It took an instant of carelessness to cause permanent consequences.

Fatal Swing

"A fellow barfly I knew was an MMA fighter. Had won some regional matches as an amatuer, his gym was promoting him, he was in talks with a MMA promotion."

"A guy mouths off to him. He replies. The guy takes a swing. He punches him and the guy hits his head on the pavement. Dies. 5 years for manslaughter."

– BakedTatter

Unprotected​

"A friend of mine decided to not use protection with a girl he’d just met… for a whole weekend… without asking if she was using any contraception at all. I often feel really bad for this poor baby dragged into this world out of sheer stupidity."

– Onelinersandblues

Misjudgment

"Drunk buddy climbed into bed with his Mother in Law because she thought she was into him…she wasn’t. Ended…poorly."

– Chance-Rush-9983

You always have a choice between a good and bad decision. These people chose the latter.

That's A Turnoff

"A girl I crushed on super hard in high school started doing meth, and began sleeping with her dealer, who was a Juggalo with a rapidly diminishing amount of teeth."

– littlebitsofspider

The Price Of Addiction

"I watched a mate lose 2 houses and $500,000 to cocaine in one year."

– ThunderClap_Fween

Breaking Trust

"19 yr old cousin. Started hanging with gangs, introduced to Meth and gained a gambling habit also, faked pregnancy and stole from family and made it look like others were involved which irreparable trust was broken between innocent parties that some have never recovered from."

– Superunkown781

Point Of No Return

"One of my friends turned to alcohol and all but gave up on life after his mom passed. It eventually caught up with him and he passed away at the age of 32. The sad part is that there were signs that he wanted to get better and wanted to get life together again. It was just too little too late and he went about it the wrong way."

– wert989

Remembered

"My brother. Heroin addiction. He was always an odd kid, but a very talented guitar player, and one of the most thoughtful, caring, funny, and unique people I've ever known. He passed away four years ago from a fentanyl overdose. I miss him everyday, but he brought so much joy to the lives of those around him that the memory of him isn't a sad one. I laugh way more than I cry when I think about him."

– Wepoozelator

Poor management of finances led to impoverished lives.

Sure Path To Bankruptcy

"A guy I used to work with got himself into crazy levels of debt."

"A local guy won the lottery. Nothing major, but still life changing. Something like $30,000. We were all on our lunch break, talking about what we would do if we won that much. I would pay off these credit cards, or I would trade in my car for a newer model. This guy says that it wouldn’t make a difference. At 23 he was already over $200,000 in debt between credit cards and personal loans."

"He would just get another loan to pay something off, and keep borrowing. A few months later he was complaining about how he was now an additional $50,000 in debt on top of it. This guy was only making around $40,000 a year."

"He got the bright idea to file bankruptcy. Lost his car, his house, his job. Last I knew he was staying at friends houses couch surfing, working for a pittance just trying to survive."

– flyingsusquatch

Bad Investment

"Sell their condo that was rented out, and invest all the profit in crypto in December 2021."

– Saugeen-Uwo

Popular Scheme

"I had a coworker that was supposed to move in england to work at his sister's bar. He gave it up for a pyramid scheme and tried to get me in."

– Aiizimor

Depending on the situation, we're not often given second chances in life.

So whenever something in your gut informs you not to do something–and you know what those actions are–you might want to pay attention.

Because once you cross the threshold of no return, there's no going back.