Can you sleep if you lose money?
By scheng1
@scheng1 (24650)
Singapore
July 5, 2011 9:09am CST
It does not matter how you lose money.
Some of us lose money when the coins fall into the drain or just drop in a busy shopping mall.
Some of us even lose a few dollars when we take out a few dollars, and the rest fall off.
Some of us lose big money in the stock market or casino.
Some of us believe in scams and lose some money.
I think nearly all of us can remember the times when we lost that fifty cents or a hundred dollars loss in investment.
It is natural for us to feel upset.
The problem is that can you still sleep if you lose money, regardless of the amount of money?
9 people like this
50 responses
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
10 Jul 11
Hi Anil02, actually the manner of loss is a deciding factor, not the value of the money.
Many rich persons do not mind losing a few millions in business or investment, but if someone tries to cheat them of a hundred dollars, they would not rest until they recover the money.
Many rich people are miserly about cash, while poor people tend to spend money recklessly.
I think that is the reason why the poor never get rich.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
12 Jul 11
Hi Anil02, you are right when you say that poor people do not like to thin about tomorrow.
Even if they have a good bonus, they may not even want to save half the bonus.
They would think that they will continue to earn money, and it is all right to spend and spend.
When they are jobless, then they start to blame government instead of their inability to save money.
I think the same difference between the rich and the poor happens to their diet too.
Rich people eat healthy.
Some of them can afford all the seafood and meat, yet they choose vegetarian diet.
The poor people eat all kinds of nonsense, and have many chronic illness.
@whispers168 (768)
• United States
5 Jul 11
It depends on how much money.If its just change or a few dollars I tend not to worry about it to much.If it is a large amount it upsets me.
@whispers168 (768)
• United States
5 Jul 11
I agree with you if I lose money because of my own carelessness it does bother me lots more.I try to be careful but sometimes you still end up with your money lost.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
5 Jul 11
Hi Whispers, so far I have been quite careful especially when travelling on a holiday.
I think those who lose their wallets in crowded places will have a few more sleepless nights.
I have some friends who are plain careless.
They order their food, and do not even notice that someone takes away their handbag.
I think they deserve a few more sleepless nights to learn their lessons.
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
5 Jul 11
If it's a huge amount of money it'll effect me, but I think I'd be sleeping mroe because I would be feeling depressed. If it's just a small amount of money it would not effect me that much and I would just hate that I had lost it, but not really worry all that much about it.
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
5 Jul 11
I can undertand losing money is stressful, and I suppose I can understand how even if it's a small amount you feel very bad about it. I just feel like if it's any less then one dollar I wouldn't worry, but one dollar or more I would. However, I am flat broke now so If I lost even a penny I think I'd be upset with myself.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
5 Jul 11
Hi Somecowgirl, for me, it does not matter whether it is big amount or small amount.
I would be very upset if I am too careless.
Even if I drop a ten cent coin due to my carelessness, I will feel very upset and angry, and cannot sleep for half the night.
However, if I lose a few hundred dollars in a bad investment, I still can sleep very well.
I think I am prepared to lose if the investment goes badly.
But I am not prepared to lose any money carelessly.
1 person likes this
@CTHanum (8234)
• Malaysia
6 Jul 11
Agree with you scheng. Carelessness also apart of that feeling. For me the amount of the money and the carelessness are both will bother myself. It does not just belong to money matter, even if I lost other things if it is in a huge amount and caused of my negligence then I will start blaming my self and it will affect my day.
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
5 Jul 11
Finances are a tricky matter. it isn't hard to lose sleep over lost money. i find it harder to sleep over this situation when it was my own doing that lost the money and it could have been helped. I think it is frustration more than anything else.@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
7 Jul 11
Hi, I agree with you all.
I think it is very frustrating when we lose even a few dollars due to our carelessness.
If we lose money over bad investment, and due to the fact that we ignore our instinct, then that is even more frustrating.
About a year ago, I bought Genting shares at $1.12.
