Feb 20, 2025
Is it possible to live a good life even after financial ruin? According to Jay Swanson, it is possible.
He moved to Paris back in 2017 and was part of a tech startup that incurred a lot of debt. After trying to earn enough money to live, let alone pay down his staggering debt, he found himself in a financial pickle.
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“I realized maybe I should stop being so proud and I should do what my friends have been telling me to do and declare bankruptcy back in the United States,” he told CNBC Make It.
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These days, he earns around $96,000 as a content creator and is happier than ever.
So, how did this now 39-year-old Pullman, Washington native go from dead broke to earning almost six figures abroad within seven years?
Getting into debt
Growing up, Swanson had a healthy work ethic but he quickly spent the money he made. He also recalls growing up learning that getting into debt was fine, even if you didn’t necessarily have a plan to pay it back.
“Before I was even 16 or 17, my parents allowed me to take out a line of credit to do the bodywork on that muscle car, which was $16,000,” he said.
Swanson also loved France and wanted to move there ever since he was young. So, in 2017, he did. As of November 2023, it’s estimated that 5.5 million Americans live abroad.
However, he wasn’t in the best financial shape. According to Swanson, he was in “dire straits.”
He was part of a tech startup with some friends and working on some other projects, but because the business incurred a lot of costs, his debt started piling up. Eventually, he was trying to juggle $85,000 worth of debt.
“To make the minimum payments on $85,000 in debt was about $2,100 a month,” Swanson said. At the time, he was earning around $2,300 a month.
“It was not a joke to say that as a tour guide, when I was first here for the summer, I was only eating whatever I got tipped. And it was a very hungry summer," he said.
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It was then that he realized declaring bankruptcy was his best option, even though he was afraid it would mean he couldn’t stay in Paris on the visa he wanted.
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How Swanson bounced back
Thankfully, the French government didn’t know of his financial situation, but there was still a long road ahead for Swanson.
“I'm grateful I declared bankruptcy when I did because it completely changed my life,” he said.
Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy meant that he was not required to pay back a certain amount of debt (he had a bunch of credit card debt) because he didn't have enough to reasonably pay back what he owed.
However, filing for bankruptcy does show up on your credit report and stays there for around seven years. As such, it could hinder your ability to access credit in the U.S.
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When he was trying to get his financial life back on track, he lucked out with accommodation costs.
A friend’s mother-in-law (the friend is a doctor Swanson worked with when he volunteered in Africa) found out about his situation back in 2017. She offered her small apartment to live in for free, which is essentially a maid’s chamber, and he still lives there now.
Because he now has a business where he creates content about things to see and do around Paris, he is able to use his earnings towards certain costs, like dining out, as part of his business expenses.
His income does fluctuate — he gave himself a $15,000 salary in 2024 — but he is able to make it work because of his low housing and transportation costs. He doesn’t own a car and gets to most places using public transportation or riding his bike.
While Swanson is happy where he’s at now, it doesn’t mean you can or should replicate what he did.
You can, however, take a look at your desired lifestyle and see how you can align with what you want, while still spending within your means.
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Sarah Li-Cain, AFC is a finance and small business writer with over a decade of experience.
