The Monday Read: The Malady

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

Well, it was always bound to happen. Officially caught Covid last week. Fortunately relatively mild cases all round (most of the family got it, starting with the grandkids). For me it was sore throat one day, feeling tired and groggy the next, then fever and chills, then a bad headache. Seems to be getting better […]

Saving an Emergency Fund in Japan

Start Here and Never Stop There is a good reason that almost all personal finance advice starts with ‘save up an emergency fund’. Not having some cash set aside for emergencies puts you in a very vulnerable position. It’s like not wearing a seat belt when you drive. Why do you need an emergency fund? […]

The Monday Read: On the Road

Had a very good time running some workshops in Fukuoka and Kitakyushu this weekend! Thanks to the JALT chapters for hosting me and to everyone who came to the workshops. It was actually the first time I have presented live for about three and a half years, so I was very much out of practice. […]

Discussing Inheritance

For the first time ever, my wife and I discussed future finances with her parents, such as inheritance, estate planning and their will.

The Monday Read: False Spring

I am still taking cold showers once a day (haven’t missed a day since August) and walking/cycling to work every day, but due to a series of unfortunate events have already failed to keep up with my eating, gym, and jiu-jitsu resolutions. Sigh. Still, I will do better tomorrow. How are you doing this January? […]

RetireJapan Online Course 2

I will teach you to be financially secure I started RetireJapan in 2013 to help people living in Japan learn about personal finance, investing, and retirement. Last year we finally launched something I have been wanting to do for a long time: a live course over multiple sessions giving people the chance not just to […]

The Monday Read: January Thaw

2023 has only just started, and already things are not going the way I thought they would. No plan survives contact with the enemy, and all that. No matter! We press on regardless. The Monthly Read It has come to my attention that some people may love RetireJapan but not want to get a weekly […]

2023 Planning

Goals for this year Every year we start things off here on the blog with a look ahead, both for the site and me personally. Here is last year’s post for comparison. 2022 was a year of changes. In 2023 I am going to build on those changes and try to have more by doing […]

The Monday Read: Year of the Bunny

Happy New Year! I hope you had a fun relaxing time over the last couple of days and that you are looking forward to The Year of the Bunny 🙂 I’ll be doing a planning blog post soon -have all sorts of things I want to get done this year, many of them involving RetireJapan. […]