and bought those stuff)
2020 - Off the plan Investment property that was signed in 2015 completed just before Corona, It is empty now ( Could not find anyone with good rental history. So far I have paid $5800 in interest. :).

I don’t care about these failures as long as I can feed my family. I just keep trying. :)

What about you guys?

Financial

Comments

  • pandabear on 09/08/2020 - 09:39
    +2

    Biggest win: bought our house 7 years ago for $1.1mil, did $250k worth of renos, house now worth about $2.2mil. If we spend another $100k to complete the renos it should be worth about $2.5mil in the current market.

    Biggest loss: We have $345,000 invested in the stock market but it is currently only worth $313,000 ish, so about $32k down.

    • amazonaddict on 09/08/2020 - 11:35
      +2

      Wow.. Good for you. do you have an investment property as well?

      Anyway, I believe the stock prices will come back in an year or so. It always have, like house prices. Just have to wait it out.

      • pandabear on 09/08/2020 - 11:57
        +3

        We sacrificed a lot in our 20s and saved like crazy (80-90% of our income) when everyone else was spending and traveling etc. Obviously we don’t do this anymore now in our 30s and with 2 kids.

        We do have an investment property $500k (apartment) which hasn’t gone up in value since purchase. Also it is 100% owned by the bank as we took out a 100% loan.

        The stock market is a long term investment so not too worried at this stage. Portfoilo is all blue chip stocks. Although it is disappointing that the banks won’t be paying any dividends for a while… trying to focus on building some passive income now and have a couple of streams going (dividends is one of them)

        • sangohan on 10/08/2020 - 22:10

          Also it is 100% owned by the bank as we took out a 100% loan.

          wow - how did you convince a bank to lend you 100% ?!

          • khomeini on 11/08/2020 - 00:02

            @sangohan: Drs, dentists, vets and accountants can get 100% loans. Lucky them. Sometimes it's a simple matter of choosing a house in the right suburb and playing the waiting game. Generally it works out.

          • pandabear on 11/08/2020 - 09:00

            @sangohan: We used the equity in our principal place of residence as security for the investment loan.

          • AlanHB on 12/08/2020 - 09:14

            @sangohan: Second mortgage consent is one way. I used the equity in my parents house as security = 100% loan.

        • fatal on 12/08/2020 - 22:05

          Wow congrats on the savings and investment.

          I'm in between your position and what you consider "everyone spending and traveling". For me, travel and enjoying life is best had while you still have the health, friends and drive to adventure, thrillseek and explore. Never know what's going to happen and the current COVID situation really drives that point home. Was meant to go in a once a lifetime trip around the world 2 weeks ago along with 7 other friends but obviously now all cancelled.

        • [Deactivated] on 13/08/2020 - 13:22

          Genuine question, are you happy with your to focus on finance in your 20s decision?

          Eg: you could be living in a house now worth 1.5m+, and seen lots of the world and had great adventures in your 20s, the only stage of life where that is really possible.

          • pandabear on 14/08/2020 - 10:29
            +3

            @[Deactivated]: Honestly I guess it depends on what you value, some people value travel and life experiences above assets. We just always felt like we wanted to build some wealth first and delay gratification. There is no right or wrong way of doing it, it is just personal preference.

            For us though I think we made the right choice, we never went backpacking like our friends did (but also back then I was never the backpacking type, you might be entirely different!). But now in our 30s we have travelled to Asia with our kids a fair bit and stayed in good hotels - Bali 3 times, Thailand, and China (took our kids to Disneyland) last year before covid. We still haven't been to Europe or the US and they are on the list of destinations for when the kids are a little older.

            The other reason why I think it was the right choice for us is because 7 years ago, we had to stretch to our maximum limit to be able to purchase a $1.1 mil house. If we didn't buy it then, even if we saved every dollar of our pay for 7 years, I doubt that we would be able to afford a house worth $2.2mil today. The cost of holidays and travel on the other hand will always remain somewhat affordable.

