7 Ways to Lose $100,000 in a Hurry

It may be, as Bob Dylan sang, when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.

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(Image credit: Thinkstock)

It may be, as Bob Dylan sang, when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose. But that's not the case for Americans who are trying to build college savings for their children, or for their own retirement. When you are on the road to building wealth over a lifetime, a market correction of 5% (August 2011) or a plunge of 37% (2008) can set you back quickly,

So what other events can shrink your nest egg -- and your retirement dreams along with it -- in the blink of an eye? Here are seven ways you might easily blow 100 grand in a hurry, and how to prevent that from happening.

Andrea Browne Taylor
Online Editor, Kiplinger.com
Browne Taylor joined Kiplinger in 2011 and is a channel editor for Kiplinger.com covering living and family finance topics. She previously worked at the Washington Post as a Web producer in the Style section and prior to that covered the Jobs, Cars and Real Estate sections. She earned a BA in journalism from Howard University in Washington, D.C.