Your Local Bank
If you go down to the bank today, you’re sure of a big surprise… Today I am thrilled to interrupt our regular programming and bring you a guest post by Good and Bad Japan, one of my favourite writers about Japan (and I’m not just saying that because he is a member of the forum […]
The Monday Read
It’s getting HOT. Where’s the rainy season? Things are getting better for me work-wise, so there might be more consistent posts on the blog here going forward 😉 Here are this week’s links: This too shall pass: mental toughness.A self-sabotaging millionaire interview.Need to get to grips with this: why the next bear market may feel […]
When to Start Taking a Pension
Depends, but generally as late as possible. Many state pension systems allow you to postpone starting to take your pension (some allow you to take it early). In exchange, they will increase the amount you can receive (or decrease it if you opt for early pension). Generally speaking, postponing the pension to maximise your payouts […]
Letting Go
Or not. Is that the question? That’s me in the pink t-shirt. This month has been somewhat trying work-wise. I haven’t had much time to think, but in the limited time I have had I’ve been mentally exploring some options. Today’s post is going to list them and hopefully the act of writing them out […]
The Monday Read
Just another manic Monday. Greetings happy campers. How is June treating you? Good luck: Japan’s Abe must sell immigration to a skeptical nation.On everyone’s mind right now: is the US due for a recession?Will AI make our lives better or kill us all? Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and the feud over killer robots.Sometimes effort is bad: why […]
Slow Cooker
Oh, yeahhhhh. Ours is black though. We bought a slow cooker a couple of weeks ago. Looked in Japan first, then realised it’s probably cheaper to buy one in the US and have it shipped over. We ended up going with this model from Crock Pot. It ended up costing us $43, and we paid […]
iDeCo for Dependent Spouses
Is it worth it? I had an interesting question from a reader last week. They drew my attention to the online iDeCo tax savings calculator, which seemed to show that dependent spouses could save significantly on income tax. In the linked online calculator, choose 専業主婦, then Yes, then input your numbers, then you can see […]
The Monday Read
Just the most important facts, please Without further ado (or any ado, for that matter), here is this week’s collection of links: Worst in Asia? Japan wants immigrants, the feeling isn’t mutual. A Japanese (living in the US) millionaire interview. Stealth immigration policy? Famous for its resistance to immigration, Japan opens its doors. We downsized seven […]
Overwhelm
Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath Greolieres, in the mountains near Nice I find if I take on too much for too long, I get a familiar feeling. It’s kind of unpleasant, like a crushing sensation. It’s a feeling of always being in a hurry, of not having enough time, of being […]
Doing Things/Not Doing Things
Do. Or do not. There is no try. This seems to be a truism in life. If you want to do something, do it. If not, don’t. But don’t fool yourself by talking about how you want to do something all the time and never get round to doing it. It is particularly common with […]