I sold it for $1.18, and right after that the share price shot up to $2.30.
I was heart pain for weeks.
Even though I did not literally lose money, I did lose the chance to make even more money.
I sold off despite the fact that the company was breaking earning record every quarter.
Can't blame anyone but myself.
I wonder how stupid I can be!
@CTHanum (8234)
• Malaysia
6 Jul 11
Yes, that word frustration!! It not just counted to money but it is also to other important thing as well! Several years ago I have lost one of my collection due because of my own doing and it made me down and cry for it for many days. Even if it was years ago and I can sleep soundly now but I still feel the frustration and guilty inside me~ It really makes me be more cautious, careful with everything I have. But I can't get the things I have lost~
@visavis (5934)
• Philippines
5 Jul 11
For sure if you are really frustrate on that lossing money it cannot be helped to you for sleeping very well. Losing money in our mistakes or intention might be affected to us in a couple of days then after that we can recover again - but we should learn from our mistakes.
@frontvisions101 (16043)
• Philippines
5 Jul 11
It depends how much I lost. If it's just a few change then I can sleep on it. If it's a few hundred bucks, though, I think I'll be up all night thinking about it.
Money is important these days, for me it puts food on my table.
Money is important these days, for me it puts food on my table.@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
7 Jul 11
Hi Frontivisions, I cannot sleep if I lose a few pennies due to my own carelessness or stupidity.
I remember once I took the wrong bus.
I had to foot the bus fare for taking the wrong bus, and then the bus fare for the return trip to the same place to wait for my bus.
I was very angry with myself for not checking with the bus driver before I boarded the bus.
Even though the time and money wasted is not a lot, but I still feel very bad.
@frontvisions101 (16043)
• Philippines
7 Jul 11
Well, you still have a point because money is really important today. A few pennies lost, if done repetitively, can lead to a few hundreds to a few thousands. Another thing is, you'll learn from it pretty fast if you think about your mistakes too often.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
12 Jul 11
Hi Frontvisions, I think those who never learn to value money when they were young would have a harder time when they are jobless and have bills to pay.
Some of them lost pennies when they were young, and they never even felt sad about it.
They might not even learn to save up for weeks or months to get their favorite toys or games.
I think parents have a part to do with the way the children value money.
@CTHanum (8234)
• Malaysia
6 Jul 11
Hi scheng!
It depends on the quantity of the money itself. If it involves lot of money then I can't get to sleep. Perhaps busy thinking about the money I lost. If it just 50 cents then it is okay. It don't give much impact to my life because the value between them is different.I remember when I lost some of my money, I keep thinking about it for days and I feel stressed. And there are few times I lost a few cents and I don't think too much about it.(^^)
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
10 Jul 11
Hi CTHanum, actually I think most people are better able to deal with big loss than small loss.
Those who entered the stock market when it was in big boom, or bought a house when the real estate market was red hot, are sitting on huge loss now.
Some even had the misfortune of seeing their houses foreclosed by the banks, yet many of them could deal with it.
They blamed on their bad luck or bad timing, and life goes on.
However, if they were to lose a fifty dollar note due to carelessness, then they might feel very upset over it for many days.
The worst is to have the money fly out of your wallet when you are taking out money, and see it fly into the deep blue sea.
@CTHanum (8234)
• Malaysia
10 Jul 11
That condition required risk awareness and those who involves in such business-stock, real estate etc most of them know the risk so some already have a preparation to face it. About the lose due to carelessness, yes I agree with you that it will lead to major depression as well. Who will not feel upset if they actually can avoid and overcome that thing from happen?
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
12 Jul 11
Hi CTHanum, most investors know that paper loss is just paper loss, and that they can recover the loss if economy recovers.
I think the possibility of a future profit is what makes us sleep soundly, even if the portfolio has gone down by half.
Those cash that we drop in public places is gone forever.
We know that we will never see them again.
That is where the heart pains is.
