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chidichidibumbum · 7 years ago

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Pacific Rim: The Jaeger Awakens Part 2

The two sat in the empty room. Finn slouched with his back against the wall, looking down at his hands.

“What were you doing anyway?” Finn blurted. Rey looked at him confused.

“Back at the shack. Why were you there?” Rey’s heart began to pound. She fixed her posture.

“I uh..I was-just saying hi.”

“Why? You don’t even know me?”

“I know you like cheese puffs.” Finns eyes widened and he stood up.

“That was you?” Rey nodded with a worried look. She could tell by the tone of his voice he wasn’t happy. Finn sat on the other side of the room with his head down.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Kind of.” He said in frustration.

“Why?” Rey sat up.

“Are you kidding me? Do you know how sick I got because I could never find food and when I did it was already taken by you!”

“I left you some food!”

“A bag of chips was nothing compared to the amount of food I was after that you had already taken!” They were now standing face to face. Rey’s feelings were hurt. She succeeded to fight back the tears. “I could’ve died..” Finn softly said. Poe opened the door interrupting before Rey could say anything.

“Finn is it?” He said pointing at Finn. He nodded.

“The General would like to speak with you.” Finn looked at Rey as he exited the room, leaving her alone. She wiped the tear off her face and pouted.

Finn sat down in the chair in front of the desk in which the General was sitting.

“Ah Finn. What a pleasure to meet you, I’m General Leia.” She extended her hand for a shake. Finn looked at it suspiciously. Then shook her hand. “Your a very smart kid. Poe told me about the jaeger you built.” Finn looked at her, still suspicious but curious to where this was going. “We want you to join us.”

“I’m not in trouble?”

“No no no, of course not. Finn, you are a special boy. We need people like you to help end this war.”

“I thought it was over. The breech. Isn’t it closed?”

“Not for long. A group called the First Order is trying to open it.”

“So we gotta stop them.”

“Exactly. That’s where you come along. We need warriors, and there aren’t many people out there up for the job. So..are you in-“

“I’m in.” He interrupted. Leia smiled. Finn was taken to a room where there were other young soldiers. Rey was there as well. She looked at him with sadness in her eyes. He looked around there was another girl, who looked at him with a smile.

“Alright everyone, today we’re going to find out who is drift compatible with who.” Poe anounced.

“How?” The girl asked.

“You’ll see.” Poe smirked. They were all taken to a room with a giant mat. “Grab a partner, a stick and let’s get started.” Rey looked at Finn, she wanted him to be her partner. But she knew he wasn’t okay with it. It didn’t hurt to try though, she walked up to him but before she could say anything another girl walked up to him.

“Hi! I’m Rose.” She said with the biggest smile.

“Hey.” They shook hands. Rey noticed what was happening and walked away.

“So, do you need a partner?”

“Uhm..” Finn looked over at Rey who looked like she was partnered with another girl.

“I guess I do.” He shrugged, Rose laughed causing Rey to look over. It was now time for initiation. After a few people went Rey and her partner was next. Finn was impressed with Rey’s combat skills, her partner didn’t even get a point. Finn and Rose were the final two to go. Rose smiled at him. “Let’s see what you got.” The first two rounds Finn was winning he started strong. Rose quickly learned his technique and ended up beating him. Finn was in disbelief, he’s never lost a fight. He knew he could’ve done better and because of that, he stormed out. As the crowd cheered Rose on Rey followed Finn on the stairs where he sat alone.

“Hey.” He turned around to look at her.

“What do you want?” He scoffed.

“Why do you always assume I want something?”

“Why else would you talk to me. I don’t matter to anyone and the only time I do is when someone needs something.”

“Maybe I just want to be your friend, you ever think of that.” She yelled, as she began to pace back and forth. Rose watched from the distance. “Open the doors because someone is knocking..and that someone thinks you matter. Control. Your. Emotions..Finn” Rey marched away, leaving Finn alone to think about what she said. Rose ran to the Generals office.

