The internet has opened up a digital world of wonders since its inception. Sir Tim Berners-Lee probably couldn’t have imagined the scale of what his World Wide Web would become when he floated the idea in 1989, it’s fair to say it changed the world. Today, you can online and do almost anything. From movies to medical training, you can literally do almost anything. Perhaps the best thing many people can do online is save money. Through a combination of imagination and innovation, companies have found ingenious ways to help people save money on almost anything.
Online Brokers Fix Your Finances
Let’s start with an obvious product of the internet: brokers. There have always been brokers in this world. Today, however, there are digital brokers that can not only collate deals from more companies than a human but compare, contrast, and review them. That’s what PriceGrabber, Shopzilla, and ShopSavvy do in the retail space. The same is true across the pond. Companies such as GoCompare provide price comparisons for insurance products, holidays, and more. In fact, the brokerage market runs even deeper than you’d think.
In the digital world, even prospective homeowners can save money. Take mortgage broker Trussle, for example. This company goes beyond the norm. Yes, it provides personalized mortgage quotes based on what’s available in the current climate. However, it also offers tools such as a stamp duty calculator. One of the main ways people fail to save money is by failing to see hidden costs. In the UK, home buyers have to pay an extra charge known as stamp duty. Those that fail to factor in this cost end up getting their budget wrong. But with the right tools and knowledge, they can actually save money.
Using Tech to Find Hidden Value
This was the case in June 2020 when the British government introduced a stamp duty break. Trussle’s stamp duty rates calculator shows people what they could save during the break (set to end in 2021). From there, they can find the ideal mortgage. Therefore, when you piece all of these elements together, people end up saving money thanks to the internet and a bit of clicking. From there, we get to discount codes and coupons. Whenever you want to buy something, it’s always worth googling the company’s name and the phrase “discount code” or “voucher code.” More often than not, you’ll find something that saves you money. According to Statista, 145 million Americans use online coupons, with 87.5% of all consumers saying they’d use a company that offered discounts.
For all the obvious money-saving aspects of the internet, there are also hidden ways tech saves people money. Take, for example, emails. Instead of spending money on paper and postage, companies can now send emails for free. Add to this PDFs and cloud storage, and you no longer need to spend money on printing documents and storing them in a safe. The digitization of business has increased efficiency and productivity, which, in turn, saves businesses money. When you add this to all the obvious ways that people can save, it’s fair to say that digital tech has been a blessing for the bank balances of millions of people around the world.
