The most amazing thing I’ve ever done with my money is…
To use it to clear my $60,000 student debt.
Cheesy but true.
Here are some other amazing things:
- Paying $1800 for a used car and having it be a great vehicle that does its job
- Using it to travel to countries I’ve always wanted to visit
And the stupidest thing I’ve ever done with my money?
Getting into debt in the first place.
Does that count? I could have probably pinched to have only been $30,000 – $40,000 in debt, but I wasn’t very frugal in college.
Okay, if that doesn’t count I have plenty of other stupid things:
- Paying for an apartment I never used — I was traveling all the time, so I finally gave it up after paying $19,200 in total for a year
- Paying for parasitic people in my life — This stopped after I realized they’d never change and I cut them out of my life
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
Best: a 4 1/2 week long motorcycle trip through the western half of the US with my now fiancé, we are set to do another 5 week trip through the other half and Montreal after we get married for our honeymoon 🙂
Worst: cashing out my IRA in my early 20’s to pay for food and basic bills when I was down on my luck rather than swallowing my pride and asking for help
the best: financed my father’s cancer treatment and hospitalisation
the worst: quit a well paying job and on top of that had to pay $53,000 for breaching/breaking the contract.
Best: Lasik. Worst: When I was a cocktail server, we used to walk out of the restaurant with $250 in tips, made it home with $150. We wasted money like crazy in those days…but it was fun!
Best: Used it to pay down my debt and traveled to places I’ve always wanted to travel (Italy, Greece, etc.)
Worst: Used it to travel. Yup – best and worst because some of the trips I took (i.e. all-inclusive resorts which are purely indulgence and not a whole lot of adventure) were on a whim and I could have done without.
Nice post. I am actually preparing a post about the contrary: the worst thing I have done with my money 🙂
Paid for a year living in paradise with only one of us working.
That would be $5K, not £… sorry.
I have never had much money of my own. When I was a single mom, I am (now) amazed at how well we did. But later, I twice inherited a small sum of money (less than £5K), coincidentally at the same time. The best thing I ever did with money was with these two lump sums:
1) I bought an 8 year old Renault Twingo with low mileage that has lasted me 9 years so far (due for a road test, so not sure if it will be rescuable, but hey… it’s been fantastic, taken me over 100K km including 2500K road trips within Europe!). It is dirt cheap to drive, to insure, to tax and to maintain and I also moved (family) home with it twice; it’s a Tardis. And it’s pink.
2) Bought my first year of distance uni study (fees/books/exams incl.). I was 39 and a mom of 3, incl. a 20 yr old. I had missed out on college and loved the opportunity to get back into education for a few years to earn my Bachelor’s, of which I’m very proud. I adore education.
The worst things I have done with money are manifold but I try not to kick myself in hindsight. I just didn’t know any better and fell for a lot of marketing because I didn’t use my brain and had learnt my behaviours from a very consumer dad in a luxurious environment. Still, I didn’t do too bad, no debt, just no savings either. Fortunately, my husband has been a lot wiser than me from a very young age!!
I’m just glad I eventually learnt and am smarter with my money nowadays.
Hey, FB, do you have any tips on finding a good used car, then?
I’m right there with you. Using my money to pay off stupid credit card debt is by far the best use. I’ve also given a hell of a lot to the ASPCA and that was wonderful too.
Most amazing: travel. Stupidest: credit card debt for travel when I didn’t have the money.
Best: Gonna agree with Diane’n’David here and say save by living with rents. Also when I pay off my creditcard or parts of loans.. I’m sure I’ll be ecstatis once my entire student loan is paid off!
Worst: COLLEGE DAYS – why did I think those grants were shopping money?.. ugh and buying lunch everyday.
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Best: Lived at home with the ‘rents for a while. I was able to pay off $20k in student loans and then save up $20k for a house down payment and still travel somewhere every month (went to the beach, Egypt, Spain, France, snowboarding in the mountains)… Worst: All the unplanned little spending on things that I can’t even remember– usually on starbucks! It’s so much better when you have a plan and know where your money goes!
Definitely pay off my student loans ($33,000) while saving up for a downpayment on my first condo!
best: my education… and the money I used to pay off the 47 000 ensuing debt used to fund said education; my braces, my hair straightener, my travels.
stupidest: any money I spent on cheap but low-quality clutter (makeup, clothes, handbags, house things) when I could’ve saved up and bought less but have something high quality that lasted.
The best: Using my money to travel with my family. So far, my 12 year old has lived in two countries and visited six more. Once our current debt is paid off, we have a lot more travel to look forward to!
The worst: Buying clothes or going out to eat because “I deserve it.” Well, let’s reframe it: I do deserve it, but only if I can pay cash and not add it to a credit card balance.
Best: Putting myself through college. Granted, a lot of that was courtesy of scholarships, grants, and a few (less than $5K) low-interest federal loans. But I also worked my butt off and lived like a pauper for a few of those years, and it was totally worth it. I’d say grad school too but that’s pretty much free for me (unless you factor in 4-5 years of lost wages, eeps).
Worst: Getting a stupid personal loan for a car. Granted, it was only $3K but when I think of the fact that I have a payment and interest when I could have just bought a beater for less, it burns me. Live and learn. At least I love the car and it should theoretically last me ages.
Best: made my money make money — buying income generating assets is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I love watching them grow!
Worst: Debt. Debt! MORE DEBT! Can’t wait until my student loan is GONE.
The best thing I’ve done with my money is to take my mom with me on trips. We’ve been to the Dominican Republic, New York, and Orlando so far!
The best thing I’ve done with money is of course spend it for leisure time with my loved ones, buying toys,giving fun entertainment for my 2 lovely kids and put a smile on their face, provide them with good foods and good health,and sending them to a good school for them to have great wisdom and knowledge. The worst things money can do is they make human being greedy and selfish and turn into ‘monsters’ hahaha.. Well, sometimes money do break a family..
Travel to Europe on my own for 3 weeks last summer. It was amazing.
I would say the best was a beater car that we bought which has lasted a couple of years so far (and many more to come) and also my undergrad and grad school.
The best thing: travel, & support charities of my choice. The worst? Deciding that shopping could cure all my problems & having to get my parents bail me out. 26 wasn’t a good year!
Shopping as therapy is never a good idea. I too, learned that the hard way…
The best thing I’ve ever done with money is put myself through school. The worst? Waste it.
Yep. Sounds familiar….. 🙂