“General do you have a minute?”

“What is it Rose?”

“It’s Finn..I think he’s more compatible with someone else.”

“Like who?”

“Rey.”

“What brings you to this conclusion?”

“Well, I just saw them arguing in the hall-“

“Arguing?”

“Well..yeah.”

“That’s not a sign of compatibility.”

“But you should’ve seen the connection between them. It’s mesmerizing!” Rose shouted with excitement.

“How strong?”

“Powerfully strong.”

The next day the all the young soldiers were taken to a room to practice being in a jaeger on the battlefield. Finn and Rose were up first. Poe strapped them in. “Rule number one. Do NOT let your emotions take over. The energy in your brains powers between the both of you. Which means you feel, what she feels. She feels, what you feel.” They looked at each other. “Be brave.” They put the helmets on and began to fight. It was as if they were in a REAL jaeger. The memories of Finns past were coming back, they almost got to him causing them to fall to their knees. “Stay focused Finn.” Rose said. “Sorry.” Everybody watched them. They weren’t as compatible. Poe shook his head in disappointment. After everyone went Leia walked in and whispered something into Poe’s ear. “Alright everyone, that’s enough for today. Head back to your room.” Everyone began to head out. “Except you three.” They all looked at each other as Poe sat down.

“Y’know you guys, really did horrible. I mean seriously c’mon you gotta admit that wasn’t your best.” He laughed.

��Give us a break. It was our first time!” Finn yelled.

“Your right. Your right. But I don’t think that’s the reason. Mr. Finn here is an expert when it comes to Jaegers so this..this is a shocker.” They all looked at Finn. “Finn I’m gonna have you team up with Rey.”

“What!?” They both shouted.

“You two are drift compatible, I can see it.”

“What about Rose?” Finn asked.

“I never really wanted to pilot a jaeger. I’m more into the tech.” She admitted.

“And Rey’s partner got kicked out. She tried to poison one of the soldiers.”

“So it’s just you guys!” Rose smiled. They looked at each other annoyed.

“Well..let’s see what you guys got!” They put the helmets on and got transported. Finn saw Rey’s memories, and she saw his. But Rey got stuck in one memory. She was hiding under the bed tears in her eyes as she listened to screams of her family and the roads of the kaiju. Finn watched the little girl weep. “Rey..” he whispered, someone pulled her from under the bed and carried her away, someplace safe.

“Where’s mum and daddy?”

“They’re gone.” Rey cried aloud causing the beast to head towards them.

“Run. Run and don’t look back!” The man said to her and she did run, except she looked back. She looked to see the man get eaten alive right before her very eyes.

“Nooo!” She screamed, grabbing the kaiju’s attention. It started towards her and she ran as fast as she could crying for help. Eventually she tripped and watched as the kaiju began to open its mouth before getting shot down by a jaeger. Startled, she ran and this time. She didn’t look back. Poe and Rose took off their helmets. As they both gasped for air.

“It was horrible!” Rey cried.

“I know..I felt it too.”

“I don’t ever want to do it again.” The ground shook and they looked up.

“You might have to.” Poe explained. “For real this time.”

Part 3

For @finnreyfridays

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adiabolikpastelrp · 5 years ago

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Hate, Loath and Despise

This is a role play between @remnants-of-tragedy and myself. It features her OC Juliet (daughter of Ruki and Hisoka) with my OC Yukio (son of Kanato and Yuuki).

Status: Ongoing

Word Count: –

ღ Warning: that this may contain content that may be unsuitable for some readers such as mature themes, strong language, adult situations, and sexual content. There is also heavy mention of bullying and death threats, also adult language.

Quick note - This takes place after Leon and Isaiah have started dating, but before Silas and Yukio. ღ

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Yukio sat alone in some random coffee shop. His face focused on the screen of his phone. Locked on messages he had sent, waiting for the intended parties response. This was completely out of his character, to care this much about anything.

