A cheap mistake stays cheap only for the person who can absorb its cost.

The price of an error is set by the person’s circumstances, not by the error. Missing a payment costs one person a fee and another person a credit record, a deposit, a home. Advice that treats mistakes as low stakes learning is written from inside a cushion, and it does not travel well to people who have none.

Before telling someone that a risk is small, ask what happens to them if it goes wrong rather than what would happen to you. When you are the one with room to absorb something, that is worth using deliberately. Taking the risk on somebody’s behalf is sometimes the most useful thing available.