What Money Mistake Do You Regret?

Not too long before the Great Recession hit I was looking for another mutual fund to invest in. I had been reading about how well the markets in India and China were doing and decided to look into a global fund, thinking that would add a little more diversity to my portfolio. I finally settled on one and was happy with my decision…until a few months later as I watched its value drop by two thirds. Most of my other investments were cut in half, but the global fund really hurt. I didn’t cash out, though, keeping in mind a loss is only a loss on paper until you do. I still own it and while it’s slowly regaining value I still regret the timing on that one.

Another recent mistake I made was the result of doing nothing. We noticed after a heavy downpour a little water was seeping through a wall and part of the ceiling of a first floor bedroom. It didn’t happen every time it rained, just during the really heavy rain storms, and after it happened a few more times I called a roofer. He looked around and couldn’t see anything obvious until he put his finger all the way through a rotted window sill right above the leaky bedroom. It was like a sponge and once it was full it started passing water through into the house. I ended up replacing the second floor windows with new but from the time they were ordered until they were installed it continued to leak into the bedroom, adding to the damage. We ended up having to replace the ceiling and repair the wall. The damage would not have been as bad if I had done something when we first noticed the leak, instead of stupidly wishing it would go away.

Sharing our money mistakes might help others to avoid doing what we have done. Or maybe not, but at least we can get it off our chests. What recent money mistake do you regret?