For a while Yukio dated a Isaiah Sakamki, a fellow vampire and cousin. The two had amazing chemistry, and even after the break up, Yukio was able to use him for sex whenever. Recently, that stopped, and the reason behind it was some blonde pathetic waste of space.

Isaiah had gotten himself a new boyfriend, and was now rejecting any of Yukio’s interactions. This boy was not nearly as cute as he was, nor could he satisfy a vampire the was another one could. Why would Isaiah choose to ignore him for that… complete garbage.

So, Yukio did what he could to remind Isaiah that he was superior. The most recent was to ‘accidentally’ run into them. It had been months since they’d actually seen one another, and hugging Isaiah was sure to… spark something. After all, Yukio was his first, and that’s a special connection.

Since then he’d been texting him all kinds of things. Some sexy, others threatening, but Isaiah wouldn’t answer. He’d seen them, the phone told him so, but he wouldn’t answer! This was so infuriating, being ignored. How on earth could HE be ignored.

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It was safe to say that a certain raven was angry.

Scratch that. She was murderously livid.

At first, Juliet was rather bothered as when he came home with a fake smile. However, when she heard Leon’s quiet sobs inside his room as she past it, her instincts managed to force her way into his room by open the locked door with one of her hairpins.

That was when she found a heartbreaking sight of her little, blond brother, Leon Mukami in tears, blue orbs puffy and red.

Once she managed to get her brother to confess what was going on, her eyes showed every sign of wanting nothing more than commit merciless slaughter.

Apparently, someone one decided to try and steal her brother’s boyfriend, Isaiah Sakamaki, to flirt with him continuously to a point of shattering her poor little brother’s heart. Leon wasn’t capable to hate. So of course he can’t do anything but become this fragile.

But Juliet was capable of hatred. She was capable to take action.

She’s Juliet Mukami after all.

After staying with her brother and comfort him until he calmed down and passed out, the raven-haired human wasted no time to search for the damned vampire that dared to hurt her baby brother.

Using the information she was told by Leon, how this person, Yukio Sakamaki, was an ex of Isaiah, Juliet quickly went on social media sites to find clues about this Yukio. Apparently, He was a son of Kanato Sakamaki, the same vampire that her mother stayed away from as a teenager due to being ‘creepy’.

Being able to find him on Instagram, Juliet went on her search with a note left at home about running her own errands and being back later. As well as taking the dagger that belonged to her mother, hiding it in the inner pocket of her jacket.

“Where the hell is that bastard…?” She cursed under her breath as she stared down on her phone, with her target’s Instagram on the screen. The longer she looked at the picture of this vampire Yukio, the more she became impatient in wanting to murder him.

He was a vampire. ‘Maybe if I focused well enough, I may be able to find him…’ She thought to herself, ‘I’ll make sure he will never hurt Leon again…’

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“Tch… Annoying.”

Yukio locked his phone and forced it into his pocket. This was stupid, behaving like Isaiah was the only man he could get. If he wanted to waste time before eventually crawling back to him, why should he care.

Why should he be the only one having fun? It never stopped him before, so why start now? Hell, maybe he could get some nice photos and send those to him, that will definitely get a reaction.

With that thought in mind, Yukio glanced around the coffee shop. There were all ready multiple people checking him out. Of course they were, he was irresistible. The true questions was, which one of them would be his dinner for tonight?

After some consideration, Yukio eventually decided on a rather good looking young male. He wanted Isaiah to see him too, he how beautiful he was, both in life and death. The two of them walked around, taking photos, touching one another, kissing. All of which Yukio uploaded to his Instagram.

‘Seems I found a new hottie! Let’s hope this one sticks? :P’ ‘His body’s pretty impressive, are you jealous yet?’ ‘(ʃƪ ˘ ³˘) I’m gonna take him home~’

After posting the last photo, Yukio looked over at the corpse beside him. The human who’d he flirted with all night, shown to the world, was now naked and dead beside him. In some unknown motel, one owned by vampires, for vampires, just for this reason.

