Article created by: Ilona Baliūnaitė
When you were a kid, did you ever play the game of “If I had a million dollars, here’s how I would spend it”? Casual conversations would ensue with your friends about mansion with spiral staircases, gorgeous homes on the beach in Hawaii, private jets that would fly in and out of your backyard and the ranches you planned to own and fill with exotic animals. Little did we know at the time that it takes a lot more than a million dollars to own those things, and that it’s much harder to accumulate funds than to lose them.In the spirit of having a realistic view of money, Reddit users have recently been confessing the worst financial mistakes they’ve ever made, and we thought it might be useful to pass along their knowledge, if it'll help any of you pandas avoid making the same mistakes. From plunging themselves into debt with student loans to trusting that their spouses would be wise with money, we’ve gathered some of the most painful mistakes down below. Keep reading to also find interviews with Reddit user The_guy321, who sparked this conversation in the first place, financial advisor Michael Kitces, and Jen Smith, co-host of the Frugal Friends podcast.


Image credits: wei_ping