What Do You Wish You’d Bought 10 Years Ago?
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Here's what will hopefully be a fun question: What do you wish you'd bought 10 years ago? Is it because prices have risen, because you wish you'd been able to use it this past decade, or for other reasons?
While I'm sure we'd love to rewind time to the late 1970s and buy apartment buildings in the Lower East Side and the like, let's take a smaller lookback: What do you wish you'd bought in 2015? Is it something (relatively) small, like a pair of Valentino Rockstud shoes (still going strong!) or a Chanel handbag (they've doubled in price recently)? Or is it something bigger, like an apartment or car? In 2015, did you actively not choose to purchase it, or was it not even on your radar?
Stock photo via Stencil.
Bitcoin
+1 for this. I had friends buying it then and we laughed. Look who is laughing now!!
Can you sell Bitcoin — as in cash out and realize gains, or is it all a house of cards?
you can sell it, it just fluctuates so much that you always feel tempted to time the market.
Sold some last year to help with a large expense, reported the gain on my taxes, just like some other asset.
This was my reaction. I’m still not convinced of the underlying value, but gosh do I wish I had speculatively bet a few hundred dollars.
A big suburban house. I didn’t purchase it ten years ago because I was still in my early 20 young and carefree lifestyle. Now I have the lifestyle for it, because we can’t afford to buy one with the increased costs and higher interest rates.
It wasn’t quite 10 years ago, but occasionally I wish my husband and I had bought a house together when we got married, rather than move into his house.
I wish we’d bought a pool 10 years ago. When we moved to the Midwest I thought a pool was ridiculous, but all the neighbors have one. Then during the pandemic it was a 2 year wait, and I figured, by the time it’s over my kids will be much bigger. My youngest is 11 and he would’ve used the heck out of a pool over the years.
Apple stock. Oops, actually I did!
1. I wish we had bought a little starter property. We were newlyweds and we felt like either we had to rent to save money or buy a nice house in a nice neighborhood with good schools. In hindsight, it would have been so fun to buy a cute little condo or row house without worrying about schools. I would advise myself not to think of it as all or nothing.
2. I wish I had bought an upgraded version of my car. I’m still driving it, and it would be nice if it was slightly nicer. I had sticker shock at the time.
Had we known that our earning power would continue to increase, we should’ve splurged on a bigger kitchen and pantry when we built our current home.
1. A house. Self-explanatory in this real estate environment.
2. Not a consumer good: therapy. It would have paid for itself multiple times over by now, but I gritted my teeth and kept going.
Our kitchen remodel. It’s gotten deferred due to the pandemic and now tariffs and inflation.
I wish I had listened to my husband in 2010 when he said no to me doing an MBA but started his MBA that year. His employer was paying for the MBA which apparently made all the difference.
Today I am losing out on jobs because I don’t have a masters. I can’t afford it now as I’m paying for my 3 children and just can’t spend the $.
Stupid me. What cost $100k back then is now $250k.
Hard same.
My ten-years-ago regret is I wish I’d traveled more. Before prices went up, before Tik Tok hordes descended on so many places, before global politics turned into a dumpster fire.
Spent money on travel, I should say for this thread.
Yes! Specifically Aleppo. I went to an incredibly good exhibition in London, I think called Byzantium, and the curator led us on a tour. He was from Aleppo and at the end of the tour, we chatted for a while. He shared where exactly to go, full itinerary, which hotels and which exact rooms to stay in for the best experience. It was from his heart, and I really wish I’d gone there rather than to Egypt (which was also an incredible holiday, but could still be done today). I think of him when I hear the news about Syria; he’s likely passed away now as he was already an old man 20 years ago, but he was so educated and proud of his homeland, it kind of breaks my heart hearing what’s happening.
My IRA and 401k, even if I had had to move it from my multiple jobs (since changed industries).
Real estate. I wasn’t ready to move to the suburbs, but I wish I’d purchased a small apartment that could have been sold as a starting point for the next purchase. In NYC I was intimidated by the down payment and liquid asset requirements for many apartments.
I AM glad that I spent a lot of money on traveling.