“Aha~ You were nice but… no human can make me feel like he could. Don’t be mad at me okay, you’re blood was yummy at least, fufu~”

Yukio kisses the corpses head once more and hops happily out of the room. He felt a lot better, and there were plenty of naughty photos to send to Isaiah. Unable to wait, he started right away, sending Isaiah the photos in order. He was nice and full, so the rest of the night was going to be boring.

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‘Tch… where the fuck is that son of a bitch…’

So far, no luck. She couldn’t find where the vampire was. And the raven-haired girl is starting to get impatient. Was it because she was still blinded by rage? Or was he just not in the area and she just missed him? No matter, she’ll still hunt him down.

Looking back to her phone, she realized her target has just uploaded new pictures and recognized the background instantly. In that area, there was a motel for vampires, by vampires. Both Leon and herself, who both know the places like the back of their hand, found this out after sensing presence of vampires coming from there.

“Jackpot…” She smirked sadistically before running over to that area, “I found you, you fucking bitch…!” While her smirk was in place, both her eyes and aura screamed out a lust for murder.

‘For Leon… For Leon… For Leon…!’ The image of her little brother smiling genuinely and the image of him crying flashed in her mind as she continued running, ‘I’ll make him pay…!!!’

As soon as she got to the area, she looked around and gritted her teeth. ‘Where are you…?’ She thought, ‘Where are-?’

And there she sensed him.

An aura of a pure blood.

‘Found you, bitch!!!’ She thought as she toned down her murderous aura and returning from her sadistic smirk back to her stoicism. The raven-haired human decided to hide away and wait.

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“Mouuu… Isaiah-kun… I know you’re not asleep. Why wont you answer my calls? That human was so boring… I need you to erase his touch.”

Yukio had decided to call Isaiah, who of course didn’t pick up. No matter sexy voice mails worked just as well, if not better. Leave it all up to his imagination.

“Come on… call me back… We can feel good together.”

He hangs up and pouts a bit. This was so annoying, having to work this hard to be noticed. Quite… maddening actually. Never in his entire life had someone ignored him. Now the one person he actually…

Don’t think like that. It’s sex, nothing else. Our bodies are compatible,that’s the only reason.

Yukio thought to himself to stop the cycle in his mind. No need to think too hard on anything, it would all be fine if Isaiah would just leave that pathetic human. Enough for tonight, this was all tiring.

He began heading home, though, there was something off. A human girl was following him, who’s scent smelt familiar. Not that he could remember where though, must not have been too important. Perhaps the man he just killed at a lover? Saw the two of them and now was looking for him?

What ever the case, she could be a nice desert. Women were always so boring but, no one could resist his charms. Especially not a human.

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It was only a matter of time.

Juliet tried to calm herself as she followed the vampire. If there was anything she learned from observing Vampires, it is that acting demure and naive is a great approach.

From the looks of it, he doesn’t know who she was. ‘Even better…’ She thought, ‘This is for Leon…’

“U-um.. excuse me?”

Switching from her personality to a personality polar opposite from it, as well as her actions from confidence to fidgety and add a fake shy blush, The human girl started to speak in a soft tone as she performed the act of approaching the vampire timidly, “I-I’m looking for someone.. d-do you know w-where they might be?”

Although the raven would rather just kill him right then and there, It would be better to confront him in a quiet place. Also, from what she was told by her mother, this kind of approach can work, as long as you can find the weakness of the target, such as boosting their ego; Unless they can see right through the act, like how Juliet was told about how her father was smart enough to see through her mother’s act when she was still a huntress. Which means the chances of this working might be a 50% chance.

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Yukio glanced at the female, whom surprisingly enough, might just be shorter than him. Not by much, but anytime he found someone short, it boosted his ego. She was… not dressed in the way she was speaking. A soft and shaky voiced, dressed in so much black.

“Do I look like someone who could help?”

This was too painfully obviously not about a missing person. This girl was trying to fool him, but it would not work. With that in mind, however, she may prove more trouble than worth for food.

“Leave me alone, go ask someone else.”

