Adulthood is punctuated by huge money decisions, like choosing a career, buying a house, relocating, starting or supporting a family, and traveling. So making the occasional money mistakes is inevitable.
But some of our most expensive mistakes stay with us forever — scaring us straight and teaching us a lesson.
Below, 11 of my Business Insider colleagues share cringeworthy, unlucky, and sometimes funny stories about the most expensive mistakes they ever (or almost) made.
DON'T MISS: The 6 worst money mistakes couples make
SEE ALSO: The 11 worst money mistakes to make in your 30s
'Not checking with my insurance ahead of time'
Not checking with my insurance ahead of time to make sure a new doctor is within my coverage! It seemed like such a pain, but most providers have online systems, chat programs, or helpful customer service reps that will help verify the decision.
After a few several hundred dollar charges, I learned my lesson and always double check.
— Christina Sterbenz, weekend editor
'I was a dumb 19-year-old who didn't yet know the value of money or how to prepare for a vacation'
For spring break of my sophomore year in college, a few friends and I rented a house near the beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It wasn't the nicest part of the city, and we made ourselves known by hanging out on the balcony and by our Puerto Rican friends' expensive cars in the driveway.
We spent one night at a club and came back right before dawn. When we finally woke up the next day, we each noticed some of our things seemed to be misplaced, or even missing. Eventually we came to the conclusion that someone had broken into the house via the balcony's weak door and robbed thousands of dollars worth of our stuff.
I was the worst hit: They stole my laptop, a MacBook Pro worth about a couple grand. They also took my two favorite pairs of rare Nikes and an expensive, new bottle of cologne. For some reason they even stole my retainer!
Lesson: There's no need to travel with your valuables, and there's no need to pack so heavy! If you have to bring something valuable, for a special occasion, keep it on your person or lock it up. I was a dumb 19-year-old who didn't yet know the value of money or how to prepare for a vacation, but this was a good, if unfortunate, step forward!
— Anonymous
'My most expensive mistake was not looking where I was going and kicking my cat'
I got a cat in May. She has a habit of getting under your feet while you walk around in the apartment. I was late for work early in August and was running down my hallway to get something from my room and I kicked her and actually broke her arm at the elbow joint.
Thus began the nightmare that was my entire month of August. I went to the emergency vet at least six times, figuring out how to fix my cat's broken leg. By the time it was all said and done, I had spent over $2,000 on fixing my cat. I had to pay hundreds for x-rays, splints, cast materials, check ups, physical therapy, etc. And probably $200 on Ubers alone just getting her to and from the emergency vet.
My most expensive mistake was not looking where I was going and kicking my cat.
— Ben Nigh, associate video producer, INSIDER
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