Financial Twitter (FinTwit) Isn't Real

The Problem

One of my favorite quotes about wealth is “Comparison is the thief of joy,” by Theodore Roosevelt.

This was true long before social media was created, but it is exponentially worse now. The desire to want your neighbor’s car, house, vacation home, boat, etc. has now been supplanted by wanting a stranger’s possessions, which may not even be real. Let’s dive a bit deeper into a small subset of social media, known as Financial Twitter, or FinTwit.

FinTwit

I genuinely believe that the goal of many FinTwit accounts is to educate and encourage people to learn more and build wealth. The problem is that too many of them make it sound normal to own multiple rental properties, or “doors” as they are annoyingly called on Twitter, collect thousands of dollars in monthly dividends, and start 100 side hustles, all by the age of 25. This can certainly be motivating to some people, which is great, but I think it’s also highly discouraging and intimidating to most, especially for new investors.

Some people may feel like it’s not even worth starting because they will never own 25 “doors,” start a side hustle, build a business, or achieve a $1M net worth, of which there are more tweets per day than the number of actual millionaires.

The Solution

You need to realize that social media, Twitter, and FinTwit isn’t real.

Most of what you see are highlight reels, snapshots, or complete fallacies, from primarily anonymous accounts.

The sooner you realize that the world of social media is largely noise, the better off you will be from both a wealth and joy perspective. Focus on learning and improving yourself, not trying to win an imaginary competition.

Disclaimer: The information in this post is provided for your convenience only and is not intended to be treated as financial, investment, tax, or other advice. The information is intended to be educational and is not tailored to the investment needs of any specific individual.  It is also not intended to be relied upon as a forecast and is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy.  The opinions expressed are those of the author.  Reliance upon the guidance and information in this presentation is at the sole discretion of the individual.