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Damn, he was smarter than he looked; Maybe she should’ve chosen a different attire. Then again, She didn’t have much of a choice. Everything in her closet was either black, or leather, or both.

Plus, there has been people that dressed the same fashion yet behave timidly. So just to be safe, just continue the act a little bit more.

Tilting her head innocently, She questioned, “Eh? B-But…” Maybe acting innocent wasn’t the right approach for her? Hm... wasn’t this Vampire with another guy earlier? “Y-You were with someone.. Someone I knew… Why is he not with you…?” She questioned further, as she continued to get closer to him.

Continuing such an act felt gross, but it was all for Leon. For her little brother, she will go at far at any length.

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Yukio felt himself smirk at her question. He wanted to simply come out and tell her the truth. That he had gotten bored and killed him. Perhaps that would scare her away and leave him alone.

“Ehhh… a man huh? Was he a lover? Or a relative?”

He shakes his head and waves the human away. Playing with women just wasn’t much fun.

“He is not with me now, nor do I have any interest in why you want him. Begone from my sight at once.”

He ordered, using his vampire power of persuasion. This was all ready a boring night, honestly he just wanted to return home.

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“N-No… I-I want to..”

As much as she can sense the vampire’s abilities, She tried her best to act as if it had any affect on her. Carrying the blood of a well-known hunter bloodline, Juliet wasn’t really affected. But she can at least act on it.

Honestly, this wasn’t even going anywhere. ‘Fine… He asked for it…’ Glancing around, Juliet spotted an dark alley near them. Well, his ego was boosted a little. Smirking mentally, She let her inner beast out.

“… Not until I’m done with you, you little bitch.”

Taking this opportunity, Juliet used her strength to grab Yukio’s arm and get them both to the alley and punch Yukio in the stomach before throwing him against the wall and using her arm pinned against his neck, “Sakamaki Yukio… so I finally meet you at last..” She smirked, revealing her true nature, “You’re actually smarter than I thought.. how ironic… since you can’t even take the hint that you’re not wanted…”

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This was… unexpected. So this was no ordinary human. She was rather strong, and her voice now showed her true colors.

“You… know me…?”

Not good. Yukio was not good at physical fighting. Strong as she may be, this girl was human. There should be no problem over powering her and simply leaving.

“Not wanted…? Seems you are not some slut on the street. Fufu… but you see I am also not some weakling.”

Grabbing her arm, Yukio squeezed, tightly. And tighter. And tighter. Snapping a human’s limbs were so easy. Especially since he just ate, poor thing, she was going to die this night.

“I will break you~”

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Finally…!

“How cute for a Livestock.”

Despite feeling the pain, Juliet still smirked at how this gives her a perfect opportunity. Using her free hand to get out the dagger and ignoring the bruise she felt forming from her arm, She aimed it to one of Yukio’s shoulders, threatening to pushing it in slowly.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t even know you existed if you haven’t been asking for a death wish by making my little brother cry.” Her voice deepened, “You should’ve just kept your distance and left him and Isaiah alone. No shit you weren’t fucking wanted, you slut.”

The more she felt the grip tighten, the more she slowly pushed the dagger in by the tip.

“That’s right, my brother…” Juliet’s smirked widen sadistically, “I’m Juliet. Mukami Juliet. I’m Leon’s older sister, and the person that’s going to force you to pay with your life for what you have been doing to him, Livestock.”

“Oh, and just so you get the picture already,” She added, “I’m not any where as nice as him.”

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Yukio’s reflexes were quick enough to grab onto the other arm which held the dagger. He stopped her from piercing his shoulder, but even so, she was strong for a human. With her arm pressed against his throat it was difficult to push her away. This woman wasn’t taller than him, but just short enough to be at the right angle to really pin him.

Leon Mukami. Juliet Mukami. Livestock?

So this human was one of those. An offspring from those fake vampires he had heard about. Although it did not seem this girl was vampire at all. Yukio smirks down at her, plenty cocky though for a human.

