# Stupid (in your opinion) mistakes people make **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212 "2013-05-01T15:45:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/41 "2013-05-02T02:07:14Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > To answer the OP: taking up smoking. > > I work at a university. You would not believe how many 18-21 year-olds I see smoking. This is not the 1930s; everyone and their pet rat is well-aware of the dozens of health problems smoking causes. Dumbasses, every one of them. > > Same goes for tanning. You would simply not believe now many of my university friends/classmates started smoking _while in fucking university_. To clarify, these aren’t people who were a little dumb as teenagers and started smoking, and then hadn’t quit by the time they were in university. No, they started smoking in university. (Sorry for the language.) In response to the OP’s question, I was going to say “using ‘everyday’ when ‘every day’ is meant” but that seems pretty minor compared to the weighty issues the other posters have mentioned in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/42 "2013-05-02T02:09:41Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > As it is election season where I live: > > **Voting without getting informed on the issues and the candidate’s stance on those issues.** > > [Douglas Adams wrote about the problem](http://wso.williams.edu/~rcarson/lizards.html) in _So Long and Thanks for All the Fish_. > > If you cannot be bothered to make an informed vote then we just end up with the same people doing the same crap in elected office. So that’s where [David Icke](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Icke)got his crazy ideas from. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/43 "2013-05-02T02:42:20Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Having sex with a person you have recently divorced/seperated from. This must happen a lot, because I know 3 people with kids who post-date their breakup. Why did you put your dick in the woman who stabbed you with a fork because she thought you stole her whiskey? No rubber? Seriously? Dude, what’s wrong with you? Have fun with that child support payment Yes. This. I’m Facebook friends with both halves of a formerly-married couple. They had one kid, were going through a divorce, and had unprotected sex enough to get her pregnant again before the divorce was final. Just about all of the woman’s Facebook posts are about her kids driving her crazy (either humorously-phrased or not) and maybe 5-10% involve passive-aggressive swipes at her ex. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/44 "2013-05-02T02:59:11Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Enrolling your 2-5 year-olds in activities that require you to purchase gear. They will either outgrow the gear in 6 months or tire of the activity in 6 weeks. Or 6 minutes. > > My jaw still drops open when I think about the leotard, tutu, tap shoes, ballet shoes and “dance bag” my SIL bought for my 2.5-year-old niece. She didn’t last half a class. Ditto parents (okay, mothers) who sign their kids up for every activity under the sun, or sign their kids up for traveling teams, and then complain that all they do is drive the kids from one activity to the next. Or people who buy things for the kids and complain that they own them. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/45 "2013-05-02T03:16:30Z")
Floating down a river without a life jacket. I’ve been in the business for 20 years; I’ve never known anyone to drown whilst wearing one. All of the deaths have been bare chested. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/46 "2013-05-02T03:59:42Z")
Using payday loans or check cashing loans. My brother recently got one for $300. By the time my parents bailed him out barely a month later, he had paid over $600 to them and not one cent of it was to principle. I’m honestly disgusted that these places are allowed to even exist in this day and age. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/47 "2013-05-02T04:55:24Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Enrolling your 2-5 year-olds in activities that require you to purchase gear. They will either outgrow the gear in 6 months or tire of the activity in 6 weeks. Or 6 minutes. You could extend that age range to include, oh, everyone. Buying expensive gear for a new hobby is a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/48 "2013-05-02T04:55:21Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Using payday loans or check cashing loans. My brother recently got one for $300. By the time my parents bailed him out barely a month later, he had paid over $600 to them and not one cent of it was to principle. I’m honestly disgusted that these places are allowed to even exist in this day and age. Ooh, that’s a good one. Those are terrible, terrible places. ---
**Author:** ![Saraya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Saraya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saraya)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/49 "2013-05-02T09:00:29Z")
**Owning a credit card** \*\* Voting Democrat\*\* \*\* Attending a full blown college/university\*\* **Casual sex** **Facebook** Hmm did I just describe the last generation? ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/50 "2013-05-02T09:41:17Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > To answer the OP: taking up smoking. > > I work at a university. You would not believe how many 18-21 year-olds I see smoking. This is not the 1930s; everyone and their pet rat is well-aware of the dozens of health problems smoking causes. Dumbasses, every one of them. > > Same goes for tanning. Can’t you say the same of junk food? ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/51 "2013-05-02T10:34:03Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Paying/borrowing full price for an expensive private college, for no good reason. If you are brilliant, get a scholarship to MIT or somewhere. If you are just some schmo with a passable SAT score and no clue of a major, go to the fucking state university until you have some idea what you want to do. That’s where normal people go. The parents are at least half the problem. The “experience” and “networking” at St. Fancypants University is not worth bankrupting yourself and going eyeball deep in debt. Stop pretending you are wealthy. This is a good description of one of the things I came to say. I make sure my kids know the Six Things Guaranteed to Fuck Up Your Life (I know, sounds like something from Cracked). In no particular order, the List of Six (as I call it): 1. Having kids before you’re ready or can afford them. 2. Poor mating choices 3. Squandering education opportunities 4. Crime. 