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40 Unfortunate And Stupid Fails That Must Have Been Expensive
Interview With Expert
Mistakes are inevitable. No matter how prepared you (think you) are, no matter how lucky you were born, at some point in time, you’re going to get into an accident that might set you back a lot financially. It hurts. It’s embarrassing. It’s devastating. But the silver lining is that you’re far from the only person to be in this predicament—lots of people can empathize with you.
Our team at Bored Panda has collected some of the most expensive fails to ever be shared on the internet, from smashed phones and broken home appliances to damaged cars and wrecked homes. Scroll down to check out the pics below. Remember, no matter how bad you think things can get, they can get a lot worse—and that, ironically, makes you more grateful for what you already have.
We wanted to learn how we can all become more financially and emotionally resilient no matter what may come, as well as how we can resist the temptation to keep upgrading our things to the latest models. Personal finance expert Sam Dogen, the founder of Financial Samurai and the author of Millionaire Milestones: Easy Steps to Seven Figures (out May 2025), was kind enough to share his thoughts on this. You'll find Bored Panda's interview with him below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
This Is A Prime Example Of Why You Don't Park In Front Of A Hydrant
RELATED:
#2
Looks Like I Won't Be Listening To My New Vinyl Record. Thanks, USPS
Regina Holt 1 year ago
That is painful, especially if it was a hard-to-find classic. They should be packaged better. The USPS doesn't pay attention to labels that say "do not bend"
#3
When You Live In Svalbard, Norway And Forgot To Close The Window To The Home Office
#4
My Mom Accidentally Left Her Mirror In Front Of The Window Over The Day. After Coming Back She Found This
#5
Long Story Short, I Saw A Cockroach
#6
Facade Wall Contractors Used A Drill Too Long For The Job
Was showering for 10 mins, when I realized, two rooms were in this state...
#7
Put Them In Oven On Purpose To Hide Them From Kids. Forgot About Them
Bill Swallow 1 year ago
You don't have to worry about hiding the controllers from the kids now. NOW, you have to worry about hiding *yourself* from the kids!
#8
Flooding Inside Duke Hospital In Durham, North Carolina Due To A Burst Pipe
#9
Before You Ask, It's A Jackfruit
#10
Friend Of Mine Posted This Photo Of The Job Site Today
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
Break out the shovels and buckets and work fast before it sets. I've been there.
#11
Taking A Shower For The First Time In The House I Just Bought 🤡
My first ever house! The tiles hit me on their way down. I got out of the shower and simply walked away to make/have a coffee because I can not mentally handle this yet.
#12
Phone Slipped Out Of My Pocket While Go Karting And Became Wedged Under The Kart. This Is What I Found At The End Of The Lap
#13
30 Inch Water Main Break Caused By Contractor Work
#14
How To Lose Almost Half A Million In 24 Hours. [oc] Porsche 911 Gt3 Rs Put In A River The Day After It Was Purchased
#15
I Accidentally Dropped My Perfume Bottle
#16
Driving Into Your Garage With Your Bike Still Attached To You Cars Roof
#17
A $5,000,000 Oops
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
LMAO I love this one. The M in MRI is for MAGNETIC. You don't want to have so much as a steel nail in the same room with one of those when they're on.
#18
Ever Make A $100,000 Mistake?
Recently moved to shipping for a ink making company. While unloading a dark trailer, I punctured a 2000# tote of water based ink. The entire thing emptied in a matter of seconds. The entire trailer, dock door, and outside was turned blue. Even thou its water based it still had water pollutants in it so EPA had to be called in due to it getting into the sewer. The specialty company that was called in to clean up has spent the last 3 weeks digging up the sewer and surrounding ground that had been contaminated. A few days of heavy rain hasnt helped the clean up at all. Needless to say I had a nervous break down and missed 2 days of work. Got a call asking if I quiting, which would possibly lead to criminal charges. Being close to 3 weeks out I can finally think back and sorta laugh at this situation.