“Livestock, am I?”

Yukio pushed his body forward, forcing himself towards the girl. He was going to prove that no human can match a vampire in strength. It was no problem for him, especially since he had just fed, to move the smaller girl back.

“That’s funny, seems between the two of us, you’re the one who’s the food here.”

With his back now free from the wall, the pressure on his neck loosened. He used this opportunity to yank the arm away from him and spin himself out of her grasp. Although this was only his first chance to get away. No doubt she would come after him. Running wasn’t going to work.

“Did that person send you after me? Why, can he not fight his own battles? Is my presence that much of a threat~?”

♬° ✧❥✧¸.•*¨*✧♡✧ To Be Continued ♬° ✧❥✧¸.•*¨*✧♡✧

#remnants-of-tragedy #star crossedfidelity #yukio sakamaki #juliet mukami

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andrewdburton · 7 years ago

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Foolish money mistakes — and how to avoid them

At Get Rich Slowly, my goal is to help you make the best possible decisions with your income and spending. Having said that, we’re all human. We all mistakes. We all do dumb things with money. And I feel like April Fools’ Day is the perfect time to talk about some of the stupid things we’ve done in the past.

Let me give you an example (or three) from my own life.

To begin, I’ll retell a classic tale of my financial foolishness, one that has delighted my readers for over a decade. It’s all about how I paid $1500 for a “free” Frisbee.

The Not-So-Free Frisbee

On the first day of college, I opened my first bank account. The gym was filled with registration tables, not just for classes and clubs, but also for banks and credit cards. Since I was receiving a small stipend to cover living expenses, I needed a checking account.

The two banks vying for attention used different methods to attract students to their tables. A small local bank had a sign that promised “free checking”. A large national bank gave away a Frisbee to anyone who opened an account. The choice seemed easy: I wanted the Frisbee.

I signed up for my checking account, deposited my money, and got my free Frisbee. I spent the afternoon on the quad tossing the disc back and forth with my roommates. When it was time for dinner, I took the Frisbee up to my room, put it in the closet, and never used it again. Ever. But I had that checking account for nearly two decades.

Classes started. I forgot about the Frisbee and the checking account. The next month, I received my first bank statement. There was a $5 service charge. It didn’t seem like a big deal. I figured it was part of the package, part of being a grown-up. My parents had always paid a service charge on their checking account, and I expected I always would too.

For the rest of my college career, I paid $5 per month to maintain my checking account. When I graduated, I continued to pay $5 per month. During the 1990s, that fee increased to $8 per month, but I barely noticed.

In fact, I paid a monthly fee for checking from September 1987 until June 2004. For 202 months — nearly seventeen years — I paid for the privilege of writing checks. Then, when I started turning my financial life around, I left the major national bank and moved to a local credit union. I’ve had my checking account at that credit union for nearly fourteen years now and have never been charged a fee of any kind.

One foolish choice as I entered college cost me nearly $1500 — enough to buy about one hundred Frisbees. And that’s just one of the foolish financial choices I’ve made in my life.

The Wasted Windfall

By the mid 1990s, I had accumulated over $20,000 in credit-card debt. And I was digging the hole deeper every day.

On 21 July 1995, my father died after a long battle with cancer. Before he died, he managed to take out a very bare bones life insurance policy. (He hadn’t thought to acquire life insurance before he contracted cancer. After he got sick, nobody would insure him. Or, more precisely, one company would — but only minimally.) When the dust from his death had settled, Dad had managed to leave each of his three sons $5000 in life insurance money.

A smarter man than I was might have taken this money and applied it directly to his $20,000 in credit card debts. That’s not what I did. Instead, I put $1000 toward my debt and patted myself on the back. I took the other $4000 and bought a fancy new computer — a Macintosh Performa 640CD DOS-compatible — and lots of computer games. Then, to make matters worse, within weeks I maxed out my credit cards again, effectively negating the $1000 I had put toward debt reduction.