            • [Deactivated] on 14/08/2020 - 13:02
              +1

              @pandabear: 100% seems the right choice for you then, fair play!

        • serpserpserp on 13/08/2020 - 17:53

          Also it is 100% owned by the bank as we took out a 100% loan.

          Are you mortgage free on the first property? Or the bank was just comfortable with your swag of equity?

          • pandabear on 14/08/2020 - 10:13

            @serpserpserp: No we are not mortgage free, we currently owe about $800k on our principal place of residence, but as it is worth over $2mil there is enough equity in it to use as security for the investment loan.

  • OzHunterNSW on 09/08/2020 - 10:32
    +1

    Ha ha ha ha ha… greed ha ha ha ha

    • iamhurtin on 10/08/2020 - 16:00

      Didn't you see that documentary?
      Greed is good!

      • serpserpserp on 13/08/2020 - 17:55

        Didn't you see that documentary? Greed is good!

        You mean the movie Wall Street?

        • iamhurtin on 13/08/2020 - 18:08

          "…….. I LOVED YOU IN WALL STREET!"

  • goody on 09/08/2020 - 10:46
    +4

    From "Where are the Customers' Yachts? Or, A Good Hard Look at Wall Street" first published in 1940:

    “Like all of life’s rich emotional experiences, the full flavor of losing important money cannot be conveyed by literature. You cannot convey to an inexperienced girl what it is truly like to be a wife and mother. There are certain things that cannot be adequately explained to a virgin by words or pictures.”

    I can vouch for every word!

    • amazonaddict on 09/08/2020 - 11:38

      I would not play with “important money” though. only take middle class type risks. :)

      • AustriaBargain on 10/08/2020 - 01:16
        -4

        All money is as good as other money. Why don't people understand that. The dollar you get taxed on the most at the highest marginal rate is the same as the dollar you don't pay any tax on at all at the lowest.

        • sangohan on 10/08/2020 - 22:11
          +3

          no that's not true. Each extra dollar has less utility than the last. That's why rich people with excess dollars can afford to take bigger risks investing, because their loss of the dollar, despite being the same in absolute amounts, have less utility to them than the poor person's dollar.

          • AustriaBargain on 10/08/2020 - 22:47
            -3

            @sangohan: Each dollar is worth more than the last, because you've already paid your operating costs.

  • Team Ozgiftcards on 09/08/2020 - 11:00
    +4

    We only regret the shots not taken.

  • afah0447 on 09/08/2020 - 12:44
    +1

    $35k. Stockmarket speccy microcaps and into a bridging finance company.

    • Never again.
  • Bob Svargis on 09/08/2020 - 13:14

    $15K on an online lingerie franchise in 2000 (ironically, it was called "No Regrets"). It was tax effective however, so there's that, I guess.

    About $100K on an investment apartment in Sydney - bought in 2006, sold in 2012. Had to sell due to cash flow issues.

    About $150K+ on a company I was part owner of (hard to measure but that's my back-of-a-beer-coaster calculation, could be more, could be less).

    • amazonaddict on 09/08/2020 - 20:10

      The fact that you are so cool about this makes me think you are rich. Because, big risk takers are the ones who makes the most money.

      • Bob Svargis on 10/08/2020 - 10:20
        +34

        No, I’m not cool about it at all. And no, I’m definitely not rich. However I’ve learnt that there’s more important things in life than money. Going through almost losing my home taught me that.

        Going back and over analysing it isn’t helpful to me and getting all upset about it helps no one, so whilst I may seem cool about it, I’m not, but I’ve had to learn to let it go.

        My family gets my attention now, and it took near bankruptcy to teach me that.

        • amazonaddict on 10/08/2020 - 13:00
          +8

          I'll come back and read this everytime I am down. Such a wisdom. Thanks mate.

        • oO0Dam0Oo on 10/08/2020 - 19:44
          +9

          Absolutely best post of the thread.

          Read this and instantly made me feel better. This after being put through the joys of being taken advantage of in a "family" business.