Jeffery B Jones 1 year ago
My semi slowly leaked diesel while I was parked overnight at a shipper. Gravel lot. California. By the time a contractor dug all the contaminated stuff out and redid half the lot per EPA, it was over $100,000. Fortunately it was the fault of the shop who replaced the fuel tank…. And yes, I always do a complete pre & post trip inspection
#19
Cable Guy Drills A Hole In The Side Of House, Into A Closet, Through A Guitar Case, And Right Through A Martin Hd-28v
#20
Driving My Wife's New Car (Still On The First Tank Of Gas) When This Happened
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
I has something similar happen years ago. Riding by a construction site and a freaking nail went in teh bottom and out the sidewall. The tire was completely ruined and it was less than a week old.
#21
A Truck Carrying A Tank Of White Paint Dropped It On The Road
#22
Guy Dropped A $40,000 Pallet Of Glass On His First Day
#23
Gonna Be A Long Day
🇺🇦 🇵🇸 TribbleThinking 1 year ago (edited)
I get the general idea, but does anyone have a more exact idea of the scenario and sequence of events, please? I see two pallets of paint, not set exactly together, but both seem to have had tins knocked off with great force, almost akin to a split strike in bowling.
#24
Forgot I Was Heating Oil For French Fries
#25
Played At Topgolf For The First Time Yesterday. This Is What I Found When I Got To My Car
#26
Couple Accidentally Roll Into River While “Getting Busy” Inside Their Car
#27
Someone Broke My Friends Bass In Half
#28
My Kid Poured Candle Wax Down The Drain
#29
My Wife Said She Had Something Crazy To Show Me After We Ate Lunch
#30
Lawn Service Used The Wrong Herbicide On My Neighbor’s 1 Acre Yard
#31
My Cat Decided To Share Her Lunch With Me Via My Headphones
#32
Someone Reversed Their Boat Trailer Into My Rental
#33
Yesterday I Forgot To Bring My Arm Down While Driving A Crane Inside
#34
Plane Crashed Into Newly Built House
#35
I Was Tightening The Last Bolt At The Roof Edge Of The Construction When The Spanner Slipped From My Hand And Fell On The Solar Panel On The Adjacent Building
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
When I was in theater, I had to dangle from catwalks adjusting lights. I always tethered my tools to a belt around my waist so that if I lost my grip I could pull it back up and not worry about it bouncing off someone's head or a set piece. I continued to use this method in construction later on.
#36
My Friend Arrived At His House And Left His School Backpack In His Car, Moments Later Heard A Breaking Sound And Returns To This With All His School Notes And Books Gone
That is why you never leave something important in your car but the city where we are (Quebec City) this is super rare.
trixiefly11 1 year ago
And they left the instrument case which probably was actually worth more.
#37
This Is At Least $700k Worth Of LED Video Wall, According To People In The Know
#38
Just Bought This Underwater Protective Case In Thailand And Went Swimming With It
#39
WCGW By Grilling Next To Your Siding?
#40
I Think I’m Going To Need A Bigger Bucket
#41
Was Out Desert Riding And Went To Check The Time Just To Find This
#42
Tech Repair Client Did This To ‘Combat Overheating’
#43
Someone's Insurance Company Isn't Going To Be Happy
#44
Recently Tried An Expensive Rental Clothing Subscription. UPS Threw The Package Of Clothes/Bags Into My Backyard. I Have Two Puppies
#45
Aluminium Pots And Pans Can Melt On An Electric Stove If All The Water Is Gone And It's Left On For A Long Time
Riley Quinn 1 year ago
I accept your one-upmanship, but too many of my former housemates were imbeciles nevertheless.
