‘It just felt right’: This Brooklyn woman has no regrets about ditching the US for one of the world’s most expensive countries — how she affords to spend more on a life she loves

She paid off her debts

Part of what makes her lifestyle in Iceland affordable is that Chambers isn’t carrying any debt. She paid off both her credit card and student loans a few years back.

“It’s amazing to say that I am debt free,” she says. “And I’d like to keep it that way.”

The payoff to tackling her debt successfully is that she can afford to budget $800 monthly for fresh vegetables for her plant-based diet, as well as meals out with her friends and boyfriend.

But if you’re not debt-free like Chambers, there are ways to work toward it. Two popular repayment methods are known as the avalanche and snowball methods. With the avalanche approach, you start by tackling your debt with the highest interest rate and make your way down the list. This helps ensure you save paying more in interest than you need to.

Snowball, on the other hand, sees you start by paying down your smallest debts first — the idea being that you build momentum off these small successes and work your way up to your most expensive accounts.

One influencer couple on TikTok, Brittany Xavier and her husband Anthony, say they used the snowball method to pay off $150,000 in debt in two-and-a-half years. They forwent fun activities, so that they could eliminate their debt and build up a nest egg, which would allow them to have fun later.

“We were really strict,” Anthony said in the video where the couple shared their story. “We didn't go out to eat, we were on a clothing budget, we were on a gas budget.”

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She saves money

Chambers told CNBC that she automatically puts aside 10% of her $6,000 monthly income for savings as soon as it hits her account. She’s hoping to buy an apartment with her boyfriend, as well as start a family.

She also took time to build up a suitable cushion of savings to quit her marketing job in 2020 and pursue her travel media company full-time.

Getting into the habit of saving consistently will ensure that you have a financial cushion when the opportunity to pursue a life that you love presents — whether that be moving countries or opening up your own business. And the sooner you start, the brighter your future stands to be. Teachers who consistently invested in their 401(k)s often retire as millionaires, according to research from Dave Ramsey’s company.

To get started, take a page from Chambers’ book and automate your monthly contribution so that 10% of your salary immediately goes into savings.

If you’re struggling to set aside a full 10%, start small. Even modest contributions, like say your spare change, over time can help you build up a sizeable nest egg.