          Offer to take over family business. Sold our apartment and left professional career to run family business and free up cash flow in preparation for acquisition. Was documented that we were to take over after two years. Company turned a significant profit due to my efforts (tripled profits). Family decided not ready to sell. Stated offer was just ideas. We are now in year 8. 4 kids and no family home as a result.

          Not very articulate… long story!

          TLDR: Got screwed over. Enjoy life.

          • Bob Svargis on 10/08/2020 - 20:32
            +2

            @oO0Dam0Oo: That's terrible mate and I'm sorry to hear that. Probably like you, I learned to not be so trusting in biz after my experience getting shafted. I've been very risk averse since then.

            It sounds like your experience hasn't tainted your outlook on life so that's great. Got to keep it together for the kids, right?

    • ihbh on 10/08/2020 - 14:10
      +1

      Did you get to enjoy the lingerie, or at least handle it?

      • Bob Svargis on 10/08/2020 - 20:28
        +1

        LOL the models were pretty hot but that's about it really… It made for cheap gifts for the ladies in my life at the time but that's pretty much all it was good for :-)

    • AustriaBargain on 10/08/2020 - 23:58
      -4

      Is cash flow issues rich people talk for "broke"?

      • Bob Svargis on 11/08/2020 - 08:49

        Depends who it's coming from I guess.

        Cash flow issues to me are where you are having trouble servicing your debts with your income. Not sure how you define it or why you'd ask whether it's "rich people talk". In my case it's not.

        • AustriaBargain on 11/08/2020 - 13:05
          -2

          Is unable to service your debts rich people talk for too broke to pay people back?

          • Bob Svargis on 12/08/2020 - 09:26

            @AustriaBargain: Does it really matter how someone describes it in the big scheme of things?

            I call it cash flow issues because I used to have a business so that's my description of it. You might call it something else. Someone richer than me might call it "too broke to pay people back". Does it really matter?

          • gromit on 12/08/2020 - 14:58

            @AustriaBargain: cash flow problems can often occur when someone is asset rich but cash poor. e.g. my mother has had a lot of cash flow problems during covid. she is by no means poor, has no debt but all her income was coming from Assets she owned which are sitting idle during covid. It is something I have tried to rectify with my mothers investment portfolio over the years to avoid but she was too attached to the "you can't lose with property" mentality no matter how I showed her on paper the risks and in some cases poor ROI.

            • AustriaBargain on 12/08/2020 - 15:12
              -2

              @gromit:

              cash flow problems can often occur when someone is asset rich but cash poor

              Sounds like a long winded way of saying you bought something you couldn't afford.

              • gromit on 12/08/2020 - 16:35
                +1

                @AustriaBargain: way to not understand basic economics. guessing you are still in school, as you get older you will learn more about economics and finance and realise their is more to it than just cash in your pocket, even the best planned finances of people have been wrecked by Covid.

                • AustriaBargain on 12/08/2020 - 17:50
                  -3

                  @gromit: I put all my money in Pogs, not in my pocket. Pogs will make a comeback and become the next Bitcoin.

                  • Baa on 13/08/2020 - 18:55

                    @AustriaBargain: Sounds like a long-winded way saying nothing worthwhile.

  • Lastchancetosee on 09/08/2020 - 18:57
    +1

    A bit in lottery tickets, and the odd Melbourne Cup sweep, back in the day. Small sums only. Pointless exercise, except the sweeps which I won occasionally, for the work networking and free meal.

    • nahi11 on 09/08/2020 - 23:35
      -1

      Gambling to make money…ahh yeah.

      • Lastchancetosee on 11/08/2020 - 18:03

        Yes, gambling is a tax on foolishness. Haven't bought a ticket in years.

      • AustriaBargain on 12/08/2020 - 15:14
        +1

        Spending $10 to fantasize for a week about being a millionaire seems like great value. You spend $30 on a blu ray and the experience is over in a few hours, but on lottery tickets and you can ride the buzz all week, up until the actual drawing of the numbers. Then the buzz suddenly stops.

