Over the weekend, I asked my “Tweeps” (i.e., people that follow me on Twitter) for their single best piece of financial advice. The primary limitation was that Twitter requires that their messages be 140 characters or less. Thus, the advice had to be short and to the point. I got things started with this:

“Don’t spend money that you don’t have.” (@fcn)

Which prompted the following responses:

• @katekashman: “Automatic savings – it really works. Even if you screw up everything else, it might just be enough to get you through.”
• @bargainr: “Like the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady wins the race. It’s about being smart with money, not clever with get rich quick schemes.”
• @zenshinji: “Do the math. Compare like items at the store, super fantastic premium cable vs. basic + NetFlix + online, etc.”
• @JeremyVoh: “For 9 out of 10 people, it takes hard work to make money. The other one is lucky. So, make your own luck and work hard.”
• @countmypennies: “You don’t need that. You can make do. It won’t kill you.”
• @scottneumeyer: “Read Dave Ramsey to get educated on money.”
• @QuickenPRChels: “Don’t use credit cards. When I heard it way back when, I didn’t listen. Should have.”
• @CashMoneyLife: “Spend less than you earn; earn more than you spend. Two different ways at looking at the same thing.”
• @Green_Panda: “Don’t just cut expenses; look to increase your income, too.”
• @glblguy: “Budget your money.”
• @LazyManAndMoney: “Make saving automatic, by siphoning money to an account (like a mutual fund) that you never look at.”
• @Night_runner: “Spend less, earn more.”
• @RevancheGS: “Take care of your money first before you use it to help others, lest you find yourself in trouble as well.”
• @ramit: “Don’t think of personal finance as a game of more willpower (”If I REALLY try to save, I will…”). Automate savings/investments.”
• @FMFblog: “Spend less than you earn.”
• @ericabiz: “Follow the one-in, one-out rule. For every item you buy, one of equal value or purpose must go.”
• @jeffrosecfp: “Don’t invest just because you can. Take your time, research, reevaluate before you make your 1st investment.”
• @ncn: “Understand credit, how it works, and how interest can work for or against you.”
• @moolanomy: “Keep your mind open to learn new things and find creative ways to solve your problems.”
• @mbhunter: “Buy used whenever it makes sense.”
• @FourPillars: “Education – whether you learn about investing or bank accounts or how much debt you have – it all helps.”

There’s a bit of overlap in the responses, but I decided to go ahead and include them all. If nothing else, you can view overlapping responses as additional “votes” for a particular suggestion.

As a side note, my bit of advice prompted @StephTheBlogger to send me a link to the SNL video that I posted on Sunday.

Oh, and in case you weren’t aware, you can get new article notifications via Twitter by following @fcnfeed.