How I Refunded €22,000 in a Year

Many of you have asked me how I managed to repay this amount as I mentioned in this article, so here is "how":

1. I moved out

I lived in Paris for 11 years and I never understood how to live in Paris without saving money. Between rents, the cost of living, outings, Uber returns... In short, I lived like a good Parisian who respects herself (but does not respect her budget at all). Leaving Paris was one of the best decisions I made, including my budget.

Moving house has allowed me to halve my rent & reduce my expenses drastically. Where I live there's no Uber or Deliveroo, and that's good.

The rent is such an important expense that I know I could not have paid off my debts when it represented 1/3 of my expenses. Making the decision to leave was a complicated decision, but in retrospect, I'm very happy to have done so.

2. I've been analyzing my relationship with money

I told you about it here, I took the time to write down everything I thought about money. I realized that I had certain strengths (I know how to win some easily) and certain weaknesses (I know how to burn it even faster than I win it, I am sometimes too generous).

If I was aware of it, putting it on paper triggered a real click in the long run.

3. I set myself an ambitious target & aggressive repayment plan

I got my click at the end of 2015. I decided to give myself 2 years to pay off all my debts.

So I found a CDI and I worked as hard as I could while writing books, sponsoring articles. As soon as the money came in, I used it immediately to repay what I owed. I emptied my dressing room and sold everything I wanted more, or didn't wear.

This ambitious goal didn't allow me to spend my money unnecessarily, and I was even able to set up a small transfer to start saving.

4. I prepared my action plan

If you are in debt, one important thing is to understand how your debt is structured.

Mine was divided into three parts:

Loans granted by my parents and ex interest-free and repayable when I can.
Bank loans with interest and mandatory monthly payments
Taxes to be paid immediately on pain of big trouble

I therefore decided to pay my taxes as a matter of urgency, to set up flexible monthly payments for my credits and to reimburse the rest according to my income, when I could, in agreement with the people concerned. The emotional burden of debt is really important to me. Some people will advise you to pay off your smallest debts first, but I preferred to pay off the ones I was most worried about first.

5. I traded outings (and booze) for budget-friendly activities

I love eating out. I'm not a shopper, but I love fine clothes and crafts... Since 2016, my priorities have changed. Instead of paying for a gym membership, I went running and biking. Instead of buying clothes, I sorted through my closet and found clothes that I hadn't even thought of.

I wouldn't say that not drinking anymore saved me a lot of money in the restaurant (I always suggest to my friends to share the bill), but it considerably reduced my desire to go out, so, savings at the end (not fun, I know).

Afterwards I still had the chance to travel thanks to the blog and my work, but in the long run, I hope to be able to pay for some nice trips by myself!

What about you guys? What are your tips for saving or paying back better?