My Best Money Life

14/10/2026

MHi All,

Just wanted to provide a friendly reminder that I would recommend obtaining a long-form copy of your birth certificate and have it Apostilled by the secretary of state for your state before you leave the United States as this will be required for your CPAM application as it is much easier to request in the United States versus after you have moved to France.

Previously the Apostille wasn't requested consistently but the latest I have seen is that most offices are systematically requesting it.

There is honestly no need to pay a service to assit you with your CPAM application as they overcharge for the most part.

I wrote a simple free guide on the process that can help here:

https://www.mybestmoneylife.com/how-to-register-for-cpam-in-france-on-a-long-stay-visitor-visa

Let me know if you have recently applied for the CPAM in the comments and how the process went.

Cheers,

Timothy

Learn how to register for French health insurance (CPAM) on a long-stay visitor visa. Step-by-step guide covering the 3-month residency requirement, required documents, Cerfa forms, and how to get your Carte Vitale.

05/10/2026

Hi All,

I wanted to share that this week iGraal Cashback has boosted cashback rates for iGraal Days + a 15 € sign-up bonus via referral:

https://fr.igraal.com/parrainage?parrain=AG_68812298153b2&utm_medium=inf&utm_source=premium

I realize that frugal tips are not everyone's cup of tea, but it is something that I believe in so I like to share when I see a good offer.

October 5th iGraal has:

12% cashback on Hotels.com
12% cashback on Etsy (where my wife sells her watercolors)
15% cashback at Sony

October 5th to 8th: iGraal has 80€ cashback on Engie natural gas sign-ups. You can find my article on my own experience switching to Engie for natural gas when this offer was last offered here:

https://www.mybestmoneylife.com/engie-natural-gas-deal-in-france-7percent-off-fixed-price-for-3-years-euro165-bonus-and-cashback

There are several other boosted cashback offers this week including 11% cashback at Castorama tomorrow and 15% cashback at Sephora on October 8th.

Again, I realize that this will not interest everyone, but still I like to share. If not interested in frugal tips or cashback, feel free to scroll on.

Cheers,

Timothy

25/09/2026

For those in France, iGraal has 100% Cashback on NordVPN basic subscriptions for new joiners to Nord VPN for today and tomorrow.

This is a great opportunity to sign-up if you don't already have NordVPN and need a VPN.

You can also get 10€ sign-up bonus for new iGraal members through my referral link here:

Ne dépensez plus sans gagner ! Récupérez de l'argent sur vos commandes (Hotels.com, Darty, Sephora...). Inscription 100% gratuite et bonus offert.

14/09/2026

iGraal France has 12% Cashback on Hotels.com today September 14th only

You can combine with Hotels.com France 11th night free for a combined 22% off.

Hotels.com France still has the 11th night free unlike the USA site which only offers 2% back in hotels.com cash.

If you are new to iGraal, you can get a 10€ sign-up bonus through my referral link here:

https://fr.igraal.com/parrainage?parrain=AG_68812298153b2&utm_medium=inf&utm_source=premium

You can find the full details on this offer on my website here:

https://www.mybestmoneylife.com/unlock-22percent-off-hotels-in-france-stack-12percent-cashback-with-11th-night-free

Happy Travels!

08/09/2026

*Disclaimer: This post includes an affiliate link.

While I try to update as much into my free moving to France guide, I am just one person and don't have an IT team behind my content:

https://www.mybestmoneylife.com/guide-moving-to-france-2026

For a lot of people, my free guide will be enough, for others they will want a more structured offering.

I do not recommend services that charge thousands of dollars for helping with a simple VLS-TS Visitor Visa or a CPAM submission as I feel these are just over-priced for what they offer, as the processes are straightforward as I detail out in my free guide. That said, I understand that people might want something a bit more structured than my guide, but not a full-blown handholding service.

Easy France has a navigator that helps individuals plan out their move to France and costs $449. They have a dedicated IT team behind the program and update their content every week. It is what I would like to have put together had I had the resources. The navigator comes with a 14 day refund window if you are not satisfied in the first two weeks, you can request a refund.

