The Forest and The Trees: How Financial Product Comparison Saves You Money
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Life is so busy that sometimes we have trouble separating the big and small pictures. If you are like me, sometimes even deciding on what to eat for dinner after a fast-paced day can be frustrating. We might hold up our hands and say “Ya udah lah, apa aja deh!”
One of the interesting paradoxes of the modern world is that we have access much more information and are forced to make many more choices every day than preceding generations, yet cognitive research consistently demonstrates that the brain’s ability to make decisions is impeded by the number of previous decisions it has made that day.
Literally, the more choices you make in a single day, the worse you progressively become at making them.
In some areas of life, this may be a good thing; where to have that third or fourth coffee meeting, for instance. But in other areas it can be debilitating. We must endeavor to separate the big from the small pictures to understand what decisions are important, and which we would spend precious cognitive resources on.
Paradox of Decision-Making
I was surprised recently to learn that the expression “unable to see the forest because of the trees” exists in many languages. It is an apt expression, and vividly conjures a traveler, literally lost in a dark forest, unable to perceive distance or direction because of the trees surrounding her.
The volume of choices we are required to make every day, to me, are the trees obscuring our larger and more important decisions ensuring our lives are steeped in love, good health, security, education and shelter.
Perhaps another way to think of it is: what are the three most important decisions that you need to make this month? This year? And will you give yourself the time to make them, or will you get lost in the trees and fail to see the forest?
For me, these big decisions would definitely include saving for my children’s education, ensuring my family’s good health is ensured by a robust insurance policy, and our home is protected from flooding and fire with a reputable property insurance policy.
I literally cannot and do not want to imagine a world where I, cursing the trees, neglect to see the forest, and drop-the-ball on these big decisions.
A second paradox of decision-making is that inside of decisions are many smaller decisions. Where to have that fourth coffee meeting becomes what to order, and how much to tip, and whether to take a taxi or the bus home. Of course these are relatively inane; but what about on the forest issues?
How does one go about starting a child’s education savings plan? Or to buy or refinance a home? Obtain a reasonably-priced but still effective insurance policy? There are literally several dozen germane decisions wrapped inside of the big decision.
Too Many Offers, Too Many Choices
This is where financial product comparison can help save you time, your most important asset, as well as money, also a very important asset!
A comparison service helps you to quickly focus on the products that are best suited to your unique needs and circumstances. And it transparently compares these products across a range of providers so you can make informed and better decisions.
For instance, when comparing personal loans, we want to understand and compare which offers are collateralized (using an asset as security for the loan), what are the fees charged by each lender, and of course the interest rates.
We may want to even go further and assess what type of interest is used in the calculation, and take note of the APR (annualized percentage rate), since APR is a widely recognized and used financial calculation tool, which, unfortunately for consumers, is not yet required to be stated by law in Indonesia, as it is in the United States and even in The Philippines.
Comparing several personal loan offers while thinking of these three simple factors will already improve our chance of finding an offer that is best suited to our needs.
My co-founders and I started CekAja.com because we were unsatisfied with the consumer finance landscape in Indonesia. There were too many offers, too many choices, not a lot of clarity, and everything was on paper at the branch. We felt that there had to be a better way. And now there is.
At CekAja.com, our highly-experienced teams of financial and insurance experts are absolutely committed to helping you find the best deals on bank, insurance and utility products like broadband cable and television.
Comparing offers from multiple providers is as simple as comparing an airline ticket or hotel room online. And we support what we do online with full offline processes involving free financial consultations, a free credit underwriting assessment, and expert advice on how you can save time and money and live richer every day. We partner with every bank and every insurer and are committed to helping you make better financial decisions.
Thank you so much for trying CekAja.com. Please ring our call center at -21 716 99 801 and ask for J.P. if you would like to speak to me personally.
Sincerely,