I guess it is hard to find a person who has never ever lost a penny before.
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
6 Jul 11
There was a time when I thought that it's okay if I did lose money, but it was different when I did lose money.
It was stolen from me while I was shopping. Some girl snatched it inside my backpack and I was never the same. I don't really know how much she got, but all I remembered is that she was at my back then she left suddenly.
After that time, I am more cautious. I always watch out when there are people around me and I am always paranoid if someone gets close and I always check my bag if there's something missing.
I guess it's trauma.
Have a great MyLot experience today!
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
16 Jul 11
Hi Laydee, maybe you can pick up some cash in public next time!
That will be a change!
I think bad experiences really have a way of reinforcing some lessons on us.
If not for the fact that your money was stolen, you would not learn the importance of safeguarding your things.
I think this single bad experience will make you cautious for many, many years, especially when you travel overseas.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
7 Jul 11
Hi Laydee, I never have such bad experience.
I think I would be paranoid for years if I were to experience the same thing.
It is less the amount, since I do not carry so much cash anyway.
But I hate to remind myself of my carelessness.
When I was in crowded place, I always carried my backpack in front.
My mother had remarked that it looked awful to carry it this way, but i rather to be safe than sorry.
1 person likes this
@chrislotz (8137)
• Canada
4 Dec 11
I went to the casino last night and I lost $160 and I couldn't sleep last night because I was so mad at myself for spending that much money. I can afford it, it didn't make me broke or anything, it just makes me mad at myself for doing it. I was bored at home and didn't have anything to do or anywhere to go so that is where I ended up when I went for an afternoon drive.
I was there for about 4 hours only, couldn't win anything. So when I got home I thought about all that money and how long it will take me to earn it back, one day at work but that's awful because it is like working for nothing. And I couldn't fall asleep till really late because I let it stress me.
Cheers and happy mylotting 
,
Chris
,
Chris @scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
5 Dec 11
Hi Chrislotz, I think you should count yourself lucky that you did not lose more or win money.
I pity those who won the first time they entered casino.
Once they have won, they will always think about winning.
That is how they get hooked to gaming.
I think if they have lost the first time round, and they could not sleep, they would not go again.
@visavis (5934)
• Philippines
5 Jul 11
If the amount are very huge amount and it is important for my family for sure I never sleep as long as that amount not return or replace.. that's my problem and become big problem to me because really affected in my life..
However, if amount is considerate enough like couple of dollars no big deal and wil say and think better next time.. bottom line is depends how much the amount lose..
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
7 Jul 11
Hi Visavis, for me, the important thing is not how much I lose but the manner I lose the money.
if I drop my wallet somewhere, and lose the money, I would be very upset for days.
Since that is due to my own carelessness.
It is not the money that makes me sleepless for nights, but the carelessness of myself.
If I lose money in the stock market or other investments, I would just write off as a lesson learnt.
The reason is that I am prepared to lose.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
12 Jul 11
Hi Visavis, I seldom lose money.
Even now, I can still recall those days when I lost a few coins.
The lessons stay with me, and I learn from the mistakes of my friends as well.
Some of my friends have the bad experience of losing wallets, and their cards plus identity card.
It is very painful to make police report, and then call the banks one by one, plus make a new identity card.
@visavis (5934)
• Philippines
7 Jul 11
Yeah I forgot your correct the important essense of how losing such amount even small amount still the blame is pushing to your mind. Did you try again might be this time after you learnt something,you know what the right to do to make success.. The real winner is not a quitter, but the loser is the quitter.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
7 Jul 11
Hi Minimoyz, sometimes I can sleep very well even if I lose a few hundred dollars in bad investments.
I think that is due to mental preparation.
When I want to invest in something, I am mentally prepared to lose.
However, I am not prepared to lose even a penny anywhere.
