How to make money investing

Let us count the ways This is a very basic post about the nature of investing, suitable for beginners. More seasoned readers may want to skip this one! There are in fact only two ways to make money investing. One is to buy or own something that produces money. This could be owning a house […]

The best laid plans

My five year plan from 2016 I am pretty bored right now in the hospital. Poking around in my computer I found a five year plan I wrote… five years ago! Let’s check it out. I think I was inspired by this blog post, and made the plan after that. Looking back, it was a […]

My Number Cards in 2021

Still not a fan, not sure I will be able to avoid for much longer We’ve written (a lot!) about the My Number system here on the site. Full disclosure: I still don’t like it, I don’t think it is well thought out, and I don’t trust the government to run it competently. Please see […]

Online Seminar at Fukui JALT

PERSONAL FINANCE IN JAPAN Just in time, here is the video from my online event for Fukui JALT last week. I’m really grateful to the chapter for inviting me, and had a great time talking to the participants in the Q&A session after the talk. In this video we are just showing the lecture part […]

The Monday Read

Going into hospital edition Well, I’m going into hospital on Thursday (operation is on Friday). First time in hospital, first time in hospital in Japan, first time under general anaesthetic, first operation. Lots of new experiences 🙂 I’m not sure how long I will be in there, but I’m not planning to do any work […]

Investing Rules

Decide what not to do I’ve been investing for about a decade now. Feels a lot longer, and I have learned a huge amount by reading a lot, trying various things, and making mistakes. A lot of mistakes. Running RetireJapan has also likely supercharged my learning and experience, giving me access to the wisdom of […]

The Monday Read

A Taste of Spring Edition Walked to work yesterday and it really felt like spring! Warm sunshine, pleasant breeze, flowers… Of course the arctic wind picked up in the afternoon but it was pleasant while it lasted 🙂 Soon the cold will be a half-vanished memory and we’ll all be complaining about the heat again. […]

The Monday Read

Everything is Getting Better edition Well, I’m feeling better. Not sure if it is the sunshine, the fact that I have gotten a few big projects out of the way, my new haircut, or that I managed to get to a couple of jiu-jitsu sessions, but I am feeling way better. Thanks for the messages […]

The Monday Read

Crushing season edition Every year February surprises me with how unrelenting it is work-wise. Around this point I find myself drowning in deadlines and things that absolutely need to be done already, but that I have no idea when I am going to be able to look at. The first thing that tends to go […]

The Monday Read

Human resources edition I’m trying to help my wife hire a teacher for her English school, and it is a real learning experience. Here’s hoping it works out this time! In other news Japan seems to be doing better with Covid, and vaccinations are due to start next week. Some light on the horizon? The […]