I've wondered this myself: whether it's a personality/character flaw, or if it is the Bipolar. When my pdoc was getting to know me, she wanted me to answer this for her since she said some people just simply "aren't good at making decisions." My bad decisions tend to be surrounding my vices: spending, sex, poor relationship choices, sometimes substances/alcohol, and generally reckless behavior when I am manic and impulsive. Some of this stuff sounds similar to Borderline, but we've ruled that out, and I can't relate to it entirely. My stuff is not routed in abandonment, the way it tends to be in Borderline Personality. Mine tends to be during mania/hypomania/mixed mania. Sometimes I get psychosis at the same time.

When I am more stable, I at least have more insight into my decisions, even if I do continue to make some that aren't that good. I tend to have good judgment when I am working, so I think I have certain patterns that behaviors that come out when I am unstable. The fact that some of my bad decisions follow themes and tend to be during bad episodes, leads me to believe it's mostly symptomatic for me and Bipolar episode-related.