Are YouTube channels the new libraries? How the internet has totally democratised information
Karl shows you how you can save money on insurance by paying all in one instalment and answers other financial queries
THE internet has totally democratised information. That’s a good thing and not a point that many would argue against.
What is slowly becoming apparent is that younger people are learning a lot from a medium that was very small only a decade ago — and for which there are low barriers to entry.
With the dawn of smartphones, literally anybody can start a YouTube channel.
It is pervasive enough that some children, when asked ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ will say ‘a YouTuber’.
As an adult viewer I have also been realising that YouTube is a massive store of knowledge, in the same way that libraries used to be.
The comparisons are not without merit. Libraries have lots of pointless books that will teach you nothing.
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YouTube has ‘fail’ videos and the like. At the same time it can teach you things in a rapid manner which you can utilise in a way that using a book would be tricky to do.
Here’s my own recent example of why YouTube is better than university (at least the college education I got because that never taught me about mechanics).
My eldest had a mini- motorbike that lost its power. I went to a chat room on dirt bikes and looked around, a few people said that they had the same problem and to check the spark and the fuel.
I did that using instructions from YouTube videos. It turned out to be neither of those things, so back I go to the motorbike forum.
I start to realise that the engine probably has a carbon build-up and I need to ‘decarbonise’ it.
Suffice to say, I had never even heard about that kind of thing, never mind knowing what to do.
So off I go to YouTube again. There’s a big selection of people talking about the issues they had, and then showing how to take the bike engine apart etc.
This is where it dawned on me that something I would have traditionally had to go to a mechanic for, where I’d have to pay them to do it, could be attempted at home.
Naturally, taking an engine off a bike was (for me) a big deal. But opening it up to clean out the top of the piston and then put it back together?
Not only would I tell you that I wouldn’t do that because I was clueless, but I would say I ‘couldn’t’ because I don’t even have the confidence to take on the job.
That was before I watched a series of videos by DonyBoy73, who is also known as the ‘small engine doctor’.
From here I went on to take the engine apart, remove the carbon build-up and then I put it all back together. And it worked perfectly.
I really couldn’t believe that an eejit like me was able to do some proper mechanical work with zero experience just by accessing the internet.
So should you send your kids to school or to YouTube? As an employer I prefer people who can show they know how to do something rather than those who have a piece of paper saying they can.
The Money Meter: Bite the Bullet
THIS week, I’m going to go for a basic idea that many people miss out on.
When you buy insurance you normally have a few choices — you can pay all at once (called annual premium) or every month.
The monthly version is always more expensive. That’s because there is more administration (and bank fees for you) as well as a credit type cost on many policies such as motor insurance.
So, just how much can you save if you go for a single bullet payment?
About €100 generally — and if you do that with a few types of insurance you could be looking at doubling those savings or more.
So we’ll say that you have motor, house and life insurance — which also usually covers mortgage protection.
If you set them up to be paid annually you should be looking at around €200 in savings.
That brings the total so far this year to €7,995.
VRT not a free ride
IS there any way around paying VRT? I saw a car I like in England and the price is good but the vehicle registration tax would take the good out of it when I bring it back?
YOU have to pay VRT which is basically an excise duty on cars and there isn’t a legal way to avoid it.
So factor it into your calculations on what is or isn’t ‘good value’ because the cars here have it baked into the price. Sterling has gotten cheaper recently , so that’s one upside.
Fill in for fill-ups
MY boss said I can claim mileage for driving my own car, but I don’t know how to do it? Where do I start?
THEY ought to help you with that, but if they are asking you to simply do it all yourself then look up mileage allowances on the Revenue’s website.
There are different rates depending on your engine size and you have to keep track of all your journeys —such as where they are to, the dates etc. But, of course, you can’t include driving to and from work.
My stock answer
DO you think there will be a stock market crash soon? I want to invest through regular savings but don’t know if the time is right?
THERE is no ‘right time’ and corrections (small crashes) or actual crashes can come at any time. That said, the markets have had a very long healthy run and a correction wouldn’t be a surprise.
But if that happens it won’t affect you too much as you won’t have that much in to lose. Everybody begins somewhere — so just get started.