There’s no question: The old J.D. was foolish with money. But even after I started reading and writing about money, I still made some foolish mistakes.

True story: I still owned that Macintosh Performa 604CD DOS-compatible personal computer until last autumn. After Kim and I returned from our cross-country RV trip, my ex-wife contacted me. “You still have a bunch of computer stuff in a shed at my place,” she said. “Can you get it out of here.” One of those computers was that twenty-year-old reminder of my foolishness. I gave it (and all of the other computer stuff) to a middle-schooler I know.

The Imbecilic Investor

As I began to manage my money wisely during the mid 2000s, I made sure to fully fund my Roth IRA every year. But I hadn’t yet discovered the virtue of index funds, so I put my retirement money into individual stocks. But not just any individual stocks. I thought I was savvy enough to spot beat-up stocks that were bound to recover. Hahaha. I was wrong.

In the fall of 2007, for instance, I had dinner with a friend who worked in the corporate office of The Sharper Image, a company that manufactured fun and fancy gadgets. The company’s stock was in the toilet, but my friend said that management was certain that things would soon turn around. It was just a passing remark in a much larger conversation — he wasn’t trying to get me to buy the stock — but it planted a seed in my brain.

The next day, I had to decide how to invest $3500 of that year’s Roth IRA money. I should have done some research. I should have put the money in index funds. (I had just begun learning about index funds, but hadn’t yet become a die-hard proponent of them.) Instead, I bought $3500 of Sharper Image stock at $3.14 per share. I was gambling, plain and simple. And I lost.

Within a few months, The Sharper Image declared bankruptcy. Overnight, the value of my investment dropped from $3500 to $200 — and then to zero. It’s still worth nothing today, over a decade later. It will never be worth more than that. Yet I keep those 1115 shares in my Roth IRA just to remind me of how foolish I was.

Everbody’s a Fool Sometimes

It’s not just me, of course. We all make mistakes now and then. Some of them are minor, but some of them are doozies. Last year, I asked members of the Money Boss group on Facebook to share some of their biggest money mistakes. Here are a few of my favorites.

First up, Nate tells how he and his wife bought a timeshare…and wish they hadn’t:

Then there’s Amy, who made the same mistake I see people make again and again and again: Cashing out their retirement accounts when they switch jobs.

Adam regrets not being more motivated when he was younger. Instead of working hard, he just goofed around. (Oh boy, can I relate to this one!)

Megan wishes she had started tracking her spending at an earlier age:

Richard’s biggest mistake was buying into the traditional advice that you only need to save ten or twenty percent of your income for retirement. Life many of us, he eventually realized that by saving more, he could have more:

A lot of readers mentioned they made mistakes by marrying somebody who had different financial aims than they did. But Tyler was the only one who realized his mistake was keeping his wife in the dark:

I’m sure you have made money mistakes in the past too. Maybe you’re still making them — or suffering the consequences of past mistakes. Feel free to share your story in the comment section below!

Coping with Mistakes and Setbacks

As I said, even smart people make mistakes. That’s part of being human. But smart money managers do what they can to minimize the effects of mistakes before they ever occur. Here are two ways you can mitigate the damage caused by foolish choices:

Educate yourself. The more you know, the better choices you’ll make — and the better you’ll be at anticipating problems. Read personal-finance books, magazines, and blogs. Most importantly, talk to people you know who have control of their finances. Learn from their mistakes so you’ll be more likely to avoid similar pitfalls in the future.

Be prepared. Your work as CFO of your own life involves both offense and defense. You practice defense when you practice preparation. The best way to prepare? Boost your profit margin! The larger your saving rate, the larger the buffer between you and disaster. Maintain an adequate emergency fund. Keep your insurance up-to-date. Make use of barriers and pre-commitment so that you’ll do the right things automatically. (The more you remove the human element from the equation, the safer you are.) Create a cash buffer to allow you take advantage of both emergencies and opportunities.