#46
Daughter Left The Garden Hose Running Outside All Night And It Managed To Flood My Basement
#47
Crashed Stealth Bomber
#48
My Mom Left Her Car For 2 Months, Came Back To It Covered In Mold
#49
Less Than 10 Minutes Ago, A Delivery Guy Forgot To Use His Handbrake On Our Steep Driveway. His Car Rolled Over The Ledge And Garden And Then Fell In Front Of Our Living Room 3-4 Metres Down
Upstaged75 1 year ago
My mom did that once in the driveway at my parents' house. Which is on a hill. In the woods. She went inside and a moment later heard a massive crash. When she came back out she saw that her car was now wrapped around a tree at the bottom of the hill. :)
#50
In Ten Seconds I'm Going To Discover The Value Of Lifejackets And Renter's Insurance
#51
My Dad Said He Would Make Dinner Today And Grilled The Expensive Bullet Steak I Bought. This Is The Result
#52
Spent 10 Minutes Looking For The Drip Tray For The Forman Grill, After I Turned It On
#53
Fire Inspector Accidentally Set Off My Ansul System
#54
Phone Slipped Out Of My Pocket At About 9 Thousand Feet While Skydiving. Found It Shattered On The Runway, But Somehow It Is Still Semi-Functional
Bill Swallow 1 year ago
Contact the manufacturer, and ask for a new phone in exchange for a testimonial, a la the old "Timex - Takes a licking and keeps on ticking" wristwatch commercials.
#55
This Is My 2nd Set Of Ipods That I Have Idiotically Left In My Pockets And Washed. Please Mock Me
Bill Swallow 1 year ago
NGL, not an Apple fan, but accidents like this are always a shame. Better luck in future.
#56
Forgot To Let The Faucet Drip
#57
Candle Was Super Fragrant Last Night... Now I Know Why!
#58
My 5-Year-Old Son Got Upset That It Was His Bedtime And Threw A 50-Cent Yo-Yo At My 77" Sony Oled. The Yo-Yo Won, And The TV's Done
#59
Plumbers Broke Through This Foundation To Add Pipes, Compromising The Structural Support Of The Home
#60
Diaper Got Mixed With Laundry And Went Into Washing Machine. Everything Is Covered In Absorbent Hydro Gel
Toddler loves hiding things. Put used diaper in laundry basket, we didn’t notice and put clothes in washer. Diaper expanded, exploded and covered everything with hydro gel.
#61
GF Accidentally Spilled Hot Wax On Ps5
#62
Just Set Up New Monitor, Chair Slipped Under Me And I Hit The Desk, And Monitor Fell And Broke
#63
New Airpod Fell Into Paint
#64
Tried To Dry My Running Shoes
So, yesterday I ran in my new-ish running shoes (50 miles) in the pouring rain. Washed out all the mud and left to dry, but today they were still soaked so I put them near the fireplace. Apparently, TOO near.
Dog Mom to Zoe 1 year ago
A hack if you will; If you want to dry sneakers, put them in your car that is parked outside. Unless it's snowing or raining, the shoes will dry within 3 hours.
#65
My Wedding Ring Slipped Off And Fell Down The Gap Between The Sink And The Wall. The Gap's Very Deep. This Is In A Bnb And Checkout Is In 11 Hours
Only way to get a visual on the ring was to use the selfie camera, hence the second picture is so out of focus
#66
It's My First Summer In Arizona. Left My Laptop In My Car. Lesson Learned
#67
I Was Mowing The Lawn And Found Some Money :(
Bill Swallow 1 year ago
Unlike many of the incidents shown here, this is potentially recoverable.
#68
I'm Glad I Paid For The Deluxe Room Upgrade In This 4 Star Hotel. And Yes, My Back Is To The Wall
#69
Apparently There's A Staple Sticking Upon This Bench
#70
Had A Leak Develop In Our Laboratory This Morning. Nobody Was On Campus To Catch It So There Was 4 Inches Of Standing Water And Countless Ruined Pieces Of Equipment
Bill Swallow 1 year ago
I once ran a data center located in our building's basement, about 110 or so servers. Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend a user needed a new monitor. There was a spare in the server room. I went to get it; when I bent down to pick it up from the floor, I glanced through a cutout in a raised-floor tile and saw a movie - 'A River Runs Through It'. First call was to the building facilities people, second was to the boss to contact the clients and tell them we were going down NOW! Then I started powering down servers as fast as I could before the water got to the electrical junction boxes under that floor. A line carrying chiller water to an air handler was rubbing on a motor housing & wore through. We didn't lose a thing, and were back up in a few hours. Since we were in the basement, the water alarms were up at the ceiling, "since water could only leak in from heavy rain". I told the guy I thought that water runs downhill. His grin said someone else was due for a bad day.
