Don't Believe The H.Y.P.E

Tech Tuesday, Cyber Monday, Black Friday or the Holiday Season are those buzzwords which definitely gets me excited!  Sometimes, retail therapy is the only cure.  It's great for relieving tension - or is that just a fallacy? Does it get your excited?

At the same time, some are already stressing over what to buy for that person they just can't stand. Some are so worried about how much to spend on which relative, which relative is worth getting an expensive gift compared to another. 

Now, there are some, who have decided to get into debt for someone else.

5 Reasons Why Payment Holiday Isn't a Holiday

Hello and a warm welcome back to another blog post. Let's address the elephant in the closet by delving into this whole topic of payment holiday.

I was speaking to a good friend a few days ago about the truth behind this wonderful phrase called 'payment holiday' which has been floating around for a few weeks. Anyway, my friend and I discussed it in great detail. At the same time, I was also lamenting about feeling guilty with continuing  to talk about financial literacy at a time like this. 

By the time we had finished our conversation, the feeling of guilt had disappeared! Yes, it's wonderful to have great support network. I also felt so happy that I was able to impact knowledge on 'payment holiday' with my dear friend.

Okay, so, first off, it's called a payment holiday. The operative word is - holiday. It is also in the singular form. This means that you only have one option. Otherwise, it would be referred to as 'payment holidays'.

Who doesn't thoroughly enjoy a holiday and also dread going back to the realities of life. Well, the same goes for a payment holiday.

5 REASONS WHY PAYMENT HOLIDAY IS NOT A HOLIDAY

1. You are able to continue to make regular payments: if you are able to, and can afford to continue to make payments, do so.
2. You can make some payments: it is better to make some payment versus no payment whatsoever.
3. . You are unsure about what will happen after the holiday is over: consider what life would be like for you once the 'new normal' is here.
4. You have failed to enquire about other payment options: a payment holiday is NOT a new concept within the financial industry.

Effective Ways To Contact Financial Institutions

Effective Ways to Contact Financial Institutions

Hey hey there. Hope you are hanging in there. Oh yes, I've had my own personal experiences of contacting a few financial institutions. I had to wait for two hours on the telephone at one point.

Here are the best and effective ways to contact your financial institution:

Best Ways To Contact Financial Institutions

1. Live chat: typically, staff who cover the live chat part of a business do not work in an office. They are usually remote workers working separately to staff we meet on a day-to-day basis. These staff are available to speak.
2. Email: yes, good old email still works. You've never received a response so fast in your life!
3. Contact form: remember those forms we sometimes fill out online and totally forget about? Try them too. They work just as great, if not even better.
4. And finally, Bot. The AI (artificial intelligence) that answers standard questions. This is probably the least useful of them all.

Please do not provide personal information, usernames or passwords EVER!

If you must speak to someone on the phone, be ready to wait.

Be Ready To Wait

As with anything I write or say, Spend BETTER by saving your much needed data. 

N.B - there are a few other ways of contacting these companies such as video call and WhatsApp.

#WeAreInItTogether

Until next time,

Much💛

Deborah

Water

Water

Say 'Yes' to all of these questions and I'll say no more!

1. Do you use bottled water to shower?
2. Do you use bottled water to cook?
3. Do you use bottled water to brush your teeth?
4. Do you use bottled water to wash your food?
5. Or do you wash your hair with bottled water?
6. Does your whole family use bottled water for all of these things?
7. Do you wash your dirty clothes and dishes with bottled water?
8. Is water man-made?
9. Oh, before I forget to ask, do you drink tap water at restaurants?

You get my drift.

Hello and welcome back. I've spoken on this topic sometime in the past. I think it was in my all female Facebook group. Anyway, let's break it down even further!

What has water got to do with financial literacy or education? A lot!

Water

I'll simply put it this way. If bottled water is costing you an arm and a leg, drink what comes out of your tap. But why Deborah? Are you thinking to yourself right now, I just can't live without bottled water? Hear this, you are paying for water two times over. 

Here's a YouTube video I'd like you to watch. It's called Spendaholics. Scroll to 10 mins and to 15 mins where she gets round the issue.

Think about it. When you get your monthly paycheck after tax, you pay for your water bill out of it. Then, you dig into the rest of your pay packet and pay for bottled water.

What I am not saying is, 'don't buy bottled water'. This post isn't for you if you don't have access to clean drinking water.

What I am saying is this:

• Tap water is just as treated as bottled water.
• The plastic containers water are sold in are bad for our environment.
• Just get a pretty glass bottle, fill it up with tap water. Keep it moving.
• The Western world has free clean water. I hope we remember this.
• Some developing nations don't have water at all - let alone dirty water. Please remember this.