More Than 7 in 10 Say it is Part of Australian Culture to Help

People in Australia are a generous lot, that's the take away from independent research into attitudes about helping others in Australia.

Research conducted by HelpPay throughout 2020 and 2021 asked people in Australia about financial wellness and overall attitudes to bills, bill payments and helping others in times of need.

70% of survey respondents said it wasn’t unusual for people to have trouble paying their bills some of the time with over 60% saying it was normal to miss a bill, in the current environment.

Pleasingly 72% of people in Australia we surveyed agreed it is “part of Australian culture” to help family and friends during a crisis.

Australia has always been the lucky country, and maybe the culmination of our good luck is demonstrating itself as Australia also being the helping country too!

Generosity when it is needed

Financial help can come in many forms, and more often than not help is needed in the short-term with 83% responding that they've needed help for 'acute hardship' after being caught-out temporarily.

The unexpected nature of acute hardship has the potential to be a significant trigger for financial anxiety preciously because of it's unexpectedness, and the challenge of 'planning' for disruptions that come out of the blue.

Left unchecked financial anxiety can become a significant problem. It can lead to difficulty concentrating during work, difficulty with decision making and behaviors that initiate or amplify unhappy home environments. 

However, while it is needed a reluctance to ask for help can perpetuate the root causes of financial anxiety, longer than it should. People experiencing short term challenges with their finances should be reassured that more often than not family and friends rally to support the people they love with financial help, when they're aware that it is needed.

Help is an emotional but rewarding journey

74% of the people HelpPay surveyed said they would help most or all of the time when asked for financial assistance, including helping colleagues and strangers, when we narrowed the responses to just family and friends, the positive response rate for helping was even higher.

People recognise their duty to help before being asked, with 71% initiating help when they know someone is in need before being asked. 65% of respondents have also helped someone more than once.

Survey respondents overwhelming told us the #1 feeling they get from helping people or being helped by someone they know is happiness. 

When one person helps another, it can make them both happy. It is a mutually beneficial transaction. When one person needs help, the other is able to fulfill that need for them and both sides feel a sense of gratitude. People who have helped their friends and family pay their bills also feel a sense of them being honored to do so.

People often worry about not 'being enough' or not 'doing enough' to make other people feel happy. But in reality, to make someone feel happy you need just provide them with love and the support they need.

The key, it seems, is simply to be there for someone else when they need your help and fortunately, Australia is a nation of people who want to help each other.

About HelpPay

HelpPay is a 100% Australian owned company focused on making helping easier.

HelpPay's app is free for anyone to download and the HelpPay Promise ensures that money received to be paid towards a bill only ever goes to pay that bill.

Best of all the HelpPay app keeps a track of how much has been paid so when the full amount owed has been paid it stops accepting payments, providing peace of mind that bills can't be overpaid.

Download the HelpPay app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store for free, today.