The 'Luxury' of Financial Health

Society judges people going through a financial crisis. Fact is, most of us have experienced some type of financial strain as unforeseen or unplanned bills throw our lives out of balance.

In an ideal world, unexpected expenses would be due on the same day we’re paid, with enough funds to cover them completely and leave a few dollars in our pocket afterwards. Thing is, we don’t live in an ideal world. So what can we do?

While there is no shortage of financial professionals offering “advice” for ways to be fiscally responsible, much of it is not relevant to real-life situations. Telling folks to save money by downgrading fitness memberships when they don’t even have one; or to take a vacation in-state rather than out of country when that in itself is not a reality; is simply not helpful. 

These types of recommendations end up doing more harm than good; making people feel overwhelmed or inadequate.

Whilst one cannot plan for a surprise expense, ZayZoon’s Wages On-Demand ensures people can meet their financial obligations without getting into debt. These are real-life solutions for real-life situations. 

This is evident when 98% of employees use ZayZoon for necessities, to avoid high fees, or to handle unexpected expenses. We surveyed our customers and found that 60% use the Wages On-Demand benefit to pay for medication, groceries, or utilities. 

Kayce uses ZayZoon for her daughter’s medical needs:

“I can’t tell you how many times I have used ZayZoon to cover medication, food for me while she’s in the hospital, or even putting gas to take her to doctor appointments. Taking care of my daughter is my number one goal and ZayZoon has helped me provide her the care that she desperately needs and deserves.”

Addressing immediate and surprise expenses should not be a reason for people to seek high interest loans and create unnecessary stress that often impacts individuals’ physical and mental health. Additionally, these band-aid fixes end up putting folks into further debt and financial strain.

This further supports why 19% of our customers use Wages On-Demand to pay off unexpected, critical expenses. 

“I moved into a new apartment and purchased a new car on the cusp of the pandemic. ZayZoon helped ensure my bills were able to be paid and I was able to purchase groceries and gas”, says Kristian, another ZayZoon customer. 

Another 15% of ZayZoon customers use Wages On-Demand to avoid overdraft fees while 4% lean on the service to pay off high interest loans or debt. 

“I am passionate about my money and taking care of my family, Zayzoon has definitely helped me to continue doing that successfully,” says Zedric. “It allows me to continue avoiding possible debt situations with early access to my funds.” While Michael adds that using ZayZoon “keeps me out of having my bills being paid late.”

Rather than fostering an attitude of shame towards finance, it is more important to provide people with tangible tools that can and do improve their financial health.

For Rose, the employee based-benefit has come through in more ways than one. “I’m not AS stressed out knowing that, as long as I can keep working, ZayZoon is able to be the virtual friend I can depend on. We were behind on rent but ZayZoon allowed us to appease our landlord. They shut off our electricity but with ZayZoon we were able to have it turned back on immediately. My son was ill and ZayZoon helped us pay our co-pays.”

Removing the stigma around money will take time, particularly when we have been taught that if you are struggling financially it is because you are not working hard enough, or it's bad luck; but with tools like Financial Education and Wages On-Demand, we're working to make solutions to these problems more accessible every day. 

To take the first step towards financial wellness, visit www.zayzoon.com/getstarted. 

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This is part of our 10 Facts on Wages On-Demand series, to see all the existing pieces, click here.