The Monday Read

The Olympics edition

Well, I’m not a fan of holding the Olympics this year. I read somewhere that the IOC was okay with postponing the games for two years, but Abe wanted to have it this year. Then he ran away from the mess he made (again).

I don’t think there is a major problem with holding the Olympics in their current format per se, but I get the feeling it has been a huge distraction for the government, has interfered with having a truly effective Covid response, and presents a huge messaging problem (residents of Tokyo: avoid gathering. Olympic VIPs: let’s have a big party for you). I wish Japan had only let in athletes/support staff and not allowed in the VIPs/media.

The rules/procedures also seem to be fairly ineffective given some of the stories coming out of the Olympic Village and training camps.

So I won’t be watching the Olympics this month (or likely ever again). Hope the IOC chokes on it.

The forum

The forum has been hot this week! We passed 14,000 posts 🙂

This week’s books

Started reading Richer, Wiser, Happier, by William Green, about lessons to learn from famous investors. It’s been interesting so far. Also The Four, by Scott Galloway, about Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. I find his writing style very readable, and he usually has some good insights.

This week’s links

  1. This is a fun little site: Cheap Houses Japan
  2. An RJ blog post from the past: Personal Finance Ability Scores
  3. Peter Attia podcast: 131 – Beth Lewis: The Art of Stability: Learning about pain, mitigating injury, and moving better through life
  4. Don’t do this: Frugality
  5. Great write up of the company: Nintendo
  6. This is very interesting and very counter-intuitive (at least to me). Emerging Market bonds: why they belong in your portfolio
  7. Good news for part-time workers: Record increase proposed for Japan’s minimum wage
  8. This is a really good read (once you scroll past all the annoying ads): 5 Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Own Life (Without Knowing It)
  9. This is kind of interesting/shocking: Mask Data Explorer
  10. Kind of enjoyed this book review of a book I will never, ever read: Book Review: Crazy Like Us
  11. Not sure if things are better now, or worse. Old RetireJapan post from five years ago: The State of Retirement in Japan
  12. A really weird Haruki Murakami short story. I enjoyed reading it, but I’m not sure why: A Shinagawa Monkey
  13. My default is to have my phone, my computer, or a book in my hand, but I might need more boredom: Boredom
  14. Am I saying yes to the right things? Everything You Say Yes To Is Saying No To Something Else
  15. I’m still hoping for another crash or two before my wife and I retire completely: The Best Investments I Ever Made
  16. Jared Diamond addressing one of the fundamental questions: How to get rich
  17. Not all that long! How Long Does it Take For the Stock Market to Double Off a Bear Market Bottom?
  18. This question comes up a lot: What Percentage Should You Have In Stocks and Bonds?
  19. Be careful out there: FOREIGN BUYERS TARGETED BY FRAUDULENT INVESTMENT PROPERTY SCAMS
  20. