KELA
I have got my European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) many years ago. Just few days ago I received a new card. European Health Insurance Card is valid for a maximum of 2 years and KELA will send a new card automatically if you are still covered by health insurance in Finland. I found out that child must have its own European Health Insurance Card so I applied it right away. Applying was simple and fast. At the same time I paid my healthcare fee for students in higher education for autumn 2024. From OmaKela e-service I also found out the next child benefit payment dates. Within a year I have also received parental allowance on my parental leave and after that child home care allowance. During pregnancy I got pregnancy allowance and a maternity grant that you can choose between maternity package and a cash benefit of 170 euros. During my previous studies I have applied for a student loan in addition to financial aid for post-comprehensive school education.
OmaKanta
In OmaKanta I can see for example my and my child’s health information and prescriptions. The service requires strong identification (as well as KELA) with such as bank credentials. On the front page there is an option to choose to do business on behalf of another person. I use Omakanta several times a year. Most often I use it to check health information. I went to the site through the google search box as always. I am careful that the address is definitely correct and does not lead to scam and phishing sites.
KEVA
From KEVA’s pension calculator I found out that my minimum retirement age is 68 years and 1 months and my pension would be around 2100 euros per month with my current salary. For staying at work two years longer the pension would increase about 200 euros. I have been recently on a parental leave and will be soon again, which has an decreasing effect to my future pension.
Digital shops
I like to do my shopping (incl. clothes, decor, children’s accessories, gifts, trips, tickets) mainly online. However, I have lately started to think more about my spending habits and especially online shopping. Online prices are often more competitive and I find myself checking prices online a lot. and I find myself checking prices online a lot. However, lately I’ve been trying to concentrate my shopping nearby and I want to support local and small entrepreneurs more often. I was just about to buy a festival ticket from Lippu.fi. The tickets prices are the same than in “ticket offices” but there is 1,50 euros extra fee when you are buying from online service. I think that there might be some extra fee also when buying from “ticket office”. I appreciate when I can have my tickets quickly PDF through my e-mail. We often reserve hotels and buy flying tickets from Ebookers. By concentrating your purchases there, you get bonus money from trips, which can be used for the next trips. I’ve looked the hotel prices on their own websites many times for comparison, but usually they are more expensive. Which seems a little strange, because Ebookers takes their earnings in between. Although I am price-conscious and compare the cheapest prices, I would still never buy anything from e.g. Temu.com, Wish.com and of its type of confusing and questionable China shops. The reliability of online shopping is increased by its familiarity and the experience gained from others. If the online store is not already familiar to me or it raises doubts at first glance I’m looking for more information about the company, checking the company’s postal address, terms of delivery and payment methods. European Consumer Centre has made a good online shopping checklist if you have doubts about online shopping.
Service from my own field: Tori.fi
Tori is Finland’s largest and most popular consumer-to-consumer marketplace. I use Tori-app nearly dailyfor searching for goods, selling them or making searches. I am currently looking for e.g. used children’s clothes, a TV stand, apartment. All these can be found and bought from Tori and to make good discoveries, you have to be active sometimes also fast. I have made many good discoveries and nowadays I want to buy things more used. In recent years, especially for the sale of clothes, there have become new selling platforms e.g. Vinted.fi which most of my friends already use. I’ve downloaded the app, but haven’t gotten around to making purchases through it yet. These services are constantly developing, and even though I feel that I am young, I notice that I sometimes fall behind the development.
Digitalization and the digital gap
People who don’t use virtual services have limited access to some information and may miss important knowledge, jobs, news. Managing things simply becomes more difficult when services are moving into digital form. There is also a social aspect, when virtual services facilitate social interaction, communication, and networking. There can be many reasons why some people don’t use virtual services. Not everyone can use it, some can be afraid of it, equipments and support may be lacking and some just choose not to use it. My relative doesn’t want a smartphone as a matter of principle. In recent years, he has had challenges paying for a parking space and traveling without a navigator.
The digital competence wheel
My result was level 5 (advanced). “Users on this level are able to perform many different tasks and guide others in doing the same. They can also solve most problems on their own.” The result sounds right and suits me. I immediately started thinking that it would be interesting to have my husband and my parents and even my grandmother take the test also. The differences would certainly be huge! There were a wide range of questions and it was easy to identify my strengths and weaknesses already while taking the test.
Things I could improve on are to start using strong passwords and limiting my screen time!
In which subject would you like to improve?
Self-reflection
It was interesting to get to know other people’s texts and thoughts. The same features were noticeable in the answers, so it was easy to identify with the writings. The digital competence test was fun to do and it gave me new information about my skills. In my opinion, the assignment was practical and therefore also very educational. Thinking about things and trying them out in practice was meaningful. The services were already familiar to me but it was useful to have my own real affairs taken care of at the same time (EHIC to my child and healthcare fee).
The blogs I chose to comment:
KATJA’S ADVENTURE IN THE DIGITALISED WORKING ENVIRONMENT
Hei!
You have a great site!
I’m bad at shopping online. Especially buying clothes is challenging when the size is usually not suitable. I have bought hollow clothes that have been small. Booking trips and hotels is easy online. Younger generations certainly order more online. I believe so. I dare to order more precisely from Finnish websites when there are a lot of these Chinese suppliers. You have to be critical in these matters as well. There are many good websites, but also bad ones.