1. Accepting all those Damn Credit Cards

My intention was to hang on to them for emergencies and not use them. The open lines of credit actually made my credit score look even better. The problem only occurred when the emergencies came up, combine that with the irresponsible not quite emergencies and the credit cards ended up all being used and not saved. The concept of just hanging on to a credit card works for other more responsible people, I just know now that I’m not one of those folks. I should’ve just stuck with 2 main cards and I wouldn’t have some of the problems I have right now.

2. Bankruptcy is Embarrassing

The fact that I had to file in the first place is one of my biggest regrets. It’s embarrassing to me, when I have a credit report pulled, even when my credit score was good. Bankruptcy has to be an absolute last resort and I wonder to this day if somehow I could’ve worked out my finances and avoided filing at all.

3. Letting Medical Bills Run Amok

I can’t say that this was entirely my fault but I do regret not keeping up with the medical bills better and getting them paid off sooner. I’ve learned a lot about working with creditors and making payment plans but initially, the bills would bother me so much that I’d just try to ignore them until the absolute last minute.

4. Not Living Frugally or Budgeting Sooner

I don’t know if I had even heard of the word “frugal” at the time and I certainly wasn’t looking for ways to cut costs. Everything seemed to be going well so I didn’t worry about expenses or finding better deals on stuff. It wasn’t that I had a ton of money, I just figured that my bills were being paid so I didn’t have to worry about it. Don’t wait til you need to budget to budget.

5. No Savings Account

Younger people are smarter now and it isn’t unusual for a teenager to have a bank account with enough money saved for their entire college education. In my case, though, I figured savings was something I would worry about when I was older. I wasn’t a teenager after my bankruptcy, but I still felt young enough that I didn’t have to worry about it. If I had saved then, undoubtedly my savings would be drained by now to pay some of my medical bills and credit cards, but I wouldn’t have those bills to worry about and could be building up the savings account again.

Unfortunately, as the cliche goes, you can’t change the past you can only learn from it. I’m happy to say I’ve learned quite a bit on this journey. I just hope that one of these days I learn enough to stop making mistakes.

I’ll post about the good things that stemmed from my bankruptcy (believe it or not, there are some.)

Have a great Labor Day weekend, and don’t do anything you’ll regret later!