        • serpserpserp on 13/08/2020 - 18:01
          +1

          Spending $10 to fantasize for a week

          I don't buy lottery tickets much but when I do it is for the massive draws. Then I spend insane amounts of time thinking about how I am going to divvy up the winnings between family, investments and donations. Like way too much time. To the point that it is stopping me from getting a good sleep or getting work done!

  • knowwhat on 09/08/2020 - 22:23

    Stock market 10 k, bought Boeing Shares when they were 400 each, now sitting on 170 approx.

    Property- 40k Minimum on the apartment on paper at the moment , as not selling in the current market.

  • Raj09 on 10/08/2020 - 00:07

    I bought Rio and bhp 10 years back and they are way down from the prices I bought. Have not sold them yet so haven't realised the losses. I did other investments which counter the losses.

    • netjock on 10/08/2020 - 21:08

      I remember Rio at $100 before the 2008/9 crash.

  • Raj09 on 10/08/2020 - 00:08

    I stuck to bluechips in both asx and NASDAQ. They made up for the losses made.

  • Raj09 on 10/08/2020 - 00:09
    +1

    Guess what they say is right. Invest what you can afford to lose. Don't chase your losses and try to make it up. It never works

  • AustriaBargain on 10/08/2020 - 01:12
    +3

    I bought a $50 paper folder off Gumtree and it was more trouble than it was worth, didn't really make me much money. Maybe about $40, so I lost $10 easy plus it's still taking up space waiting for me to be bothered learning how to grease the parts and re-grip the rollers, which I'll probably never do.

    • amazonaddict on 10/08/2020 - 08:37
      +1

      come on. I am always selling things at a loss in Gumtree. I don’t count them.

  • monkeyfood on 10/08/2020 - 01:26

    My brother and I lost 100k (50k each) on a joint investment property we were forced to sell this year

    • amazonaddict on 10/08/2020 - 08:38

      Yeah I read that post.

    • khomeini on 11/08/2020 - 00:05

      Whoa bad luck to both of you. Hope you can recover some day. :)

  • Zarcady on 10/08/2020 - 06:54
    +2

    Bitmex liquidation of 26.6 BTC. It's hard to put into words the things you feel

    • [Deactivated] on 10/08/2020 - 18:35

      Bitmex liquidation of 10.5 BTC :) I know how you feel brother

  • vetopower on 10/08/2020 - 08:17
    +12

    I'm quite amazed at the large number of people investing into individual stocks — even worse, speculative stocks. Even most professional fund managers cannot beat the index. What hope is there for an amateur investor who doesn't have the resources, knowledge or time of a professional fund manager? Amateur picking of individual stocks is basically the same as gambling.

    This post is a sobering reminder of the value of index investing.

    • popsiee on 10/08/2020 - 19:29

      I think Trump going to do something stupid with China or another country with the election looming near and significantly behind .
      Means Gold to continue running :)

      • sangohan on 10/08/2020 - 22:14

        and the australian index contains some amount of gold miners. So rather than buying gold directly, the index funds will gain when gold miners gain, and gold miners gain when gold prices gain.

    • netjock on 10/08/2020 - 21:09

      What hope is there for an amateur investor who doesn't have the resources, knowledge or time of a professional fund manager?

      It is like buying lottery tickets. Get rich quick scheme.

  • chakkz on 10/08/2020 - 08:22

    In 2016, Bought a 2012 commodore sv6 in auction for 9 k planning to flip it for 12 k . Then found out that the car was in an accident and was repaired. engine light came on after 150 kms of driving and interior stinked like something was burning .
    Took it to a mechanic and found shocks was going too..

    Sold the car for 7 k in 3 days..

    Lost about 3 k in stock markets too..

  • umoddbro on 10/08/2020 - 08:49

    Im down about 30k on stocks, but only paper losses. Will be holding for a long time I guess.

