--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ..people (in Minnesota) avoid stupidity…" description: "\"..people (in Minnesota) avoid stupidity when possible, not wanting to be a $10 haircut on a 50 cent head.\" — Garrison Keillor" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/garrison-keillor-1037_cents_people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when_2761649.jpg" --- # ..people (in Minnesota) avoid stupidity when possible, not… ![“..people (in Minnesota) avoid stupidity when possible, not wanting to be a $10 haircut on a 50 cent head.” quote by Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/garrison-keillor-1037_cents_people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when_2761649.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/garrison-keillor-1037_cents_people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when_2761649.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/garrison-keillor-1037_cents_people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when_2761649.jpg) > “..people (in Minnesota) avoid stupidity when possible, not wanting to be a $10 haircut on a 50 cent head.” [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People avoid obvious stupidity, preferring modest savings over wasteful spending. **In simple terms:** People avoid foolish waste. Key Takeaway Choose frugal choices. Themes economics behavior frugality humor culture Mood witty observational Type satire commentary When to use this quote - budgeting - consumer education - financial planning - comedy writing Key Concepts cost‑benefit analysis social norms Questions to Reflect On - When is spending justified? - How does humor reveal bias? A Different Perspective Not all waste is obvious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avoid Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoid-stupidity-3174395/) [Cents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cents/) [Haircut 50](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haircut-50-3174398/) [Haircuts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haircuts/) [Minnesota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minnesota/) [Minnesota Avoid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minnesota-avoid-3174396/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity/) [Stupidity Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupidity-possible-3174397/) ## Related quotes > [Beauty isn't worth thinking about; what's important is your mind. You don't want a fifty-dollar haircut on a fifty-cent head. ~Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/beauty-isn-t-worth-thinking-about-what-s-important-is-your-mind-you/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [As for family values, they are whatever they are - some families are tight, others are blown away like dandelion puffs. A main value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/as-for-family-values-they-are-whatever-they-are-some-families-are/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [The thought of people in this day and age sitting down to listen to a radio variety show on Saturday evening is rather implausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/the-thought-of-people-in-this-day-and-age-sitting-down-to-listen-to-a/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Minnesota is a state of public-spirited and polite people, where you can get a good cappucino and eat Thai food and find any book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/minnesota-is-a-state-of-public-spirited-and-polite-people-where-you/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [I was an English major at the University of Minnesota, and I was very shy, which many people misinterpreted as intelligence. On the basis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/i-was-an-english-major-at-the-university-of-minnesota-and-i-was-very/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [When it comes to finding available men in Minnesota, the odds are good, but the goods are odd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/when-it-comes-to-finding-available-men-in-minnesota-the-odds-are-good/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Jesus said the meek would inherit the earth, but so far all we've gotten is Minnesota and North Dakota.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/jesus-said-the-meek-would-inherit-the-earth-but-so-far-all-we-ve/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [This is Democratic bedrock: we don't let people lie in the ditch and drive past and pretend not to see them dying. Here on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/this-is-democratic-bedrock-we-don-t-let-people-lie-in-the-ditch-and/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [If you keep walking past the barbers, eventually you'll get a haircut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/if-you-keep-walking-past-the-barbers-eventually-you-ll-get-a-haircut/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [The worst sinners, according to Jesus, are not the harlots and publicans, but the religious leaders with their insistence on proper dress and grooming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/the-worst-sinners-according-to-jesus-are-not-the-harlots-and/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [While I was gone, I had quintuple bypass surgery on my heart. Plus, I got a haircut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/while-i-was-gone-i-had-quintuple-bypass-surgery-on-my-heart-plus-i/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Learning how to shine a pair of shoes to me was like if you could do, you were like you were on your way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-herron/learning-how-to-shine-a-pair-of-shoes-to-me-was-like-if-you-could-do/) [Willie Herron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-herron/) > [He wandered into the Newsroom and asked for a job the same way he’d walk into a barbershop and ask for a haircut, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-wandered-into-the-newsroom-and-asked-for-a-job-the-same-way-he-d/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [A SWAT team surrounded my house and came in every door. But it happened because on the day that we split up, Madonna developed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-penn/a-swat-team-surrounded-my-house-and-came-in-every-door-but-it/) [Sean Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-penn/) > [I've tried to have a regular haircut, but it just pops back up again, so this is the way it's going to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-stewart/i-ve-tried-to-have-a-regular-haircut-but-it-just-pops-back-up-again/) [Rod Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-stewart/) ## More by Garrison Keillor > [God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/god-writes-a-lot-of-comedy-the-trouble-is-he-s-stuck-with-so-many-bad/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [The socially redeeming aspect of golf lies in the vast number of lawyers and bankers and managers who play it, and when you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/the-socially-redeeming-aspect-of-golf-lies-in-the-vast-number-of/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [God plays a lot of jokes on us to get our attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/god-plays-a-lot-of-jokes-on-us-to-get-our-attention/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Ha! Easy