A complete financial plan in one "tweet"

Jon Chevreau · 05-02-2009, 07:23 AM

Details in column in this weekend's National Post:

http://bit.ly/tbhpO

My attempt to condense the 76,000 word Findependence Day into the 140 character limitation of Twitter.

The tweet itself, just about 140 characters, is:

Eliminate debt. Cut up plastic. Join pension. Buy home. Pay it off. Spend little. Save tons. Invest wisely. Be tax smart. Marry for life.

Suggested improvements welcome!

stardancer · 05-02-2009, 08:02 AM

That's neat. Very concise but right on

Rickson9 · 05-02-2009, 10:36 AM

Cool idea! Sign of the times!

MoneyEnergy · 05-02-2009, 12:53 PM

Nice job! I should retweet it - but then that would automatically take more than 140 chars. Hence, writing for "retweets" means ... 140- the #chars in your name - two for "RT"

Ben · 05-02-2009, 01:31 PM

Sounds about right!

I would like to join a pension....! But if we all joined the government, it would be a sorry country wouldn't it?

Not read the book, but is cutting up plastic really necessary, provided you use it responsibly? Sometimes needed for various purchases (online, hotel rooms, etc). Likely a victim of Twitterization, where the nuance is lost...in general, avoiding use of credit cards is a great idea.

canabiz · 05-02-2009, 01:44 PM

Excellent Tweet Jon, although some folks will argue about the last one where one does not have to get married to enjoy financial freedom or complete a financial plan.

onomatopoeia · 05-02-2009, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canabiz

Excellent Tweet Jon, although some folks will argue about the last one where one does not have to get married to enjoy financial freedom or complete a financial plan.

That's true, but marrying more than once is a sure fire way to not complete a financial plan

MoneyGal · 05-02-2009, 09:37 PM

I agree with the comment about CC debt - I'd be tempted to find a way to say (something like) "use credit cards responsibly" - but too wordy! Perhaps just "avoid debt." I use CCs all the time, but never carry a balance (except some super-low-interest rate balances right now, because I can't justify paying them off!)

And in place of the "marry for life" comment I think a general comment about "cultivate options" or "develop a recovery plan" or "remain flexible" or "oversave" - or something. The reality is that for many of us "life happens" and while the ideal is to not get knocked off track, it is still possible to recover.

Same deal with pensions. I have never been a permanent employee anywhere, and I haven't worked at a place with a pension option in the last 16 years. And I'm still financially successful - I just have done so without a pension. Perhaps "maximize retirement savings"? I started contributing to RRSPs at 18, and in my case that is all it has taken.

Sorry Jon, I'm way beyond 140 characters here. But those are my tweaks to your tweet.

CanadianCapitalist · 05-03-2009, 08:30 AM

The only thing I'll add is "Control expenses and emotions (in investing)" but then again, it will be well over the 140-character limit.

Jon Chevreau · 05-04-2009, 10:00 AM

Thanks for the tweet tweaks!

So, MoneyEnergy, I take it I need to cut it to 126 characters in order to accommodate RT@jonchevreau? [11 characters for my handle; 3 for RT@]

I've not quite mastered retweeting: any basic instruction welcome.

I'll try and refine and blast out a 126 character version. One email correspondent thought I could get rid of the credit card reference since that entails being debt-free and once you are credit cards can be kept for emergency or convenience purposes.

Will use some of this in next blog, linking back here.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/b...r/default.aspx

www.twitter.com/jonchevreau

05-02-2009, 07:23 AM	#1
Jon Chevreau Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Long Branch, Ont. Posts: 203	A complete financial plan in one "tweet" Details in column in this weekend's National Post: http://bit.ly/tbhpO My attempt to condense the 76,000 word Findependence Day into the 140 character limitation of Twitter. The tweet itself, just about 140 characters, is: Eliminate debt. Cut up plastic. Join pension. Buy home. Pay it off. Spend little. Save tons. Invest wisely. Be tax smart. Marry for life. Suggested improvements welcome! Last edited by Jon Chevreau; 05-02-2009 at 11:50 AM. Reason: Added tweet

05-02-2009, 12:53 PM	#4
MoneyEnergy Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 35	A complete financial plan in one "tweet" Nice job! I should retweet it - but then that would automatically take more than 140 chars. Hence, writing for "retweets" means ... 140- the #chars in your name - two for "RT" __________________ MoneyEnergy - Canadian blog on DRIPs and cashflow On Twitter

05-03-2009, 08:30 AM	#9
CanadianCapitalist Administrator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 886	The only thing I'll add is "Control expenses and emotions (in investing)" but then again, it will be well over the 140-character limit. __________________ Canadian Capitalist -- A Canadian Personal Finance Blog

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05-02-2009, 08:02 AM	#2
stardancer Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Northern Ontario Posts: 76	That's neat. Very concise but right on

05-02-2009, 10:36 AM	#3
Rickson9 Banned Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Mississauga, Ontario Posts: 702	Cool idea! Sign of the times!

05-02-2009, 01:31 PM	#5
Ben Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: GTA Posts: 267	Sounds about right! I would like to join a pension....! But if we all joined the government, it would be a sorry country wouldn't it? Not read the book, but is cutting up plastic really necessary, provided you use it responsibly? Sometimes needed for various purchases (online, hotel rooms, etc). Likely a victim of Twitterization, where the nuance is lost...in general, avoiding use of credit cards is a great idea.

05-02-2009, 01:44 PM	#6
canabiz Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 183	Excellent Tweet Jon, although some folks will argue about the last one where one does not have to get married to enjoy financial freedom or complete a financial plan.

05-02-2009, 09:37 PM	#8
MoneyGal Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 1,045	I agree with the comment about CC debt - I'd be tempted to find a way to say (something like) "use credit cards responsibly" - but too wordy! Perhaps just "avoid debt." I use CCs all the time, but never carry a balance (except some super-low-interest rate balances right now, because I can't justify paying them off!) And in place of the "marry for life" comment I think a general comment about "cultivate options" or "develop a recovery plan" or "remain flexible" or "oversave" - or something. The reality is that for many of us "life happens" and while the ideal is to not get knocked off track, it is still possible to recover. Same deal with pensions. I have never been a permanent employee anywhere, and I haven't worked at a place with a pension option in the last 16 years. And I'm still financially successful - I just have done so without a pension. Perhaps "maximize retirement savings"? I started contributing to RRSPs at 18, and in my case that is all it has taken. Sorry Jon, I'm way beyond 140 characters here. But those are my tweaks to your tweet.

05-04-2009, 10:00 AM	#10
Jon Chevreau Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Long Branch, Ont. Posts: 203	Thanks for the tweet tweaks! So, MoneyEnergy, I take it I need to cut it to 126 characters in order to accommodate RT@jonchevreau? [11 characters for my handle; 3 for RT@] I've not quite mastered retweeting: any basic instruction welcome. I'll try and refine and blast out a 126 character version. One email correspondent thought I could get rid of the credit card reference since that entails being debt-free and once you are credit cards can be kept for emergency or convenience purposes. Will use some of this in next blog, linking back here. http://network.nationalpost.com/np/b...r/default.aspx www.twitter.com/jonchevreau