  • amazonaddict on 10/08/2020 - 09:02

    Investing money into something expecting quick returns (like the car flipping story above) has always been hard for me. I’ll lose sleep at night worrying if things will fall into place. That’s not worth the gains for me.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 10/08/2020 - 09:59
    +1

    No actual losses. Just a missed opportunity. Could've partnered in a business with a friend but decided not to. He ran it for 3 years then cashed out for a huge chunk of cash.

  • aboogee on 10/08/2020 - 10:00

    Lost $50k in shares….
    did alot of research and bought FMG at ~$5-$6 average..
    lots of bad publicity around bad coal, china, global warming which wasnt part of my equation (lesson learned), price fell to like $4 i think
    couldnt take the pressure and sold it
    today its at $10+
    FML

    I personally feel like
    making money using money is for the rich unless you have balls of steels
    for a poor, frugal person like me, losing 50k is alot
    but somehow I knew i picked the right stock as i did extensive research
    just wasnt planning on going -$50k P&L along the journey

    • Aerith-Waifu on 10/08/2020 - 16:59
      +2

      Today its at $18.50 I am afraid……….

    • Briefcase Mong on 11/08/2020 - 00:08
      +8

      Its not about having balls investing stocks is about controlling your emotions

      • aboogee on 11/08/2020 - 12:06
        +3

        its the concept of utility i think
        the fear of loss of $1 is much worse than the joy from earning $1
        especially for people with low wealth - like me

        i also developed a strat that can make decent amount of profit
        was OK and making like 500-600 each week as side income
        there was one week i had a 10x losing streak and lost ~6k
        never again….
        but if I had the wealth to be able to afford those losing streaks then id still be making half a grand each week..

      • serpserpserp on 13/08/2020 - 18:04

        Its not about having balls investing stocks is about controlling your emotions

        In reality it is both these things. Gotta be brave to take the leap. Then you have to stick to the plan.

  • dlakers3peat on 10/08/2020 - 10:15

    I am down $80k in super because of covid.

    • serpserpserp on 13/08/2020 - 18:05

      You must have a massive portfolio.

      Weirdly my Super is up about 5 percent.

  • Ozybargdias on 10/08/2020 - 10:44
    +1

    Investing isn't about the wins and losses, but the friends we made along the way.

  • theOGozbargainer on 10/08/2020 - 10:47

    i put a $500 bet in an attempt to get back $1700. figured out i would take the gamble after losing my airpods - i tried to recoup the lost $350.
    screw you, varane and real madrid :(

    • Briefcase Mong on 11/08/2020 - 00:10
      -1

      Didn't you say you're in school how are you even allowed to gamble ?

  • dr4 on 10/08/2020 - 10:58
    +1

    Lost 2k on black

    • Frank Murphy on 11/08/2020 - 11:40
      +1

      But Wesley Snipes said ALWAYS!

  • david6509 on 10/08/2020 - 11:04
    +4

    Biggest lost: Invested about 10k into a mechanical business with a friend, wont be doing that again anytime soon and gambling probably abit.

    Biggest wins: Made close to 50k over the past 2 years on video games as a side hobby. Also flip number plates normally making around 100% profit.

    • amazonaddict on 10/08/2020 - 13:15

      Wow. Do you make video games? Or resell them or something?

      • david6509 on 10/08/2020 - 15:51

        i resell items in the game for real money :) its against the terms and conditions but i have many different accounts

        • amazonaddict on 10/08/2020 - 18:32

          Hey make a course about it. You will make more. :)

          • Craze on 10/08/2020 - 19:32
            +1

            @amazonaddict: Probably risky to make a course when he's saying it's against T&C.

            • sangohan on 10/08/2020 - 22:17

              @Craze: Making a course isn't against T&C - the individuals following the course take on the full risk themselves.

              • SF3 on 10/08/2020 - 23:32
                +1

                @sangohan: Classic get rich quick scheme 😉

          • david6509 on 10/08/2020 - 23:31

            @amazonaddict: you could say i made a course where i was teaching people how to duplicate items for the small fee of $500-$1000 at one stage

            • amazonaddict on 10/08/2020 - 23:35

              @david6509: No kidding? :D Man I need to get into this. There is no way you can lose any money in this. Morally sounds right as well. Only the T&C.
              Good for you.