for nuns to talk about giving up things. That's what they do for a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/ha-easy-for-nuns-to-talk-about-giving-up-things-that-s-what-they-do/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [This is the big reason most humorists fail. Drunks don't read books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/this-is-the-big-reason-most-humorists-fail-drunks-don-t-read-books/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Before the world was made, when it was only darkness and mist and waters, God was well aware of Lake Wobegon, my family, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/before-the-world-was-made-when-it-was-only-darkness-and-mist-and/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [On investments, 1998: Where I'm from we don't trust paper. Wealth is what's here on the premises. If I open a cupboard and see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/on-investments-1998-where-i-m-from-we-don-t-trust-paper-wealth-is/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [“The rich can afford to be progressive. Poor people have reason to be afraid of the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/the-rich-can-afford-to-be-progressive-poor-people-have-reason-to-be/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [English is the perfect language for preachers because it allows you to talk until you think of what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/english-is-the-perfect-language-for-preachers-because-it-allows-you/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [“If you can't read a simple goddam sign and follow one simple goddam instruction then get your fat butt the hell out of here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/if-you-can-t-read-a-simple-goddam-sign-and-follow-one-simple-goddam/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [“The Gospel is meant to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/the-gospel-is-meant-to-comfort-the-afflicted-and-afflict-the/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [I don't want them to be told to remember me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/i-don-t-want-them-to-be-told-to-remember-me/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Childhood is the small town everyone came from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/childhood-is-the-small-town-everyone-came-from/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [I have taken so many wrong turns and been so careless with precious things and managed to lose, or break, or leave out in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/i-have-taken-so-many-wrong-turns-and-been-so-careless-with-precious/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Where I'm from we don't trust paper. Wealth is what's here on the premises. If I open a cupboard and see, say, thirty cans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/where-i-m-from-we-don-t-trust-paper-wealth-is-what-s-here-on-the/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) [Explore all 304 Garrison Keillor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) ## More Cents quotes > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [Ninety nine per cent of the time, for anyone who wins or makes money, it makes them happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-blessed/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-time-for-anyone-who-wins-or-makes-money/) [Brian Blessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-blessed/) > [The Pink Panther wasn't shown to the press for reasons that soon became apparent when I saw it at a public performance. Two people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-french/the-pink-panther-wasn-t-shown-to-the-press-for-reasons-that-soon/) [Philip French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-french/) > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) [Homer Bone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-bone/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [...that in spite of living in a mansion an American is not above wearing a pair of secondhand pants, bought for fifty cents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/that-in-spite-of-living-in-a-mansion-an-american-is-not-above-wearing/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [I have earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life I have never obstructed justice,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/i-have-earned-every-cent-and-in-all-of-my-years-of-public-life-i-have/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [You could pay a fair market price for a barrel of oil and cut 50 cents a barrel or a dollar barrel off what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bolling/you-could-pay-a-fair-market-price-for-a-barrel-of-oil-and-cut-50/) [Eric Bolling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bolling/) > [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Shooting is 99 per cent luck and one per cent training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-bindra/shooting-is-99-per-cent-luck-and-one-per-cent-training/) [Abhinav Bindra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-bindra/) > [In 1985, the top five percent of the households - the wealthiest five percent - had net worth of $8 trillion - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stockman/in-1985-the-top-five-percent-of-the-households-the-wealthiest-five/) [David Stockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stockman/) > [For chat-room tyros who expect to make their first million day-trading by age 27, paging through the Sunday newspaper with a pair of scissors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/for-chat-room-tyros-who-expect-to-make-their-first-million-day/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) [Browse all 772 Cents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "..people (in Minnesota) avoid stupidity when possible, not wanting to be a $10 haircut on a 50 cent head.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Garrison Keillor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when-possible-not-wanting-to-be-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cents" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when-possible-not-wanting-to-be-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/garrison-keillor-1037_cents_people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when_2761649.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/garrison-keillor-1037_cents_people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when_2761649.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/025/garrison-keillor-1037_cents_people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when_2761649.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“..people (in Minnesota) avoid stupidity when possible, not wanting to be a $10 haircut on a 50 cent head.” — Garrison Keillor", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Garrison Keillor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "..people (in Minnesota) avoid stupidity when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when-possible-not-wanting-to-be-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/people-in-minnesota-avoid-stupidity-when-possible-not-wanting-to-be-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```