I don’t know how things were done 20 years ago pre-Internet. The Internet has made our lives more complicated, overload us with information, and overwhelmed our pocket books. With all those pains comes some amazing advancement. Never before has the world’s collective knowledge easily accessed by one simple search box.
How do I buy a house?
What do I need to save for retirement?
How do I convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?
How do I make an auto insurance claim?
How do I make my own baby food?
Is this a mole or cancer?
These are only a handful of potential questions that could be answered with a few simple keystrokes and clicks. Rather than asking friends and family, we can anonymously ask thousands of people, all who have experienced similar events. On a personal note, I recently brought my car in for tire rotation and the mechanic recommended some work done. I did a quick search on “do I really need to replace my steering tie rods?” Most users in the forums recommended the service, gave price amounts they paid, and shared complications. There’s no ripping me off anymore.
I’m currently shopping around for a home to buy. In the past, we relied on real estate agents to guide us through the process. A simple “how do I buy a house” shows thousands of guides, checklists, and customer experiences. I have home touring checklists. I know the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approvals on my loans. I gained all this knowledge in a matter of minutes and hours rather than weeks of library research.
Here’s a great ad Google ran in the Superbowl.