Americans are practically required to have some sort of computer skills these days. It’s expected. However, for families with lower income, it can be hard to access the Internet to check emails or hunt for jobs – never mind that they have the high tech skillsets some jobs demand.
Latinos often fall into these lower income brackets. While technology keeps getting more and more advanced, it’s easy for people in these lower brackets to fall behind the tech curve and adapt to changing operating systems and programs. With the steep financial step into high tech, though, once one falls behind the curve, it’s often hard to catch up. However, an alternative is growing online in the form of UpgradeUSA , the brainchild of Jon Weisblatt, with the goal of providing easy-to-afford computers to consumers that are not obsolete, while helping boost a user’s credit.
UpgradeUSA is a leasing company for computers. If a customer is looking for a new or refurbished machine, they can go to the website and browse a limited, but modern, serving of computers which they can pay for through each month. The website leases typically end within 17 months, at which point the person who has been leasing the machine owns it. However, this is not all that the company does. They also help the customer build his or her credit score while they pay for their machine.
The way it works is simple. UpgradeUSA reports every monthly payment made during the course of the lease to the three major U.S. credit bureaus. This helps improve the credit score of the buyer, and, an improved credit score allows a person to make larger purchases. Being able to build credit is something which is not only important to those who are down on their financial luck, but it is also something valuable for immigrants — the company has a program specifically for them.
UpgradeUSA writes that their reporting program allows new immigrants to build some sort of credit history — a doorway into being able to purchase a home or automobile, for example.
UpgradeUSA offers a small, but solid computer lineup for the consumer. Windows 8 is the standard on all of their computers, all of which are built by the major computer manufacturers. The machines offer decent hard drive space, processing power, and resolution. Most of these can be rented for under a $100 a month, including one desktop. UpgradeUSA also has three more pricey offerings, a touch-screen Acer Aspire, a Dell Latitude tablet, and a MacBook air. None of their machines are running on obsolete hardware or operating systems, which means that they’re ideal for the student, stay-at-home mother, or businessperson looking for something for work. But, UpgradeUSA does not ship to every state.
UpgradeUSA offers access to a growing necessity in our society — the Internet — at a reasonable price without having to use obsolete technology.
Elaine Rita Mendus is a undergraduate student working on graduating college (someday soon). Her career interests include geopolitics, the Hispanic community, and urban planning. She really wouldn't mind ending up a scriptwriter though...