5. Drugs 6. Unmanageable (or unnecessary) debt. I have been a volunteer instructor in a remedial-adult education facility for a long time. It’s mainly a last-resort place to try and help people re-start their lives. I tell my wife it sometimes seems like they were given my list-of-six, and thought it was a scavenger hunt. :rolleyes: I fully realize there are situations where life has kicked you in the teeth, due to nothing but random luck. But after a few years of teaching, I’m convinced the majority of the cases we’re working with have managed at least 2 on the list. > [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Living in misery rather than moving. Unemployed, no chance of a job in their field, renting, no kids. Perfect candidates for economic migration. They won’t have it. They went to school here, the weather’s nice, their relatives live here. You can’t have it both ways, quit whining. In addition to making sure my kids understand the above, I have an interesting way of teaching them about their cars. I explain thusly: “[pointing to gas cap] This is where the gas goes… [points to rearview mirror] and this is where the town with no jobs goes.” I’ve never understood why people just stay and wait for financial ruin. It’s always booming somewhere… go there and make money. It seems absurdly simple to me. Mizpullin and I have moved 11 times\* in our 33 year marriage. When one place declines, head for greener pastures. How hard is this to figure out? My 23 yr old has worked in FL, NJ, and here since graduation. He’s moving to IN in a few weeks to start a better job. In this economy-of-suckage, he has good pay, great hours, full health/retirement benefits, and is self-sufficient. I’m flabbergasted at the number of his peers still at home with their parents. \*significant moves, to a new state or country. I’m not counting cross-town moves to new digs. ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/52 "2013-05-02T10:45:58Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Why did you put your dick in the woman who stabbed you with a fork because she thought you stole her whiskey? That’s a half-truth; it was only a spork. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/53 "2013-05-02T10:46:08Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Cosigning is cool if you understand you are just as responsible for the debt. My dad consigned for me on some college loans and it really helped me get an education I wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise. It is one thing to co-sign for a young adult with no credit rating. It is another thing entirely to co-sign for a full adult who has made a mess of his/her life. ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/54 "2013-05-02T10:50:56Z")
> [@Saraya](#): > > **Owning a credit card** 😕 > [@Saraya](#): > > **Voting Democrat** :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/55 "2013-05-02T11:29:57Z")
Trying to keep up with the Jones’s. Even if you can afford to do it, it’s not good for the psyche. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/56 "2013-05-02T13:19:19Z")
> [@Saraya](#): > > **Owning a credit card** > \*\* > Voting Democrat\*\* > \*\* > Attending a full blown college/university\*\* > > **Casual sex** > > **Facebook** > > Hmm did I just describe the last generation? Except for Facebook, no you didn’t. All of those other things are quite a bit older than “these kids today”. Some adults are so monumentally irresponsible and ignorant of arithmetic that they can’t handle a credit card. These people are idiots whose lives are a perpetual circus of fallout from bad decisions. Credit card debt is a mere sideshow to the self-made shitstorm they live in. The convenience and financial flexibility of a credit card is a boon for regular people who can add and subtract. Full-blown (as in anything above community college?) college/university is a mistake? For who? For people who are only fit for a life of minimally skilled labor, it’s probably too hard. For tradesmen or certain types of technician, it’s overkill. For the vast middle, who don’t want to work with their hands and may not have a clear idea what they have an aptitude for, it’s a really smart investment. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/57 "2013-05-02T13:19:20Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > I’ve never understood why people just stay and wait for financial ruin. It’s always booming somewhere… go there and make money. It seems absurdly simple to me. Mizpullin and I have moved 11 times\* in our 33 year marriage. When one place declines, head for greener pastures. How hard is this to figure out? My 23 yr old has worked in FL, NJ, and here since graduation. He’s moving to IN in a few weeks to start a better job. In this economy-of-suckage, he has good pay, great hours, full health/retirement benefits, and is self-sufficient. I’m flabbergasted at the number of his peers still at home with their parents. Oftentimes they do it because they screwed up and had kids! and can’t afford to move the kids. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/58 "2013-05-02T13:51:36Z")
A few: -riding a bike without a helmet. Your skull is fragile-protect it! -“Free” climbing ('nuff said) -not bothering to learn anything about the mechanics of money (loans, compound interest, debt and its implications). Most of my daughter’s friends don’t know anything about this-and this ignorance is NOT bliss ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/59 "2013-05-02T14:47:09Z")
> [@Septima](#): > > Living with someone romantically should be a good-faith step towards marriage and a family. We’ve been on that “step” for over 25 years. Hopefully, someday we’ll be allowed to marry in our state. Dunno about the “family” part. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212/60 "2013-05-02T14:52:22Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Trying to keep up with the Jones’s. > > Even if you can afford to do it, it’s not good for the psyche. And guess what? Nobody really cares. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-in-your-opinion-mistakes-people-make/657212.md?page=4)