It’s Pay Day! The ABC’s new column where we ask Australians 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.

Campbell Harrison is a professional sports climber who’s been competing in the national team since 2012, and is due to represent Australia at the Olympic Games in Paris this year. He’s also a proud member of the LGBTQI+ community and a passionate advocate for improving access to mental health support.

Here he shares how he worked from a young age to pursue his dream career in a sport with limited organisational funding, and how reaching the top of his field has taught him the value of paying it forward.

Whilst no full-time professional would look at my income right now as anything special, I’m at a point in my career where I’m able to live and compete without having to worry too heavily about money.

Honestly, there’s not a lot of wiggle-room (in that a big surprise could derail that stability pretty easily), but for the most part I can focus on my training and my progression as an athlete.

I grew up in the lower-middle class, with one of my parents on a disability pension for a great deal of my childhood. My parents worked hard, but money was something we never comfortably had enough of growing up.

I’ve worked in climbing gyms since I was 15, pretty much as soon as I could get a job. I worked at my local gym, predominantly in climbing instruction and coaching. But also as a receptionist, a cleaner, a barista, doing data entry and route setting.

From the moment I started earning I was spending my income on competing. So my first big purchase was probably flights to another state for a competition. Otherwise, my money went straight into my savings for future competitions.

Video games would for sure be my guilty splurge. My gaming laptop was probably the first big, non-essential purchase I ever made (and I only bought it about two years ago). Gaming is one hobby outside of climbing that makes me genuinely happy though, so being able to bring that with me on months-long trips away from home has honestly become pretty key to my wellbeing.

I’m pretty honest about this sort of stuff, and I’ve never really done anything that I’ve needed to keep a secret. Maybe paying for things for my friends without them knowing the actual cost would make up my biggest money-related secrets?

I’ve got myself into a position within the sport where … I have a bit more privilege, I guess, than some of the other people in the team. So sometimes it’s about, that person needs the help a little bit more than me, and I don’t want them to feel burdened by that. I like to treat my friends when I can, which is not something I can do that often. I think I aspire to be able to do that more with my money.

Probably the last pack of English Muffins I bought at around $5?

Card always! I feel like I’m losing money with all the useless change I accrue (and rarely get around to spending) when I’m using cash.

I get nervous that I haven’t accrued much for a retirement, or that I don’t have a lot of spare money I can use if something goes awry.

I’ve mostly been saving up for, and trying to fund, my World Cup season, as well as my Olympic preparation. I mostly do this through casual work, negotiating the complexities of commercial sponsorships and brand deals, and my Australian Sports Foundation crowdfunding page.

I’m always gaslighting myself out of essential purchases to try and save money for sports-related costs, but then justifying going to the theatre or taking an Uber when I could use public transport.

Probably saving throughout high school to fund my first World Cup season. That said, there wasn’t much money left when I got home!

I would tell myself that therapy is an essential expenditure! You need to look after your mental health as a priority, even if it does carry a price tag. Also, keep working hard and the opportunities you need will start to come your way!

Campbell Harrison will be representing Australia in sports climbing at the Olympic Games in Paris in June. He is currently crowdfunding for support to train and compete in the lead-up to the Games through the Australian Sports Foundation.