Being Tech Savvy can Save you thousands of dollars!
The internet has become a valuable tool for everyone in both personal and business life. Those who dont’t go online or use the internet are at a disadvantage to those who are online. There are so many aspects of life that can be managed online which can save you both time and money. A few examples:
Buying airline tickets: I remember the old days when you had to call the airlines, wait on hold and sometimes call back the same airline in order to get the best price. I was on the cutting edge many years ago when I started booking my own tickets on Expedia.com. Back in those days you would get massive discounts for booking online. The idea that you could scan different airports and airlines was a huge time saver and moneysaver. These were the days of paper tickets, and the tickets would be mailed to me. Now many airlines charge a ticket surcharge if you call them and they miight not be able to give you the best price found online.
A few months ago I had a special $50.00 discount voucher that had to be used an airline ticket office. I have not done this for years, but $100.00 off two tickets was a great deal. This voucher was from an airline class action suit that happened years ago. I saved the voucher. The guy in the American Airlines ticket office told me that if he punched the tickets it would cost me more than the $100.00 I was going to save. He told me to go online and reserve the tickets. He could print them and give me the discount. Bottom line if you dont book airline tickets online it will cost you.
Shopping: There are so many great deals online of many products. The power of the internet has caused some price pressure on brick and mortar retailers. When internet selling began retailers thought the best way to get customers was to have loss leaders so people become accustomed to buying online with their company. The strategy was to build loyalty and trust to a site and therefore they become lifelong customers. This strategy did not work as many like myself would go for the best online deals regardless of retailer. Many of these online companies had many issues and problems delivering the goods. Getting the order was only half the transaction-fufilling the orders can be quite a challenge.
Online vs Brick and Mortar: Even today many natinal retailers have lower online pricing. In many cases you can order online and either get free or discounted shipping, or even pick up the item in store. The feeling is the online buyer is more savvy, and the old thinking was the online buyer was a different customer than the person walking into the store. This is not true and it never was. Finding product review from end users and product information can be so important. The salesperson in many stores knows less than the customer who did online research. Amazon.com can be a great resource for products of all kinds, not to mention reviews from people who bought the item you are interested in. Ebay is another excellent resource for online buyers. In a later article I will post my favorite online shopping sites.
Paying Bills/Managing Accounts Online: This can save you money on postage and possible late fees on lost mail, and the ability to schedule bills/view statements and more is invaluable.
Buying Stocks/Securities: The investing world has never been the same since customers can now buy stocks online. Online trading allows the investing public a chance to buy stock at a huge reduction in comissions. It all started with a $14.95 stock trade. Now stocks can be bought for $9.99 a trade, $1.00 a trade or even free (www.zecco.com)
there was a time 20 years ago when it could cost severla hundred dollars in comissions to buy stock from a full service broker. Online stock research empowers the investor! Research materials and online stock quotes in delayed and real time are very valuable to an individual investor.
FREE Newspaper/Magazines: You can read your local paper online for FREE, or thousands of out of town papers at no charge. Read your hometown paper where you grew up! Sme charge nominal fees for premium content but most can be had for FREE. Top publications like Business Week, Forbes, Sports Illustrated, all online. All updated in real time adding to their value. Yahoo has many sydicated colums and links to content all over the web.
Insurance: Being able to compare and get bids online from insurance company can save people thousands. Term Insurance, Home, Car, Health etc can be researched and quoted online. Life insurnce has gone down in price due to online competitive forces.
Buying or Leasing a Car: Again the power of the internet to research cars (www.caranddriver.com) (www.edmunds.com) to name a few allow consumers to research real world pricing, features and reviews. A knowledgeable buyer is the worst nightmare for a car dealer. They hate customers who do their homework.
Thats it for now….This article be continued and updated as this blog evolves.