Even when you’re prepared and educated, you’re still going to make mistakes and suffer unexpected setbacks. It’s important to know how to pick up the pieces after things fall apart. Here are some strategies for minimizing the damage:

Don’t panic. When you suffer a setback or realize you’ve made a mistake, try to relax. Don’t freak out. Take an hour or two to distract yourself. Better yet, sleep on the problem. It’s amazing how a little time can help you gain perspective.

Believe in yourself. Though you may not know exactly how to solve the problem at hand, trust that you’ll find a solution. You’re smart. You’re resourceful. You’re competent. Stay positive, solve the problem, and learn from the experience.

If possible, undo the damage. Some mistakes are reversible. Suppose you just blew a bund of money on new clothes or are feeling buyer’s remorse over your new Nintendo Switch. Return the items. Or, if that’s not an option, immediately sell them to recoup some of your loss.

Evaluate your options. Obviously, some mistakes are not reversible. If you accidentally change lanes into another car and total both vehicles, there’s no undoing the damage. So, make the most of the situation. Compile a list of options. Keeping your long-term goals in mind, figure out the best course of action. This will help you avoid making rash decisions.

Don’t let it get you down. From personal experience, I know how tempting it can be to ease the pain by spending more money. But compulsive spending just makes it more difficult to reach your goals. It makes you feel worse, not better. Fight the urge to practice “retail therapy”. Stay away from your Amazon account. Don’t let one problem snowball into two or three.

Learn from your mistakes. Figure out where you went wrong. How did that traveling salesman convince you to buy those overpriced steak knives? What can you do to avoid making the same mistake in the future? Don’t beat yourself up, but take a calm, rational look at how you can make better choices next time.

Don’t dig a deeper hole. Money spent is money spent. Just because you’ve already sunk $200 into a gym membership you never use doesn’t mean you need to keep spending money on it. Cut your losses by getting out as soon as possible.

Keep your goals in mind. A setback is just that: a temporary roadblock on your journey toward something more important. Make peace with the past and keep your focus on the future.

Setbacks are disheartening but remember: Failure is okay. Mistakes are lessons in disguise. There’s a Japanese proverb about perseverance that translates as “fall down seven times, get up eight”. Successful people fail just as often as unsuccessful people; the difference is that successful people learn from their mistakes, get back on their feet, and resolutely march in the direction of their desires.

If you’ve made some foolish choices or had some bad stuff happen to you — or both — don’t give up. Use the mistakes to launch yourself on a new path. It’s never too late to change direction and start making smarter choices. Build your future from the ashes of the past.

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foursproutwealth-blog · 7 years ago

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Foolish money mistakes — and how to avoid them

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/foolish-money-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/

Foolish money mistakes — and how to avoid them

Let me give you an example (or three) from my own life.

To begin, I’ll retell a classic tale of my financial foolishness, one that has delighted my readers for over a decade. It’s all about how I paid $1500 for a “free” Frisbee.

The Not-So-Free Frisbee

One foolish choice as I entered college cost me nearly $1500 — enough to buy about one hundred Frisbees. And that’s just one of the foolish financial choices I’ve made in my life.

The Wasted Windfall

By the mid 1990s, I had accumulated over $20,000 in credit-card debt. And I was digging the hole deeper every day.

There’s no question: The old J.D. was foolish with money. But even after I started reading and writing about money, I still made some foolish mistakes.

The Imbecilic Investor

Everbody’s a Fool Sometimes

First up, Nate tells how he and his wife bought a timeshare…and wish they hadn’t:

Then there’s Amy, who made the same mistake I see people make again and again and again: Cashing out their retirement accounts when they switch jobs.

Adam regrets not being more motivated when he was younger. Instead of working hard, he just goofed around. (Oh boy, can I relate to this one!)

Megan wishes she had started tracking her spending at an earlier age:

Coping with Mistakes and Setbacks

Keep your goals in mind. A setback is just that: a temporary roadblock on your journey toward something more important. Make peace with the past and keep your focus on the future.

The post Foolish money mistakes — and how to avoid them appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

#Wealth

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