You don’t have to be afraid of “fintech” | download our free toolkit

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I [Julien] hate hotel gift shops.

Every time I set foot in one, I can feel the insane price premium squeezing money out of me. One time, while visiting Florida, I’d completely forgotten to pack swim trunks. But after seeing the hotel gift shop only sold one pair for $75, I decided pools were overrated anyway. The character Omar from The Wire said it best—”a man got to have a code” and mine includes not overpaying for anything made out of mesh.

Years, later, during another trip to the sunshine state I found myself—yet again— in a hotel gift shop. Only this time; I was more than willing to pay whatever it took to stop a sudden onslaught of allergy symptoms. As I was approaching the checkout line there were two women ahead of me. As one of them raised their phone up to pay, the other woman scrunched up her face the same way I did after seeing the prices. I assumed she was reacting to it as well until I overheard her say “you fancy” to her friend.

Apparently, she wasn’t reacting to the prices at all. Rather, she’d never seen anyone pay for something using their phone before. She was confused and impressed at the same time. I could see her mind racing as she wondered whether her phone could do it too.

“Oh you don’t use Apple Pay?, her friend replied,

and proceeded to break down how much easier it was. For all of five seconds, I could see her entertaining the idea of embracing this new technology. But as you might assume, she reverted back to what she knew; that good ole plastic credit card. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right?

We’ve all had this experience in some form before haven’t we? The only question is; which person are you in this scenario? Are you the early adopter of new technology or among the last to switch until you’re practically forced to. If you’re an early adopter, feel free to exit this conversation—this message aint for you.

Now that the room is clear of the judgmental eyes and ears of tech-savvy people, here’s what we want you slower adopters to know. There’s a price to pay for being late to the tech party and it gets increasingly more inconvenient, expensive and dangerous over time.

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Why embracing “fin-tech” is so important

You may be wondering, why change at all? Your way of doing things is still readily available alongside these newer “fancy” options right? That is, until you realize the world is moving increasingly faster around you.

You’re the person waiting for your server to bring the check only to realize there’s a QR code on the table and you could’ve paid ten minutes ago. Or you’re the person waiting in the longer line while others breeze past you by flashing something on their phone or not showing anything at all. You convince yourself it’s fine and you continue at your comfortable way of doing things. All the while ignoring that over time, minutes turn into hours, hours turn into days and days…well, you get the point.

Just a few weeks ago we learned that Kiersten’s mother spends hours every weekend balancing her checkbook. She knows online banking exists and even has the banks app on her iPhone. She’s exhausted every time she does it but it doesn’t stop her from printing multiple paper statements and collating receipts to make sure her checkbook matches what’s on her statement.

We had a similar experience recently with my Mom while applying for a new senior living apartment and needing to provide financial documents. To submit the paperwork we found ourselves sorting through missing account passwords, being locked out of email accounts, waiting on faxes to come through and other tech-related hurdles to finalize the application. Even with our help, what should have taken an hour turned into a week and a half, trips to the UPS store to retrieve faxes with sensitive information on it and hours lost on hold waiting for customer service representatives.

Our parents are in their 60s and 70s so you might assume we’re being “hard” on them. Well, it’s not just them. We know plenty of millennials who clam up at the thought of technology. As one of my high school friends told me not too long ago as I was helping her pull together a 60 second video…

“I don’t do computers”. 

Or as a family member said to us in response to the projects her daughter was learning in school

“I’m not a techie”.

If that sounds like you, then there are a few things you should know.

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First, change isn’t just inevitable; the pace of change is accelerating. This means the timeline you may have in your mind about how long an existing technology will be the standard is decreasing. So…

if you opt out of trying to keep up now, your chances of ever catching up get smaller and smaller over time

Secondly, many people are locked into the technological pace set by their employers. Corporate bosses know that investing in new technology can be expensive. So when they decide to do it, that doesn’t mean the technology is actually new or even up-to-date. Rather, it’s based on what they could afford at the time of purchase. So just because your job is issuing new software, phones and laptops that are new to you, that doesn’t mean you’re actually ahead of the curve.

Lastly, your ability to embrace technology isn’t just a matter of preference or taste. Over time, it’s a matter of survival. I’m not just referring to your ability to call for help if you’re in an accident. Your use of tech has huge implications on whether prospective employers consider, your ability to earn income remotely and to avoid overpaying for products and services. We all need money to survive and technology influences our shopping habits, identifies opportunities to save and helps us minimize wasteful spending.

When you choose to avoid new technology, you're volunteering to join the “left behind generation”. Click To Tweet

You eventually grow frustrated by the way the world works, unable to meet a new set of standards and suddenly forced to deal with feeling unqualified to exist. You don’t realize you’re living in a grace period where others are actually willing to accommodate your way of doing things until all of sudden—they aren’t anymore. The world turns their back on you and you experience first hand how brutal capitalism can be for the under-prepared. This isn’t the premise of some dark, futuristic sci-fi movie on Netflix; this is the world we’re living in right now.

We don’t want that to happen to you which is why we created the Financial Technology Toolkit. This free guide will help you better understand all of the relevant technological advancements that can help you better understand how to use tech to save money, invest and prevent financial fraud. Here’s how it’s organized.

The Financial Technology Toolkit | What’s Inside

–Track & Save: a collection of tools, browser extensions and apps to help you track money, spending and make saving easier.

–Automate Investing: an overview on algorithms, the growth of robo-advisors and how to automate investing to build wealth.

–Protect & Repeat: tools, settings and tips you should know to ensure your financial life is secure and your privacy is protected.

–Continued Education:  a glossary of fintech terms and a collection of books, articles, journalists and media you can use to stay ahead of the curve.

We even included checklists to keep yourself organized and accountable. Enter your email address below and we’ll send your free toolkit straight to your inbox.

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Financial fraud is on the rise and fintech can help

Everyone’s reasons for using “fintech” are different.  Maybe you just want an easier way to send and receive money between family and friends.  Or maybe you don’t earn enough money to invest like you want to, but you’re interested in apps that round up your purchases and automatically invest for you.  Or maybe you’re just a busy working parent that let too much time go by without learning about this stuff and now you’re feeling a little behind.  We’ve designed this simple guide to help you understand what’s new and get you started quickly. But if you’re still not motivated then consider this.

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Criminals thrive on your willingness to do things the old way.  Click To Tweet

Just last year, over $10 billion dollars was lost to financial fraud in the US, according to the Federal Trade Commission.  This is almost three times the number reported back in 2020.  And while the number of reported instances has tapered off, the thefts are occurring for larger amounts per instance. Much of this could be prevented by activating a few settings on your phone, adding layers of security to your arsenal or using privacy tools.

We don’t want you to be a victim because we know fraud can completely derail your life and discourage you from using tech altogether.  So do yourself a favor. Don’t let any more time go by before you take a moment to learn about what’s changed in the world of fintech.  

Welcome to the future.  To learn more about this topic and what’s inside the toolkit, check out episode 155 of the rich & REGULAR podcast.

Julien