It is so frustrating getting enough coins to pay for a can of drinks, and then due to our carelessness, the coins drop and roll everywhere.
it happens rarely, but I would not sleep well that night, since i would waste time blaming myself.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
10 Jul 11
Hi Minimoyz, actually not crying or upset over the money part, but the part of carelessness is hard to get over.
Most of us have never learnt the lesson well enough.
That is why we can still see people losing their wallets in the toilet of a busy shopping malls, or the car park or other public places.
I think we feel better if it is not our fault.
Most people can get over the fact that they have investment loss, especially when they bought the house at the peak of real estate market.
They are sitting on a house that lost 70% of the value, yet they do not really mind, since the situation is out of their control.
@minimoyz (277)
• Philippines
7 Jul 11
Have you heard of the saying "don't cry over spilled milk"? This saying is exactly what this discussion is all about don't you think? There is no use in thinking what happened and get bitter about it because of our mistakes. Mistakes happens. Nope! Erase that. SH*T happens! That's it! So if you get what I mean we don't need to lose sleep when the blame is on ourselves! Money can be earned!
@babybea (82)
• Philippines
6 Jul 11
i remember few months ago i lost the tuition of my friend and yes i can't sleep few days specially thats not my money and i don't have that much to pay her.. its really difficult to sleep of you lost someones things specially if its too important like her tuition, and after a week i found her wallet at our house(at the back of my cabinet) and i was happy that we found it after a week of searching. if i lose a penny its beter to forget that penny and sleep that have insomia just for that penny
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
10 Jul 11
Hi Babybea, that must be a terrifying week for you.
It is hard to sleep when we lose our money, but much harder to sleep if we lose someone's money.
I think most of us are not comfortable with using other people's money or losing the sum, and the thought that we have failed our friends or relatives is not comforting.
I would find it hard to sleep if I lose a penny due to my carelessness.
It is not the worth of the penny, but the fact that i am too careless with money.
I think it is not good to waste anything, even the rice and vegetables that we eat most of the times.
@AgentGulaman (3546)
• Philippines
6 Jul 11
If it compromises my financial security I'll definitely will not be able to sleep. But if it is just pure luxury money like the one I use in stocks, I think I can handle the stress of losing the money and be able to still sleep well.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
10 Jul 11
Hi AgentGulaman, yes, that is true.
While most of us are upset if we drop a fifty dollars note in the carpark, we can handle investment loss, especially paper loss better.
i think it is a matter of mentality.
We are not mentally prepared to lose money in the public places, and we are prepared for the up and down in the stock market.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
12 Jul 11
HI AgentGulaman, very true.
At least we can hope for the economy to recover, and turn the paper loss into profits.
But once we lost a few dollars in hard cash somewhere, there is no way to hope for a profit or even return.
I think I still prefer to pick up cash from the ground than to lose my money for others to pick up.
@AgentGulaman (3546)
• Philippines
10 Jul 11
Yeah, I think paper loss is much easier to handle. It's hard to handle losses in public places because we know that it is due to our negligence and carelessness. We can't blame any other person but ourselves. While losses on the stock market, the blame can be redirected to the economy which can be redirected to the a lot of other factors. We just can't sleep when we know that it is our fault that we lost the money, eh!
@wow2dong2 (204)
• Malaysia
6 Jul 11
I think everyone also will feel upset when they lost money. For me, if my money is stole by someone, i will very emotional and angry. If my money is dropped somewhere, i will feel very upset, but so far, i never can't sleep when i lost money. However, if it is a big amount of money, then that could be different.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
10 Jul 11
Hi Wow, sometimes we can deal with the loss of big money better than we think.
There are many people who bought houses when the economy was very good.
When the economy crashed, and the houses lost up to 70% of the value, they still needed to pay the mortgage for the purchase.
The loss is not just a matter of hundreds of dollars.
It is more likely to exceed hundred thousand dollars, and yet most people can still deal with it.
They just blame on their bad luck, and life goes on.
But then if they were to lose fifty dollars in the shopping mall, they would feel very upset.
