Ignorance Is Not Bliss

A while back, I wrote about that it’s OK to be dumb, but not stupid. The gist of that is that ignorance (“dumb” in my crude personal parlance) is excusable, but consciously hurting yourself and/or others—physically, mentally, or even financially— (“stupid” in my personal parlance) isn’t.

I make no bones on this blog about my dim-wittedness. Stupefying dim-wittedness. I traffic in self-deprecation, but a lot of my dim-wittedness is real. Some is legit a result of my being stupid. Much more, however, comes from ignorance.

Know way!

No one wants to be ignorant. I sure don’t. I’d love to know everything about everything. But, of course, that’s not remotely possible. And anyway, a lot of times you don’t know what you don’t know.

Owning up to ignorance isn’t always without consequences, either. For example, one might choose to remain ignorant because to know the facts/truth could end with learning bad news. Or about something that seems to simple or intuitive that it’d leave you feeling embarrassed for not having long known it.

So, a lot of people willfully choose to remain ignorant about any number of things. And, of course, there’s the cliché “ignorance is bliss.” I suppose there are times when that might be OK. But if you ask me, not many.

To health with it

Think going to the doctor for a physical. Or because you’ve got that nagging pain that’s a bit too painful and just won’t go away. Or a weird itch. Or a lump that didn’t used to be there. Or all of these things. There’s a temptation to not go to the doctor to avoid hearing bad news that said doctor might have to deliver.

Garbage.

Do you know what’s worse than knowing about a medical condition that you have? Not knowing. Or at least not knowing soon enough when you can take steps to cure it or mitigate its effects.

Not only can ignorance lead to bad health outcomes, it can result in more (and more expensive) treatments to address the issue(s) later on down the line. That, of course, will be bad for your monies. Very bad. And if the condition is bad enough, you can die. Which I think we can agree is bad for your personal finances.

On the money

Think also about learning about good personal finance strategies and tactics. Seems like something everyone should at least know the basics about. If not more.

After all, we all of us have to deal with personal finances. Every day. And we all went to school. Surely this subject was adequately taught there, right? And everyone else seems to be doing great! So as long as we’re not destitute—and they’re no smarter than us, no?—we must be doing things effectively, too. Right? Right?!

Garbage.

I went to a top-notch high school, an excellent university, and a good-enough law school. So as dim-witted as I am, one can’t say that I wasn’t (well) educated. I also do a lot of reading, watching of and listening to news and educational programs, and engage in a fair amount of independent learning. I’ve done this for decades. On top of that, one of the subjects of interest to me has been personal finance. And my sources are ruthlessly cultivated and constantly evaluated to see if they’re still up to snuff.

And yet.

And yet, I was a very well-seasoned adult before I learned about things like FIRE, low-fee index funds, travel hacking, and any number of other helpful subjects. That’s embarrassing to admit to. Even if, in my defense, I can say that the schools that I attended never even once mentioned them and that in all the reading and learning I’d done, these terms never once appeared. Much less the merits of each.

But I’ll tell you, once I learned about all this, I didn’t hide my head in the sand in embarrassment like a lot of people likely would. I did an about turn.

The results have been transformative. To say that I’m delighted that I discovered my ignorance would be a gross understatement. Heck, I wish that I discovered things that I’m as ignorant about and that are even half as impactful every day.

So, Dear Reader, I suggest that you, too, own up to your ignorance with humility and resolve. Doing so will offer up the chance of getting set straight. Sometimes to preempt a potential problem. Other times to mitigate damage. Either way, there’s a good chance you’ll reap financial savings (and other benefits).

And in the end . . .

Dear Reader, while you should own and try to rectify your ignorance, you might also be a little thankful that others won’t.

When I was in high school I thought often about a kid in my grade who most people would have agreed was both dumb and stupid. I don’t feel bad about saying that because he was also a jerk.

Lemme tell you, I was thankful for every day that that kid didn’t flunk out. Because as long as he and others of his ilk were in my grade, I knew that my class rank percentage would be elevated.

Similarly, in adulthood willful ignorance and stupidity can mean that your willingness to learn and act on newfound knowledge can make it all the easier for you to rise above more of the pack. For better or worse, there are a lot of dumb and stupid people out there who can make doing so easier.