#71
Slipped In The Shower, Landed On The Toilet
Multa Nocte 1 year ago
One should never laugh at accidents like this that could have turned out very badly, yet . . .
#72
Overnight Coworker Sent Me This Last Night
#73
New Photos Of The $80 Million Mars Ingenuity Helicopter, Showing A Blade Completely Broken Off And Lodged Into A Martian Sand Dune
Bill Swallow 1 year ago
A sad occurrence, true, but it truly served above and beyond its design specs.
#74
My Kids (Age 3 & 5) Decided To Paint My Switch With Tattoo Ink
I had a home tattoo kit in my closet on the shelf (about 7 feet of the ground) don't know how they got to it. They stole the ink and rubbed it all over the house while my spouse was cooking lunch. (I was at work) But I'm pretty sure my switch is toast.
Anonymous Fox 1 year ago
If they don't mind the casing and controllers being covered in ink, they should just be able to replace the screen.
#75
Left The Stove On Accidentally For 5 Hours, Noticed When I Came Back Home. There Goes My Gas Bill… At Least I Didn’t Burn My Place Down
#76
Pricey Chew Toy
#77
Paint Lid Wasn't Closed Properly By The Store
Naomi van Nijnatten 1 year ago
Am I the only one who always puts things like this in a closed garbagesack to transport it home?
#78
Ever Left Your Fuel Door Open And Gas Cap Off, Then Driven Home? Well Then, This Should Make You Feel Better
#79
My Wife’s iPhone Was Dangling From Her Pocket While Karting
Bill Swallow 1 year ago
That'll buff out. (At least it's not down to the circuitry / battery like the other poor phone.)
#80
Don’t Buy The Cheapest Carport On Amazon
#81
Someone Without Insurance Hit My Neighbors Ferrari
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
Well I assume the Ferrari had full coverage. That's kind of what it's for.
#82
Witnessed This Crash! Db12
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
looks like someone wasn't were they were supposed to be and it's not the tram because they can only follow the tracks.
#83
Imagine Rear-Ending A Car Worth Over 1 Million Euros
#84
My GF's Mirror Melted My Monitor
#85
Knocked A Candle Onto My Brand New Boots
#86
Was On My Way To Work And Accidentally Wrecked My Truck Today. Physically I Got Lucky, But Financially I'm In Trouble
#87
Accidentally Stepped On My Glasses And They Went Half. Don't Have Money For New Ones
#88
My Upstairs Neighbor Dropped A Quart Of Milk And It's Dripping Into My Apartment
#89
Family Member Gave Us A Cubby House For Free. This Is How They Dropped It Off
#90
New House New Stupid Expenses I Guess
#91
Got Up At Night To Get A Glass Of Water, Accidentally Dropped It At The Counter, Didn't Notice It Had Hit The Stove. Woke Up Today To Find Out It Made A Huge Crack On It
Nikki Angulo 1 year ago
I hate glass top stoves. I prefer gad stoves, and barring those, just regular old electric stovetops.
#92
It Was A Sad Morning…
Ever accidentally dropped $200 down the sink? This bottle was new. If anyone has recommendations for other serums that aren’t as expensive I will gladly accept them!
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
I don't feel bad about this one. I looked up the company on the label and it's not medicine, it's very expensive snakeoil. They do average $200 per bottle though so that's accurate but the company website for this product reads like a late night informercial from the '90s.
#93
I Lost My Phone On A Festival, A Few Hours Later I Found It Burning Next To The Campfire
#94
90° And Another 6 Hours Until High Tide
#95
My Girlfriend’s Perfume Fell From The Medicine Cabinet And Broke Our Sink
#96
Next Time I Won't Park Next To A Softball Field
#97
Accidently Dropped An Expensive Bottle Of Cologne That I Used Only Twice
Highly recommend though! I get a lot of compliments from it.
#98
It's The Only Thing He Hit All Day
#99
Well, It Happened. I Accidentally Pressed My Joke Amazon Dash Button That Orders A Kia Sorento
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