Get Sorted: Consider yourself monetised

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If I mention something in a Gmail message - say, a new bicycle for Christmas - I'm bound to get served up ads for cycle sales. Then they follow me around online.

I really don't mind, actually, since I'm not paying to use the email and I happen to be looking for a new road bike. But like anyone who interacts with ads daily, I have to see whether what's on offer fits my plan. In the end, no one cares about your money more than you, right?

In the ever-evolving online world, there's a new adage that applies. If you pay for something, it's the product. But if it's free, guess what - you're the product.

Consider yourself monetised.

Let me explain. Just think of Facebook and all the bells and whistles there that you get to use for free - you don't need to pay to play in that sandbox. But as you tag your friends or post to their timelines, Facebook is selling your eyes to advertisers.

Google works the same way, giving us all sorts of whizz-bang functionality for free as they offer up our views and data to the marketers out there. You are for sale.

Perhaps things are not so free after all.

This model is bound to continue, but that's not necessarily a bad thing - we get lots of cool, useful things without having to pay for them up front! But it's important to know how it all works and make savvy decisions.

As we make plans for our money, we need to remember that there are armies of sales, marketing and advertising teams making their plans for it too. It literally pays to ask yourself: is this what I really want?

Sorted's money planner can help you get intentional about your spending and tread your own path.

And when your eyes get sold to the highest bidder and their ads follow you around online, you'll be better equipped to choose what fits your plan.

Get Sorted is written by Sorted's resident blogger, Tom Hartmann. Check out the guides and calculators at Sorted - brought to you by the Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income - at sorted.org.nz.