Wednesday
Jan182012
Can Social Media Help Me Save?
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 2:42PM Before I even start I need to let everyone know that I had a video in the works being edited to be my third vlog. Because I am seriously so green at this somewhere in the transfer and editing process I managed to wipe the camera hard drive and accidentally delete the uploaded footage. Now I know that these are not the most spectacular videos ever but I set a goal to get these vlogs out and I have been trying to stick to it. Again, not that anyone is really missing me yammering on for 4 minutes but I will try my best to get a video up before the end of this week!
You don’t have to be web savvy anymore to contribute to the wide world of social media existence. Most smart-phones, tablets and any other tech device comes pre-loaded with Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Sometimes even Foursquare, Google+, and even Skype. It is so easy to contribute to and be connected with virtually anyone else that spends any time online. For the most part people are either screaming “look at me”, “look what I did”, or “look at this really cool thing I found online” - which is perfectly normal and expected. I want to share a few tips to help you stay connected but also motivated on saving more for yourself.
1. Join the conversation! Well not all of them but there are a few #tweetchats that happen that are sponsored by places like @wisebread, @bankrate, and @moneycrashers that are really good. It will give you the opportunity to not only see that other people might have the same questions and concerns that you do but also pick up some useful information. They are used staffed with “experts”, financial professionals, financial bloggers, and general knowers of things finance that can help give some solid advice. It’s also a great place to shout your goals to the world and hopefully have someone find you and hold you accountable - or who wants the same thing and needs support.
2. Stop keeping up with the Jones’ and start creeping their profiles. Social media is a great thing that allows people to share all kinds of personal information. It becomes an information playground where you can actually see how people are allocating their scarce resources - time and money. So if there is a particular lifestyle you were shooting for, a product, or service you were interested why not make your way through Facebook. Help beat irrational purchases! It can also be used a polling ground to get opinions on purchases or plans. One of my favorite parts of doing this kind of research is seeing that it really isn’t always greener on the other side.
3. Creating a game that goes with you. I am guilty of downloading personal finance apps and not really sticking to them because they weren’t intuitive and really not engaging. Using a few different apps to keep track of where your day takes you might help out. Sites and apps like mint.com actually give you approximate age appropriate rankings of status - where you currently stand vs. where you possibly should be. Add a geo-location app to that and now you can start to track where your money goes by mapping your day - I like Foursquare. Not only that but these apps might also be able to provide you with savings tips or suggestions to keep more money in your pocket. The best part is you are not doing it alone as you can interact with other users who are checking in or looking for the same kind of savings you are. You were already going to Tweet about it any way, so might as well offer some help to the next person.
4. Listen. If you watch your social media feeds long enough you won’t even have to engage to figure out what might be best for you. Places like YouTube, Revision3, and TWiT give great reviews on all kinds of products and services. People are constantly sharing the experiences and your social media networks have the potential to connect you to almost anyone. So use it! Don’t just ask about products go straight to the creators and dig a bit. Don’t just talk about saving money, announce it and have people follow your journey. Listen represents the act of you listening to others but also having people listen in on you.
Hope these 4 tips help make you think about using social media in a different light. It can really be more than just a place to tell people what your eating and that you are watching your favorite TV shows. I’ve linked a few of my profiles up there so if there is anything I can ever to help please let me know! I love helping people do better for themselves.
You don’t have to be web savvy anymore to contribute to the wide world of social media existence. Most smart-phones, tablets and any other tech device comes pre-loaded with Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Sometimes even Foursquare, Google+, and even Skype. It is so easy to contribute to and be connected with virtually anyone else that spends any time online. For the most part people are either screaming “look at me”, “look what I did”, or “look at this really cool thing I found online” - which is perfectly normal and expected. I want to share a few tips to help you stay connected but also motivated on saving more for yourself.
1. Join the conversation! Well not all of them but there are a few #tweetchats that happen that are sponsored by places like @wisebread, @bankrate, and @moneycrashers that are really good. It will give you the opportunity to not only see that other people might have the same questions and concerns that you do but also pick up some useful information. They are used staffed with “experts”, financial professionals, financial bloggers, and general knowers of things finance that can help give some solid advice. It’s also a great place to shout your goals to the world and hopefully have someone find you and hold you accountable - or who wants the same thing and needs support.
2. Stop keeping up with the Jones’ and start creeping their profiles. Social media is a great thing that allows people to share all kinds of personal information. It becomes an information playground where you can actually see how people are allocating their scarce resources - time and money. So if there is a particular lifestyle you were shooting for, a product, or service you were interested why not make your way through Facebook. Help beat irrational purchases! It can also be used a polling ground to get opinions on purchases or plans. One of my favorite parts of doing this kind of research is seeing that it really isn’t always greener on the other side.
3. Creating a game that goes with you. I am guilty of downloading personal finance apps and not really sticking to them because they weren’t intuitive and really not engaging. Using a few different apps to keep track of where your day takes you might help out. Sites and apps like mint.com actually give you approximate age appropriate rankings of status - where you currently stand vs. where you possibly should be. Add a geo-location app to that and now you can start to track where your money goes by mapping your day - I like Foursquare. Not only that but these apps might also be able to provide you with savings tips or suggestions to keep more money in your pocket. The best part is you are not doing it alone as you can interact with other users who are checking in or looking for the same kind of savings you are. You were already going to Tweet about it any way, so might as well offer some help to the next person.
4. Listen. If you watch your social media feeds long enough you won’t even have to engage to figure out what might be best for you. Places like YouTube, Revision3, and TWiT give great reviews on all kinds of products and services. People are constantly sharing the experiences and your social media networks have the potential to connect you to almost anyone. So use it! Don’t just ask about products go straight to the creators and dig a bit. Don’t just talk about saving money, announce it and have people follow your journey. Listen represents the act of you listening to others but also having people listen in on you.
Hope these 4 tips help make you think about using social media in a different light. It can really be more than just a place to tell people what your eating and that you are watching your favorite TV shows. I’ve linked a few of my profiles up there so if there is anything I can ever to help please let me know! I love helping people do better for themselves.
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