Friday MM question

[dr.girlfriend]

In the year before we were married, DH quit his job before finding a new one (he was miserable there). He thought he'd find a new one quickly, but he didn't. He also didn't apply for unemployment because he had quit, although I think in retrospect he would probably have been eligible. Because we weren't married yet, he had to COBRA his health insurance at $400 a month. It was a huge financial stressor for us. It SUCKED, but it also forced us to get our finances in order, and be very financially conservative since then (we picked a very affordable house, etc.). So, it was a good experience overall.

My biggest boneheaded move was probably cashing out some stock to finance a move between internship and postdoc. I probably should have just borrowed $400 from my parents, I think the stock (Toyota) doubled since then.

[FishChicks]

Buying our first house in 2006 was a $100,000+ mistake. There were major hidden defects, the value dropped by $200k during the time we owned it and it was just a bad fit for us. I wish we had waited to buy, but the monthly payment was low enough we saved a ton which let us buy our dream house in 2010. I will always regret the first house, but always be somewhat grateful it gave us the breathing room to buy the second one.

[MNH2013]

I would not have switched majors half way through college thus taking out more student loans, losing credit hours and taking an extra 2 years to finish. I think about that all the time, especially on days like today when I paid my SL.

[orangeblossom]

Honestly, most every financial/major life decision I would do again. The biggies are:

I should not have left my federal job before getting tenure (seven months away)
Buying our current house we're trying to sell
Turning down some jobs/contacts and unintentionally letting DHs career take precedence over mine
Not going to nursing school sooner

[IrishBelle]

Taking out as much as I did in student loans. It really sucked when I got out of school and was working at my first job and wasn't earning much.  I payments were more than the minimums but they would have taken me YEARS to pay off at that rate.  

As I started earning more I increased my payments and now they are finally paid off.  If I had to do it differently, I would have worked more while going to school and would have taken out fewer loans.  

[WinterWine]

Thankfully I've always been pretty financially smart. I learned from my dad's wisdom and my mom's horrible financial decisions. I've worked some type of job nonstop since 6th grade, starting with babysitting and had never taken a big break or trip. I worked all through college, but took out a $5k student loan my senior year to give me some breathing room financially before starting grad school. I used that money to take the entire summer off and not work. I went to Ireland for a month, and on a huge road trip to all the western national parks. I could have done without the loan and vacation, but it provided the reprieve i needed before the craziness of grad school started. I'm still paying student loans, but man was that worth it. I'm also impressed with how far I stretched that $5k.