It covers the whole move. From the point where you're still wondering whether you'll really do it and which part of France you'd want to live in, through the visa, the banking, the taxes, the healthcare, the schools if you have kids, right up to citizenship.

What I like is that it adapts to your own situation and your household, so the plan you get is built around your route, your family and your timing. It also means you're not piecing your move together from dozens of websites, old forum posts and Facebook discussions.

If you're considering a move to France, take a look here: The France Navigator | EasyFranceNow

https://easyfrancenow.com/navigator

And you can use my promo code TIMOTHY10 to get a 10% discount.

Disclosure: I receive a small referral fee from sign ups using my promo code. This does not affect the price you pay.

Hope this helps some of you who are currently planning your French adventure!

Cheers,

Timothy

07/09/2026

From September 7th to the 9th you can earn a 15€ sign-up bonus at iGraal cashback through my exclusive referral link here:

https://fr.igraal.com/parrainage?parrain=AG_68812298153b2&utm_medium=inf&utm_source=premium

I used iGraal for cashback on my natural gas contract, my free mobile phone plan, online shopping, hotels.com stays, etc. It all adds up, resulting in over 200 euros in cashback last year.

07/09/2026

Just spotted a pretty good ENGIE natural gas deal in France, that just got better with additional bonuses. The offer includes a fixed price for natural gas for 3 years, 7% below the reference price, plus up to €165 in bonuses and cashback.

I put the details together in an article here if anyone is interested:

👉 https://www.mybestmoneylife.com/engie-natural-gas-deal-in-france-7percent-off-fixed-price-for-3-years-euro165-bonus-and-cashback

And if you don't have iGraal yet, here's my referral link for a 15€ bonus:

👉 https://fr.igraal.com/parrainage?parrain=AG_68812298153b2&utm_medium=inf&utm_source=premium

I personally signed-up for this offer myself in August.

Save 7% on ENGIE gas in France with a 3-year fixed supply price and stack up to €165 in ENGIE bonuses and iGraal cashback.

06/09/2026

USA Deal Alert:

Get a $625 Credit Card bonus after only $1000 in Spend on a no annual fee card by combining Rakuten Cashback ($375) and the sign-up bonus from Bank of America.

You can find all the details in my article here:

https://www.mybestmoneylife.com/usa-deal-alert-dollar375-rakuten-cash-back-on-no-annual-fee-bank-of-america-credit-card-dollar250-travel-rewards

New Rakuten USA members can get a $50 sign-up bonus through my referral link here:

https://www.rakuten.com/r/TIMO46?eeid=28187

Making the total bonus $675 for new members.

This is the best bonus I have seen in months, especially given the low minimum spend of only $1000 in the first 3 months!

I use Rakuten for my shopping and you should too! Join and get $50.*

05/09/2026

iGraal cashbackcurrently has 5.28% cashback on Carrefour Gift Cards.

If you do your normal shopping at Carrefour this is a great way to save over 5% on every day groceries.

If you are new to iGraal, you can get a 10€ sign-up bonus via my referral link here:

https://fr.igraal.com/parrainage?parrain=AG_68812298153b2&utm_medium=inf&utm_source=premium

Some people might say it isn't worth the hassle, but if Carrefour is your go-to grocery store and you spend 500€ a month there, this can save you 25€ a month or 300€ a year on your groceries!

04/09/2026

Hi All,

I was reflecting on life after a year in France and wrote an article to share some nuggets of wisdom based on my personal experience and talking with dozens of expats who are planning a move.

You can find my article here:

https://www.mybestmoneylife.com/americans-and-other-expats-retiring-in-france-a-few-nuggets-of-wisdom

As with any move, the road will be bumpy, but doing your homework and making sure you are moving for the right reasons can make the journey much more manageable.

Cheers,

Timothy

Thinking about retiring in France? Learn what Americans and other expats should know before moving, from healthcare and housing to bureaucracy, lifestyle, choosing where to live, and the realities of settling in France.