I was speculating in the market in May 2000, right after the first big crash in the NASDAQ. The markets had been shakey for a month, but I figured after Alan Greenspan raised interest rates, buyers would come in hoping o make their money back.
So I used one of those checks credit cards send out for cash advances, got about $2500, put the money in my account, and bought call options on SDLI, an optical networking company.
But I maxed out the cash advance, forgetting the CC company tacks on a 2% fee for this service. So I was overdrawn, and the funds were pulled from my bank account. The same company does my banking and brokerages services. I now had an unfunded position in a highly volatile and risky investment. If they couldn't fund it, they'd close it out automatically and probably revoke my ability to trade options.
So I borrowed $2500 from a friend, but I didn't want him to take the risk. My priority was to make sure he got all the money he lent me back, so I closed the position.
The day after I did that, the markets skyrocketed, along with SDLI. The options I held appreciated by about 1100%, and I missed out on about $20,000 of profits. But if it had gone the other way, I would have lost my friend's money.