              • david6509 on 10/08/2020 - 23:41
                +1

                @amazonaddict: there was a chance i could of lost money this time around. i took a 5month break from it and when i came back i decided to purchase a set of armor off an old customer (was a one of a kind armor set that sold for about 600usd at the time). If i had been banned i could of lost it and the account as it is tracable. 2 weeks later and about 5k up :) (duplication methods normally only last a couple days before they get patched). I know of one person who had the duplication method under lock and key for about 2months. That guy probably cleared close to 100k in that time.

        • [Deactivated] on 10/08/2020 - 23:10

          Runescape gold? lol

          • david6509 on 10/08/2020 - 23:35

            @[Deactivated]: fallout 76, terrible game but people spend allot of money on it :) been doing this on and off for the past two years.

    • Craze on 10/08/2020 - 13:18

      Out of curiosity- are you still friends with the person you invested $10k on?

      • david6509 on 10/08/2020 - 15:53
        +1

        we didnt leave on bad terms but we no longer talk or hang out anymore, really wish i had never done it in the first place.

  • Slippery Otter on 10/08/2020 - 11:04
    +6

    Mine was my own fault for not taking action sooner, lost about $61,000 from my business due to my business partner running the business into the ground (I was bullied and pushed right out of my own business being framed for a horrible business partner and all sorts of stuff my business partner told all staff). Extremely stressful, hard to watch and I just let it happen.

    His 2 friends (staff) expressed interest buying the business, my business partner flew overseas just before COVID19 was the news (for yet another holiday) and they asked me all these questions that didn't match up. I showed them financial figures which didn't add up to what my business partner presented. 8 months later the 3 of us are now business partners and my current business partner is almost out the picture.

    I was in a very DARK place for 2 years and what's going on with Covid-19 feels like nothing compared to the enermous stress I was put through. "When there's darkness, look for the light" quote from Last of us really felt it.

    I'm so glad I stuck by my principals the whole time even when I was questioning myself. I cant say the same for my business partner. I feel like whatever he accused me of anything, I believe he was talking about himself.

    Some people in life I won't understand… It costed him a lot more then just money.

    (I was thinking of creating my own thread "Horrible business partners")

    • amazonaddict on 10/08/2020 - 13:27
      +4

      People are different. One of my friend, very genuine down to earth guy, using his savings and personal loan he bought a Truck business from Gumtree to make side income. The seller gave him the contracts, drivers and truck altogether for $60k. He recieved his $1500 profit the first month and was very happy about it.

      The next month, the driver reversed the truck into some council property and damaged a lot. The estimation for repair was $25k or something. And, ofcourse, the truck did not have 3rd party insurence. The seller bought back the business for $25k saying he will fix the truck and pay the insurance from his company.

      Then he got like $5000 from the seller then he ghosted him. The poor bloke went suicidal during those days. He has recovered now though. Some of us are not cut out for businesses.

      Anyways, the best part is your reference to Last of Us. :)

      • MynyMouqe on 11/08/2020 - 10:53
        +2

        Running a business without insurance!? Has he never heard the old saying about not insuring what you can afford to lose?

        He should be very happy that they didn't injure someone, or have a major product issue!

        Surprised we didn't see an ozB thread about it…

        • amazonaddict on 11/08/2020 - 11:14

          I bet it is all part of a massive scam. The guy who sold the business was supposed to pay the insurance, salary, manage everything, take his cut as management fee and then pay back the rest of revenue to my friend. That the deal. Realising how naive my friend is, they should have staged the whole thing to rip him off. My friend doesn't believe people could do that to others. But, I seriously think that's what happened. Easy $55K for the scammer. My friend could have killed himself. My blood boils everytime I think of it. Do you know how genuine he is, I lent him some money during that time, he paid all that back with interest at bank rate every week.

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