Best decisions:  

1.  Using credit sparingly; student loan and the used vehicle we needed when my 16yr old Honda bit the dust, that's it.

2.  Marrying a man with similar financial goals and the drive to work hard with me to get what we want.

3.  Taking every opportunity to earn cash the good old fashioned way (16 hour work days pay for holidays and international vacations, woohoo!  Margaritas here we come baby!!!)

Worst decisions:

1.  Not getting that short-term disability at least 10mo before my son was born.

2.  Not researching my initial investments with my IRA

3.  Paying $13K for a wedding (which is very modest, maybe even crappy for some, but I can think of at least 100 things better to do with $13K in cash now that I look back on it).

3 Worst decisions:

1. Getting married

2. Getting divorced

3. Thus, going bankrupt

Best

1. Going to a "lesser name" school b/c I had a full scholarship and a few years later going to grad school on my employer's dime (thank you, tuition reimbursement!)

2. Investing the full 15% in my 401k from the start of my career

3. Buying a condo during the previous real estate bust and selling it at peak value in 2005

Worst

1. Not adjusting our lifestyle when moving from small mortgage (condo) to big (house)

2. Not communicating enough with husband about where things were at financially re: no. 1

3. Not having enough liquid investments (i.e., emergency fund) and thus over-reliance on credit cards

Best Decisions

1. Buying a house big enough to raise a family in and staying there for 22 years.

2. Max contributions to 401K and IRAs

3. "Investing" in our children first and our lifestyle second.

Worst

1. Biting on the precious metals bait.

2. Inheriting a nice stock portfolio and thinking I could do better(if it ain't broke don't fix it!)

3. Not doing enough homework when starting a business. (Can you do enough?)

One of the most interesting blogs on personal finance I've read...

Best:

Going to in-state school where Dad's employer covered tuition

Moving back in with my parents to save money after school (I paid rent)

Starting my Roth IRA at 19

Worst:

None yet!

I have had the benefit of learning from other's mistakes.  Thanks to everyone on every blog that talks about their mistakes.  Don't worry, I'm young and still have plenty of time to screw up.

Worst:

1. Marrying my now ex-husband (he liked to spend while I tried to save, he complained that all I cooked was ramen and mac/cheese, which was all we could afford because of his spending, etc.)

2. Spending on a big solo trip this past June (although it was once-in-a-lifetime for me, it left me without a cash reserve. working to remedy that though)

3. Dropping out of grad school, which means I incurred more debt with no degree benefit (although it did help me get over my fear of speaking and made me sure of my path in life)

Best:

1. Paying off past due debt with 'rebate' from student loans while going back to grad school (got me out of a really bad spot in life and relieved stress, although swapping one debt for another isn't a really good idea)

2. Paying off my credit card (that has cash back rewards) in full every month now (Although some months it takes some financial maneuvering to do since the bill is due within days of my payroll)

3. Living in a lower cost rental so I can save for a down payment for a house (someday...maybe...if I'm lucky)

Best Decisions:

1.  Still driving my 13 y.o. car w/ 200,000 miles because she still runs great and gets good mileage, instead of spending extra money just to get a newer car.  My friends make fun of me, but I'd rather drive my car and use the extra to pay off my students loans and to build up my savings.

2.  Waiting to buy a house until my husband and I had 20% to put down.  We could have qualified for a no-or-low downpayment loan a few years ago, but by waiting we saved a ton of money on the interest rate and a great deal on our house.

3.  Saving my change, a habit inherited from parents during my childhood.  I don't know how many times during college and right after graduation that change jar allowed me to buy food!

Worst:

1.  Getting a credit card as soon as I turned 18.  I didn't even wait until I got to college!  It only had a $300 limit, but I wasn't mature enough to make sure the bill got paid every month, and wound up paying a ton of extra money in late fees.

2.  Taking out an extra student loan so that I didn't have to work one semester.  The classes weren't that tough, my grades weren't any higher, and I would have had more money in my pocket and a lower payment after graduation.  Lesson learned quick, though--I went back to working the next semester.

3.  Getting a bunch of unnecessary and extremely expensive medical tests done without getting a second opinion.  Several thousand dollars (and most of the money I had saved for my wedding) later, my doctor decided that a $4 a month prescription would be an effective treatment, and that all those tests had just been "covering all the possibilities."  And yes, I had insurance.  It doesn't cover everything.

My worst:

Not saving - several years ago I was laid off from a job and received a severence package, but I was fortunate enough to find a temp position (that eventually turned into a permanent position) so it was like getting paid twice.  Only I wasn't smart enough to put that severence in some sort of interest bearing account.

Best:

Finally sitting down and looking at my finances and getting myself out of debt.  Buying a house toward the end of the housing boom in 2006, below what it was valued.    Started contributing to my 401K (though I'm afraid to look at it now) and started automatic saving (pay yourself first)

Worst:

Buying stuff I didn't need - you never do feel satisfied if you don't learn how to content.

Taking cash advances on my Visa card to pay my Visa bill.  How dumb is that?

Writing bad checks as an AVON rep and being put on "probation" - wow, that's embarrassing still!

Best:

Meeting the man who is now my husband and having him tell me he can't marry me if I'm not going to control my overspending (it set me back on the path to financial freedom)

Reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover - I know a lot of people don't agree with all of his ideals, but he helped me figure out a plan for our finances, and that was a huge help.

Having our son - he's seven now and I can see him developing a lot of the same attitudes toward money and stuff that I had, so I have the opportunity to teach him what I wish my parents had taught me.

I love this blog - thanks for all of the great posts!

www.smartcentsliving.blogspot.com

Best - Getting married to a wise and wonderful woman with great values.

Worst - "balancing" our savings between IRA and real estate - which are now down over 40% with retirement (at least what we hoped would be retirement) about 5 yrs. away.