“What Is Your Most Expensive Mistake?”: 45 People Share Their Stories

That information is available at all times. Magazines and journals update them every year. And the categories ranked are diverse.

Take care of all of you. You'll find that a lot of dumb things you did as a teen or young adult that resulted in injuries will resurface in your middle age.

I'm very curious to know what country folks live in where there is apparantly a constant supply of ice cubes? Another person above mentioned chewing ice cubes too.

I do not agree, OP only made a comparison in how much money they spend on smoking. Some people do indeed save money wherever they can so they can buy a house or go on vacation or whatever they are saving money for. Others spend it along the way on other things besides smoking. The amount of money not spent on smoking stays the same - no matter what you did or did not do with it instead. So, Ferrari or not... house or not... they still did not spend 250.000 (or whatever else amount) on smoking...

I actually did start saving at 24... put $200 a month into an investment account (my husband did as well)... some years I made 10% profit, other years 30%... it has grown quite well! And yes, we could certainly afford a Ferrari at this point. I still put 200 in every month. I guess I could put more, but never felt the need to increase the amount. Start saving, kids!

Those calculations work exactly how I think. It is you that shared the bad Ferrari joke, not me. My friend used to smoke two packs a day. She has mostly stopped now due to health. Cigs are about $10 per pack here. So $20 / day or over $7,000 per year. I pay about $9,000 a year for my house mortgage. My income is low. If i spent 7K per year on cigs or something else, I literally could not afford to make my house payments. So yeah, the $$$$ involved can be very significant.

This is why I, finally, quit. At $7.00 per pack, a person pays $76650.00 for them for one year if --they smoke 1 pack per day. $7.00 X 365 days = $2, 555 per year. $2555 X 30 yrs= $ 76,650.00 If there are two smokers in the home, or if one smoker smokes 2 packs per day, then it becomes $ 153,300. That might not equal a Ferrari, but their house would have been paid for long ago and the rest could go toward retirement or ? QUIT, Quit, Quit.

It's a great joke but usually folks who invest consistently over thirty years wouldn't just casually spend it all on a show car. Normally the goals are more like "I want to be able to live in my home in my old age" or "I don't want to be a burden on my children" or "I would like to travel". I like bonkers cars more than most and a machine at that price, fun though it may be, just isn't my goal and it isn't the goal of millions of others who have made compounding interest work for them.

Upvote for the joke

Smoking is definitely bad. It should be banned worldwide.

Had a coworker who drove an old car that was always breaking down. We sat her down and showed her that if she quit she could put that same amount of money into a car payment instead. She did! It wasn’t a Ferrari but it was a decent new vehicle.

Hahahahahaha 🤣😂

Nailed it.

I’m European (UK) and that’s not just a USA thing. You can opt in to retirement plans over here but never automatically get enrolled, and if you leave that company they don’t keep paying it, and you’ll have to join a new plan at your new job.

You were right: You weren't able to comprehend this. Retirement matching means that your employer will put money into your retirement if you do. That money is on top of all salary and benefits you're already getting. OP was pointing out that not taking advantage of that for five years was like just opting to not accept free money. Healthcare is utterly unrelated.

Where I live (European country) , everyone is entitled to a state pension. You can supplement this pension with a pension plan from the company you work for. If you switch jobs, usually your pension plan gets switched too. Since not all company pension plans are the same, this can involve some complex maths. On top of your state pension and company pension you can of course also have a private pension plan. Most people have the 2-tier pension plan: state pension supplemented by the company pension plan. In general, a two-tier pension is enough to live on a normal footing, assuming children have left home and there are no significant debts (mortgage has been fully paid). Having only a state pension is, well, difficult. However, you are eligible for health care and housing benefits, so there's that. The 3-tier pension means you will have the means for the nicer things in life more often. Health care is not affected by having a job or not or switching a job.

Welcome to America the worlds fanciest 3rd world sh*thole.

European here too, if you have a retirement saving, you can get a contribution from your employer. Not every company offers this or if they do, they may have some conditions like ours has (you have to save with one particular insurance company), but the savings are yours no matter how often you switch jobs or not.

And that, in the minds of most Americans, makes you a communist. Any measure that is taken in the interest of the majority is instantly categorized as such.

Same! Maybe we should start a club with OP...

And people wonder why we ask for medical advice on Reddit.

$407 for a hour long physical that I was just asked questions by my Dr (never examined me physically.) I was considered a "special case, tier 4" in the billing code...so insurance didn't cover it

not really just a sh*tty doctor

The doctor is a piece of work. Asking questions of a good doctor should not generate extra charges. It is crazy what an insurance company covers or does not cover. No consistency.

Not on the spot but yes, drs come up with a fee schedule so they get the maximum amount of money that an insurance company will pay.

Unfortunately, companies who are making the money from the corrupt billing system buy politics and release partial data to create an image that prevents Americans from being able to make change. Basically advertise to get people to vote against their own self interest. We would love change, but the powerful profiting from the current system are blocking it. Ignorant people *still* complain about steps in the right direction such as the Affordable Care Act, while they or their family members are getting healthcare from it. Why haven't Americans voted to make healthcare changes? Millions of dollars are being poured into propaganda to keep us from demanding change.

"Why do Americans put up with it"- because we have little choice. We fight back against all that we can, but until things get rectified we either get medical treatment(or whatever) or we don't. There is no other option. We can say "I have no choice but to get the medical attention I need and hope at some point I can pay for it" or we can say "I will go with out and hope I don't suffer even worse consequences". Do you think we're able to wave a magic wand and stop all this or something? Also, yes, doctors/hospitals and insurance companies absolutely make s**t up as they go along, because they know we know what our options are, do it, or don't.

I recently went to a private dentist here in Finland because I had a sharp jaw bone piece break through the skin in my mouth. They put anesthetic, took x-ray, grind it down and cleaned it. Afterwards the doc couldn't find a fitting code for billing, so he said 'let's call it a basic checkup', which was about 30€. So in total a bit over 100€ total...

Mostly it's the insurance companies

What makes you think we just put up with up? Many of us are fighting to change.

It's not the people in charge. The average person refuses it because they "have to pay for someone else" and "it makes doctors into slaves"