It's Pay Day! The ABC's new column where we ask Australians from different walks of life the money questions we don't like to talk about. We aim to demystify personal finance and normalise conversations about what we earn and how we save it — or spend it.

Helen Zahos is a humanitarian and emergency nurse and paramedic who's volunteered in disaster areas around the world, including Iraq's IDP Camps, in Nepal after the earthquake and the Philippines following the typhoon. She has also volunteered in Ukraine and earlier this year spent three months in Kenya.

Helen grew up on Groote Eylandt, a remote Island in the Northern Territory, and completed her nursing and paramedic studies in Darwin. She's now returning to student life, and recently moved to Melbourne to study a PhD at the Monash University Accident Research Centre.

For Pay Day, Helen talks about how volunteering overseas has changed her perspective on her own finances and how, over time, she's learned how not to get caught up comparing herself to others.

How would you describe your financial situation right now?

I'm tempted to say that it's not great. However, with all the humanitarian work I've done around the world, I'm very aware of the privilege that I have. I've recently become a student again, which will have its challenges financially. I have been awarded a scholarship which is fantastic, but my income has dramatically decreased.

How was money spoken about in your house growing up?

Growing up, money was a taboo subject — even now being asked these questions, I initially felt quite uncomfortable.

My parents came from very humble beginnings: a poor village in Greece where tobacco farming was the main source of income. I was reminded of that every time I went back to Greece and my parents would make me go with my cousins to pick tobacco at 3:30am, before they went to school. My father wanted me to experience hardship and show me what my life could have looked like.

Living on Groote Eylandt, coming from Greek migrant parents, I honestly didn't know what kind of financial status we had. I always thought we were poor — other families drove fancier cars or lived in bigger houses.

That was until a social experiment at school where we were asked to line up according to what jobs our parents had, what cars they drove, what trips you went on.

I realised I was standing among the kids I thought were well off. When I spoke to kids around me who didn't have lunch packed or clean clothes for school, that's when the penny really dropped. I never had to worry about those things; it was just a given. That is what privilege looks like.

What did you spend your first pay cheque on?

Actually, I didn't spend anything with my first pay cheque! I was 12 or 13 when I started working at a local corner store, while I was still living at home. But from my first pay to when I left home after I completed university, I would always hand my pay over to my mum who then made sure it went into a bank account. By the time it was time for me to leave home at the end of uni [in the late 90s], I had a deposit to buy a house.

About how much of your income goes towards your rent or mortgage each week?

I can't really give you an exact amount. I know that interest rates increased while I was away volunteering in Kenya, I think perhaps half of my pay goes towards my mortgage? It will be interesting to see what happens now with the change in my financial situation — I am bracing myself!

What has been your biggest financial disaster?

I was at a stage in my life where I was looking to try other ways of investing money other than property. It was when my father passed away and I was distracted and grieving that a close family friend of ours, who was working as a share broker, encouraged me to invest in shares through her business. She convinced not only me, but a number of other people to invest large sums of money with her.

Several months went by and I asked to withdraw my money as I was not working after my dad passed away. Suddenly our friend's behaviour changed; she stopped answering her phone, faked a cancer scare and other ailments, and then disappeared. It turned out she was running a Ponzi scheme. I had never even heard of the term. 

She did get caught and went to jail, but I never saw that money again. I haven't thought about that incident for years. I know one thing, though: I could have really used that money right now, it would have made my life so much easier.

Cash or card?

It seems everything is card or phone or watch these days. I intentionally carry cash and try to use it when I can. In Kenya, we were completely cashless and used M-PESA [a mobile money service]. In Ukraine during the conflict, when power and internet were cut and ATMs were empty, cash was a must.

I guess it's all relative to my surroundings, but I am definitely in favour of keeping cash circulating. I have seen what living is like if there is none available or accessible.

How many bank accounts do you have? How do you organise your money?

I have about three or four: one for my salary or money coming in, so I can keep track of it; one for investments so I know what is happening there; and one offset account linked to a home loan. I don't trust my spending so I make sure I only have a $1,000 limit on my credit card.

What are you saving for right now and how are you doing it?

Right now I'm just putting money away so that I can keep up with mortgage repayments with this new position at Monash University. I'm looking at a significant drop in pay and am navigating around that. I am literally two days [at time of writing] into that position and it's all new beginnings but I'm not saving for anything in particular — it's just about survival right now!

What's the biggest lie you tell yourself about money?

I think the biggest lie I tell myself is that I don't have enough or that I'm doing it hard, and that's actually not the case. I'm reminded of this when I'm in disaster areas or a humanitarian crisis, or even just walking down the street and seeing people sleeping on the streets and doing it tough. I'm actually in a good position right now and I'm doing OK but there are so many people out there who are not.

What's your biggest financial achievement?

I paid my first house off in my early 20s. I worked two to three jobs and my goal was to work as hard as I could to pay that house off. However, my goals then shifted from financial goals to personal goals. People are often surprised when they ask, "What are your goals or five-year plan?" and I respond with, "Write a book or do a PhD". For many years the focus of my long-term goals has not been financial.

If you could tell 18-year-old you one thing about money, what would it be?

Negotiate with the banks on your mortgage interest rates frequently. Otherwise, 18-year-old me did a pretty good job under the guidance of my parents and following their advice.

I would say though, don't get caught up in what other people around you have and stop comparing yourself to others. Richness comes in many different forms; mine has been in travel and having the privilege to meet some amazing people when they are at their most vulnerable through my volunteer work.