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What was your greatest missed opportunity financially speaking?

In the late 90's there was 40 acres for sale next to property that is already in the family. $1,000 an acre. This was right before land values really took off in out area. My azz has been sore ever since as I've not quit kicking myself for that one. To make it worse that 40 is tucked in really with a much larger property which has since become the big buck hangout of the neighborhood.

86 acres for $38,000 with a 4 acre pond just outside of a decent size town in north Florida. Of course I was 22 at the time.

Not buying stock in a company who's stents were obviously VERY superior to anything on the market when we trialed them.

I made up for it a few times since though.

A retired Fire Warden's cabin through the State of Pennsylvania. They dismantled the fire tower and sold the cabin for 10K. Beautiful field stone and rough hewn log construction with a loft, and a fireplace that must have been 20 feet across the hearth. Still mad at my self on that one.

In the late 1970s I was in possession of a huge pile of junk silver. I sold it all when it was about $4.00 per ounce to fund a fancy paint job for my car, pin stripes and all. Couple of years later it went up to $50.00 per ounce.

When Pixar first went public, at my urging my mother called her broker and put in an order for "five thousand" of the IPO. She meant $5,000.00, but the broker thought she meant five thousand shares, which was a MUCH larger investment than she intended. When he called her back with the good news that he had been able to get her the five thousand shares she requested at twenty something dollars per share, and congratulated her on a wise investment, she was shocked and explained that she only meant to invest $5,000.00. In a panic, she wanted completely out of the deal. He told her not to worry. He would gladly take it for himself. He made a huge bundle on that investment, and my mom missed it.

Made a small mint (relative to my worth) on those stupid tech stocks in the mid 90's. Lost my shirt in a private investment in a family friends buis (new patent, great idea, growth area, etc etc) with the proceeds. Missed a chance to avoid that one!!!

Friend suggested apple when it was in the teens and they were down on their luck. I didnt, he did. We live an EXTREMELY different zip codes now.

3 pallets of .22LR ammo at 7.95 a brick woulda been pretty smart not too long ago. .. I missed that one too.

A 25 acre parcel in Stratton Vt. in the late 80's.
It was bordered on 3 sides by National Forest ground.

In 1972, when Miss Nude Universe was dancing at the Town Hall Bar - and on her break she came up to me, thanking me for watching her ...

Went straight from Highschool to starting 8 years of college. Should have taken a few years to myself, worked and did some exploring around the country. I've had a wandering bone my whole life, but thought I "had to" get straight to school and subsequently build a pile of debt and been under the gun ever since. That being said if any of that would have changed me meeting my wife and having my 3 children, then it was no missed oportunity. Still dream of it though.

God Bless,

MM

800 acres for $1000 acre at the edge of an expanding town.

Not getting serious about a certain young lady in the early 70's. Family was in bread, literally, and had the dough (money), lots and lots of it.

Wow! Think Websterparish47 just won the prize!

I was a locksmith and got a call to look over a new company that was having a bunch of loss. They were just starting out and were in the red. The product they were making was being disappearing out the back door as fast as they could make it. I told them how to fix the problem with less than five bucks from the hardware store without bringing down the wrath of the fire marshal. A month later I was asked to stop by on my way home. A man wearing faded jeans and a teeshirt that looked like a tux asked me if I would like a job as the head of security for their growing company. I thanked Mr. Phil Night and said no. Later they changed the name of that little company to Nike.

Not taking a Director level job with Starbucks offered to me back in the early 90's. I would have been able to retire a millionaire ten years ago at the ripe old age of 36. Doh!!

I think we are about even.

Had the opportunity to buy a mint Ferrari Daytona Spyder with 8k kilometers on it for 5k. Had a minor engine fire that would have required a new hood, engine wiring harness, 2 carbs and a distributor. Belonged to a customer of mine. Given that I was making less than a hundred bucks a week at the time, I passed. Hindsight, I guess. Car would have been worth about 1.5 million at the peak of Ferrari fever when the old man died.........

Not buying 1,000 PMags last October.

When they offered to send me to Ranger School at Benning if i took another tour of duty and i took the discharge instead . I have always regretted that decision .

Some good ones! I have missed opportunities on real estate but some smaller misses are more fun. In a dusty vacant lot in northern Pakistan an Afghan refugee tried to sell me a cut block of lapis lazuli the size of a volley ball, for $40. I'd barely heard of the stuff, didn't want to lug it half way around the world, etc. Back in Seattle, I described it to a jeweller who sold it and he told me he'd have given me at least $4,000 for it.

Not staying single.