Event: RetireJapan in Tokyo
It’s been a long time coming People have been asking me to do an event in Tokyo for years. Next month it will finally happen. So far all the RetireJapan live events have come about due to invitations from existing groups (mainly JALT chapters), who kindly sponsored the talks and covered expenses. The March event […]
Review: Shoe Dog
Like Ghost Dog, but with less violence For almost a year now I’ve been reading reviews and blog posts telling me to read Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. I put it on my Amazon wish list (this is how I avoid buying most of the books I am interested in) months […]
Portfolio: Taxes
Maybe not so certain after all? This is our fourth portfolio post. You can see the previous ones here: geography, risk, and asset allocation. I believe in focusing on things you can control. How much money you save, what you invest in, how you react to financial news. Taxes are one of the biggest costs […]
What’s up with My Number?
Did the government forget about it? Or are they just waiting, to lull us into a false sense of security? I don’t like the My Number (personal identifier) system. I have written about it here, here, here, here, and here. You might even say I have a slight obsession with it. From what little I […]
Immigration Stuff
Investing is no good if you get deported A few immigration-related thoughts. Just to be clear, I’m talking about the Japanese immigration authorities, not global immigration issues. Those are well beyond the scope of this site. I believe anyone who is here in Japan for the long-term should aim to get permanent resident status or […]
Portfolio: Asset Allocation
It’s basically the master plan The third installment in our Portfolio series (you can see the first post on Geography here and the second on Risk here). Today we are going to talk about Asset Allocation. Totally coincidentally, Ben Carson published a great post on this just a couple of days ago. Check it out, […]
Guest Post: Hoken Shavings into Savings
A sadly all-too-common story in Japan A great guest post for you today. I have paid far too much in insurance premiums during my time in Japan, as insurance is very much part of the culture here and to be honest, I just didn’t know any better. Read on for an in-depth look at one […]
Review: UK Robo-Advisor Nutmeg
Non-residents welcome for a change Here’s another one for Brits, especially ones who are planning to move back to the UK at some point or just want to diversify their holdings a bit across currencies, countries, and companies. Nutmeg is a UK robo-advisor that is fairly unique in that they are willing to do business […]
Portfolio: Risk
You keep using that word Risk is an interesting word, especially in the personal finance domain. There are different kinds of risks, and they change according to circumstances. It’s easy to make assumptions about risk, or to think that one person’s risks are the same as another’s. Thanks, Google For me the highlighted bits are […]
Furusato Nozei Swag 2017
Oh yeeeeah. So I mentioned furusato nozei last year. My ‘gift’ (bribe?) arrived last week. Take a look at the previous post for the details, but basically furusato nozei is a system where you can send your local inhabitant taxes (住民税) to a different locality in exchange for some kind of gift. This year I […]