20 Real Stories of How One Decision Cost Everything

3 hours ago

We often hear that one wrong decision can change a life. But how serious can the consequences really be? Sometimes, it’s just an inconvenience, but other times—it’s the complete collapse of plans, relationships, or a career. In this article, you’ll find real stories of people who lost everything because of a single accidental mistake, an impulsive action, or a poor choice.

I had been dating Lisa for three years. Everything was leading up to a wedding, and I decided to propose in a special way. I booked a fancy dinner at a restaurant, asked the waiter to hide the ring in a dessert, and even invited her parents. Everything was going perfectly... until I saw the look on her face when she opened the box. She turned pale. “Where did you get this ring?” she asked. “What do you mean? I bought it a month ago!” She covered her face with her hands. “My ex gave me the exact same ring... And I said ’no’ to him.” Silence filled the room. She looked at me, her eyes welling up with tears. “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept it again.” I lost her in a single second—because the ring just happened to look too similar.
My colleague Kate signed a lease agreement without reading the fine print. Everything seemed standard. Three months later, the landlord doubled the rent. She was outraged, but he pointed to a clause in the contract: “The rental rate may be changed unilaterally.” Kate tried to take legal action, but she had no case—she had signed it herself. She had to move out immediately, losing her deposit and the last month’s rent. Now, she reads every contract down to the last letter.
Married the wrong person. The impacts are incalculable. Divorce, pay 50%+ of my take home pay in child support/alimony, forced me into bankruptcy, lost my house, other problems as well.
Make sure you’re compatible with the person you marry. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a relationship that isn’t great, but isn’t so bad you want to leave. Worst mistake I ever made. kbedell / Reddit
I met both Carl Page and Larry Page at a party hosted by a Stanford friend of mine in 1998. Carl gave me his card for eGroups and said, “We’re hiring.” Larry gave me his card for Google—a flimsy bit of paper obviously printed by bubble jet—and said, “We’re hiring”.
I said, “Nah, who needs another search engine?” and went to graduate school. zestyping / Reddit
I turned down a job offer from Google in 2001. It’s somewhat comforting knowing that I’ve already made the biggest financial mistake of my life. Mr. Greg / Reddit

He was so excited to go to a music concert. He decided to slide down the escalator wall between the up and down as he went to catch the subway. Tripped, fell 2 stories or thereabouts, and landed in the hospital for a year. He still walks with a limp.
My wife and I bought a house on a whim. We were walking by an open house and loved the place. We applied for a mortgage and were granted it, and we were so excited. It was a beautifully restored character house in the city. Turned out that the neighborhood was crawling with all sorts of bad guys.
After five years, when our little boy was ready for kindergarten, we had to move. Houses in other areas had risen in value, but ours hadn’t. It is a long story. Before buying a house, spend a lot of time researching it, especially the neighborhood. chaiwalla / Reddit
Guy got super-excited during a corporate holiday party and made out at the party (consensual) with “work wife” who was a one rank subordinate. HR was unimpressed with violation of zero-tolerance policy, fired for cause. His actual wife remained unimpressed with the excuses, and filed for divorce. NotAnotherEmpire / Reddit
A guy I went to high school with was kicked out of his college and moved back home. His dad told him off for being lazy and needing to do something with his life. He decided he was going to rob a bank. He DID successfully rob the bank and get away.
Some time went by; he moved out of his parents’ house and started living it up. He eventually told someone he trusted. That person turned him in. He was arrested and charged. You can decide if he ruined his life when he decided to rob the bank or when he decided to tell someone that he did it. dspjst / Reddit

