Overcoming the Fear of Doing Things Online: Setting up an Online Savings Account and Bill Pay

For some, getting started using the Internet to conduct business is easy. Whether it is because they have an adventurous spirit or they grew up in a household where using the Internet was common, some people are able to dive headfirst into the electronic world. Others feel more comfortable watching from the side of the pool and gingerly sticking one toe in the water.

E-mail, blogging, MySpace, YouTube, web surfing and instant messaging are ways they stick their toe in the water. There are many, many people out there who feel perfectly comfortable doing these things, but who are tentative when it comes to e-Commerce.

Some of this fear is from the unknown element of it, some of it is due to complacency, and some of it is due to horror stories you hear with sites like Ebay.

If you are reading this, I can assume you are at least somewhat comfortable using computers and that you fall into one of the two groups listed in the first paragraph (if you fall into neither group, I can only assume you have mistaken the monitor in front of you for a TV and that you are pushing buttons on your remote as we speak). If you are in the "stick toe in water" group and you desire to join the "dive headfirst" group, this article is for you.

Is it Safe?

Is conducting business online 100% safe? No, it's not. But neither is the real, "offline" world. If you buy groceries, there is a possibility the employee at the checkout counter could short you on change. If you buy a car "as is" at a local dealer, there is a possibility it'll turn out to be a lemon.

If you buy a "no tears" shampoo, there is a possibility you may still cry if you pour the entire bottle into your eye sockets. I do not say this to bring out the paranoid maniac inside you, but merely to point out that few things in this world are completely, 100% safe.

However, just like you can defend against a dishonest grocery store employee by immediately counting your change and against a dishonest car salesman by thoroughly researching the vehicle before you buy, you can defend against the unknown when conducting business online. You simply have to educate yourself.

Kev's Two Rules for Doing Anything

Nothing is perfect, but I have found you can eliminate most online risk by following two rules:

1. Research it. If there is something unfamiliar to you, find information about it. Google it. Learn all you can about it.

2. Seek help from someone who has done it before or knows it well. If you have never bought or sold anything on eBay and you want to sell items in your garage, learn how from your friend or family member who uses eBay all the time. No matter how intelligent you are, there is someone in your life who knows more about something than you do.

A cousin to these two rules is Dave Ramsey's advice about never getting into anything you do not understand. If you do not know it or understand it, follow these two rules or simply avoid "it" altogether.

Getting Started

Online bill pay and online savings accounts are the two "online things" everyone should use. They simplify your life, help you save/earn money, and are becoming more and more commonplace. They are also the things I recommend to anyone interested in having technology help them with their finances (or in the case of my mom, the things I recommend even when they do not have an interest).

For online bill pay, check your current bank or credit union. There is a very good chance it offers free online bill pay to its customers. In the case of my mom's credit union, there is a handy tutorial available on its website that explains how online bill pay works. For her, the major selling point was "no more stamps."

To help her feel more at ease, I set up her bill pay system and payees for her while she looked over my shoulder. The first two times she needed to make a payment, I did it for her while she watched. After that, my mom was confident enough to do it all on her own.

For an online savings account, we chose one that would be easy for my mom to use. ING Direct does not offer the highest interest rate, but it's interface is wonderful. Users of all levels of computer expertise are able to use it. Plus, ING Direct offered something I knew my mom would appreciate: no stress. With a minimum balance of $1 and no maintenance or annual fees, this is an account my mom does not have to think about too often.

Baby Steps

I don't expect her to be jumping to online stock trading anytime soon, but online bill pay and online savings accounts should give my mom (and anyone else who is hesitant) a good introduction to "online things." Maybe now I can convince her to move her IRA from her credit union to Vanguard?