@jimmytai (204)
• Malaysia
16 Jul 11
i have lost my handset ,that night i really cant sleep. I always thinking and sad, i lose the all picture and contact, and also the handset is i use 1 month salary to buy it. I really hate that people is take my handset, really hope that people lose more than me later.
other case, i lose not a lot money, i try to find but fail. I think was drop. After that, i lazy think again then direct go sleep.
So, when i lose a lot money, i cant sleep. But a few money , i will straightaway go sleep.
@dodo19 (47050)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
10 Jul 11
I think that it would depend on how much I lost. If we're talking about spare change, just a couple of cents, or any small amount, then I don't think that it will bother me a whole lot. Yes, it might bother me a little, but I'm not going to stress over it. But if we're talking about a lot more than spare change, then it will most likely bother me more. It really does depend on how much money I lost.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
7 Jul 11
Maybe if I lose large amount of money I'd be really upset and would be really hard to get to sleep. It is a natural tendency to anyone I suppose and in fact some people even if they only lose small amount they make it a big deal and it became a reason to be sleepless. But in my case, only if the amount maybe is really that big would my sleep be affected. If only small amount of money I could easily get over and no reason not to fall asleep or lose appetite.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
10 Jul 11
Hi Salonga, actually most people can deal with huge loss better than small loss of money.
I think you may have friends or relatives who bought their houses at the real estate market peak.
The value of the house may decline 70% during a crisis.
They will definitely complain about bad luck or bad timing, and say many things about what if etc.
But they still deal with it, and life moves on.
However, if they were to lose their wallet after they had withdrawn cash from the ATM, they would not get over it that easily.
They would not sleep very well at night, especially if that happened just after pay day.
@aeiou78 (3445)
• Malaysia
10 Jul 11
I shall be sleepless whenever I am too happy or too sad.
Losing money is a kind of sadness to me too.
In whatever investment we are dealing, we should prepare ourselves to earn or to lose.
For me, if I can not accept the fact in losing, I shall better not to deal it at the beginning.
Losing money just because of carelessness is a painful experience to me.
In my mind, I shall spend my money wisely and worthy. This should not include the money I lost in my investment.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
10 Jul 11
Hi Aeiou, losing money just because of carelessness is very painful for me too.
While I can accept loss in investment, since I enter the stock market with my eyes open, I cannot accept that I can lose money through carelessness.
it is not the amount of money lost, but the way I handle money.
Losing ten dollars is very painful.
If I were to donate the money to charity, I would feel very happy about it instead of feeling very sad about it.
I do not like to waste resources, be it money or food or water.
@mythociate (21437)
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
7 Jul 11
MONEY IS NOT TREASURE! Many people treat it like it is treasure, because it's the most-common tool for getting treasure; but never forget that THAT'S ALL IT IS---A TOOL LIKE SPARE BACON-GREASE!
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
10 Jul 11
Hi Mythociate, while money is an asset like all other assets, the way we handle money is a reflection of our values.
Even Jesus mentioned about the servants who increased the gold for their master as good servants.
That is why it is very painful if we lose fifty dollars due to misplacing our wallet in the shopping mall.
if we were to donate the money to a worthy cause, we definitely do not feel bad about it.
In fact, we would feel very happy about it.
@jillferine (51)
• Philippines
7 Jul 11
It would be a big deal for me if the money lost is big and intended for something such as for electric bills, water bills or if for an emergency as to medicines or hospital payments...It would be a sleepless days long nights for me indeed!!!
@marxistmind (102)
•
6 Jul 11
I think it depends how you loose the money, if it's through debts I think that it is the stress that keeps you awake rather than the fact that you have lost money. It's that your worried what loosing money means to you or your family.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
10 Jul 11
Hi Marxistmind, yes, I agree it depends very much on how the money is lost.
I think many people are prepared to lose money when they invest in real estate or stock market.
But they are not prepared to lose money through theft.
If the money is borrowed money, and we lose it even before we can use it, then that is even worse.
