The Internet is a Dangerous Place for Your Wallet

Throughout the reaches of cyberspace, we wade through the opinions, lies, offers, and pure falsehoods, only to find information or find help.

It turns out that the internet is a thin veneer of help with a bustling greed underneath.

This isn’t everywhere on the web, it is generally only in the most profitable niches that we frequent. We wanted to take a look at the internet and see how to avoid spending money, and then guide you through these treacherous waters.

Smoke and Mirrors

A lot of websites employ smoke and mirrors to get you to pull your wallet out and start spending. Even if you aren’t actively shopping, sites like Facebook are bombarding you with ads.

We’ve even become desensitized to them to some degree.

However, if a marketer finds a way to reach you, with some type of viral video or product, you may line up to buy said product. Is this a bad thing?

In this instance, if you are budgeting and trying to get out of debt, then yes.

We spend so much time on the internet that it becomes very difficult to avoid these offers. The marketers have it down to a science, and they are looking at your behavior online to determine the best way to sell you something.

In the olden days before the internet, marketers relied on newspapers and television ads. These ads could only be targeted based on what content they were displayed with.

Now, marketers can see that you love dogs and your favorite artist is Luke Bryan. They can put a target directly on your forehead.  

Capitalism At Its Worst?

We have to ask ourselves, is this a societal problem? Is this something that needs to be corrected? I fully believe we should detach from the internet for as much time as possible.

If we can make the conscious decision to unplug for long periods, we can control how often we are being marketed to. This, in turn, should drive down the amount of marketers. But that is only if we made a cultural shift.

We would ALL have to unplug.

I don’t see that happening, and we don’t have control over our fellow man. What we do have control of, is ourselves.

We can’t blame capitalism in this case, because where there is money, people will go. Capitalism helps in a lot of ways too, it’s just that the internet purifies it and strengthens its grip on our minds.

It takes serious effort to find the things we love online, and not have to pull out our wallet to get more. This isn’t a moral problem though. This is a control problem.

The Internet of Olde

When I first started surfing the web, in early 1994, I was 15 years old and open to all the new possibilities I would find out there. The internet felt like the wild wild west, or at least a very slow loading trove of oddities.

I spent a whole lot of time in chat rooms, finding ways to offend and annoy, because that is what teenagers do. I was the internet’s first troll!

Well, I can’t officially lay claim to that, but it was a lot of fun at the time. Until AOL banned our internet access. Good Times!

What I remember most about those days, besides the trolling, was the media stating how much danger was online. How anonymity could put us all in danger, and it would never be safe to bank online.

How far we’ve come! My online bank only has 3 branches and I can take my account anywhere now.

I think we may be in more danger now, than we were back then. The amount of hacks and dangers has only increased since those days.

Our time on the internet has steadily increased as well.

We have to find ways to protect ourselves from being bombarded with offers and find the information we desire online.

In other words, we need some safety measures to protect our dollars.

What the Future Holds

We can’t expect ourselves to unplug entirely. How would you read our blog?!

Seriously though, we have to find better ways of interacting with the internet and find ways to limit the way we spend money there.

• We want to make sure that our buying decisions are always rooted in needs and not wants.
• Don’t make snap decisions about purchases.
• If you are researching for a purchase, give yourself time to fully research before pulling the trigger on a transaction.
• Beware of things that seem too good to be true. Some offers truly are scams.
• Limit your time on social media. The marketers know that is where we spend a lot of time.
• Delete marketing emails without opening them.

These tips will get you on the path to a safer internet for your wallet!

How to Keep Your Sanity

How will you live with so few hours on the internet?! Won’t you be driven completely insane with worry if you aren’t checking social media constantly?!

Of course not. Get out of your home, and explore nature for a bit.

Unplugging from the internet isn’t a death sentence, quite the opposite, it will actually make you happier and healthier.

We rely on the internet a little too much these days, even if we are avoiding the threats to our wallets.

My hobbies have absolutely nothing to do with the internet, and that really allows me to step away and enjoy them.

I also ride my motorcycle and use that time to clear my thoughts.

You should find your happy place too. That may sound corny, but it really is true.

We can’t survive constantly being barraged with information from the web. We all need that break time.

Find your hobby that pulls you as far from the internet as possible.

Conclusion

The internet is a minefield when we don’t know how to avoid the traps awaiting us. The constant pull of ads on our wallets is a reality in today’s internet.

We need to find solace in other places and just unplug for awhile. Not only for the health of our bank accounts, but for our real life health.

There are plenty of ways to use the internet responsibly, and we want to hear how you avoid the dangers out there. Leave a comment below and tell us your horror stories or ways you’ve overcome the constant pull to spend!