My father punched a window out of anger, injuring the artery and ligament in his bicep. It effectively removed his ability to work with his hands, which was the one thing he had going for him. He became moody and spiraled down. My parents lost the family home. They ended up splitting. I went no contact with him. krusty556 / Reddit
I rode a barn-crazy horse without a saddle. I had to bail when it started to sprint to the barn, and hit the ground going a good 25 mph. I racked up about 5k in medical bills, needed 3 surgeries, and was in physical therapy for about 9 months. BobADe*** / Reddit
Choosing a science degree (zoology) instead of doing something more practical, like para-medicine, or vision science, or something anatomy based to be a physiotherapist or OT. I can’t get into any masters courses or find relevant employment. I wanted to be a zookeeper or animal handler, but now I hate my decision, given I’m being rejected from pet shops. turnipforwhat_ / Reddit
When I lived in Vegas, I saw all these people come in and “bet it all on black,” then lose. The stare of disbelief as they realize their mortgage is gone, and they have to explain that to whomever they had left at home. El_Seven / Reddit
Playing catch with my buddy in a parking lot right after winters. I slipped on rock salt as I threw and tore a bunch of muscles in my back.
Went from throwing 85 mph at the age of 15 down to low 70s. Still played college ball, but I was never the same. My dreams were crushed, and I think about it every day. BigMouthBillyBaas07 / Reddit

He was the star basketball player of our school, and probably going to put our small town on the map, given he had full chances of being drafted in the NBA. One day he decided to go party with his friends, and on a dare, climbed onto the roof of the moving car. He slipped and fell, and hit his head. The last I saw him, he could almost feed himself without assistance.
When I was 19, I decided I could totally get that heavy box down from the top of the closet myself. I was wrong. Ended up on the couch for a solid week and got a lifetime of back problems out of it. anwermoo / Reddit
Turning down a teaching job in college on the one subject I’m passionate about. 13 years later, I’m still working in a supermarket with mental health and money issues. KbitKfox / Reddit
Taking out a payday loan. I started getting behind on bills, so I took out a small payday loan, I paid it back. Then I started relying on them to continue paying bills.
It went for the worse when I needed to take another payday loan for rent and food. Then I needed to take out ANOTHER payday loan just to pay a previous payday loan. Don’t ever take out a payday loan. xoxomaxine / Reddit
I had a friend years ago, kind of odd, but he had a good heart. One day, we were all hanging out with friends, and he told us he was going to get a tattoo tomorrow. He had this super cool idea, but he wouldn’t tell us what because it was a big surprise. When we saw him next,
he had tattooed three-fourth of his face green.
Like, no design or anything, just solid dark forest green. Basically, he just left the top right quarter of his face normal and the rest was all green. He had been immediately fired from his job the day after getting the tattoo. I kind of lost touch with him shortly after that, since he moved to another city. I’d heard he wound up living in his car. Holybartender83 / Reddit

A good friend of mine in college was still living with his parents and had this girlfriend who also lived with him at his parents. They were both 19 at the time and decided to try for a baby. Except neither of them had jobs or even their own place.
They also did not tell his parents beforehand, wanting it to be a “surprise”, genuinely thinking it would make each other and their parents so happy. Now she’s off, and he’s living with his parents, still working at Wendy’s while his parents takes care of his daughter. All of his income goes to helping take care of her. TheS****eister / Reddit
My wife’s aunt used to be very rich. She was married to a brain surgeon who was also on the board of directors for all the local hospitals, earning double paychecks. She was a platinum member of a local casino and would invite us over, for free. Her husband lost his medical license for writing too many scripts for painkillers to her and other people, and they both now live in Mexico somewhere. 1320Fastback / Reddit
My friend Alex had been in love with his best friend, Emily, for a long time. One day, he finally gathered the courage to send her a message: “Emily, I can’t hide this anymore. I’m in love with you.” But he accidentally sent it to another Emily — their mutual friend. She replied almost instantly: “I’ve been wanting to tell you the same thing for so long!” Alex was in shock. He couldn’t admit his mistake—it was too late. And that’s how his relationship with the “wrong” Emily began.
I was preparing for an important job interview and needed to send a recommendation letter from my former manager. I reached out to him, and he assured me that he had sent it. A week passed. Then two. No response. Turns out, he never sent it—he simply forgot. And I, afraid of seeming pushy, never followed up. The position was filled, and I never got another chance like that.