In 2018, I put all my money into a business property—a small plaza with several office and restaurant units. I was passionate about the investment and believed in it. Then the pandemic arrived. Most of the businesses shut down, I could not find new tenants, and I had to use my salary and stock investments to keep paying the loan.
After I got married, my wife and I looked at the balance sheet and realized we were constantly losing money. We had already spent a lot on renovations, and things were beginning to improve, but we still worried about what would break next and what the future would bring. Maybe part of me wanted to prove that I had been right—that I could eventually recover the money. But I kept asking myself why I was staying in an investment that continued to lose money.
We sold the property in 2022. The selling price was roughly what I had paid, after agency fees, but when we counted everything we had put into it, we had lost around $40,000 or $50,000. We had also lost the chance to use that cash elsewhere. Still, I felt very relieved. After we sold it, everything became much better: I still had a good job, some cash, and the freedom to invest differently. Sometimes you lose money, but when you cut something off and leave it behind, things can finally get better. I did not have to stay trapped trying to prove I was right.
In 2018, I put all my money into a business property—a small plaza with several office and restaurant units. I was passionate about the investment and believed in it. Then the pandemic arrived. Most of the businesses shut down, I could not find new tenants, and I had to use my salary and stock investments to keep paying the loan.
After I got married, my wife and I looked at the balance sheet and realized we were constantly losing money. We had already spent a lot on renovations, and things were beginning to improve, but we still worried about what would break next and what the future would bring. Maybe part of me wanted to prove that I had been right—that I could eventually recover the money. But I kept asking myself why I was staying in an investment that continued to lose money.
We sold the property in 2022. The selling price was roughly what I had paid, after agency fees, but when we counted everything we had put into it, we had lost around $40,000 or $50,000. We had also lost the chance to use that cash elsewhere. Still, I felt very relieved. After we sold it, everything became much better: I still had a good job, some cash, and the freedom to invest differently. Sometimes you lose money, but when you cut something off and leave it behind, things can finally get better. I did not have to stay trapped trying to prove I was right.
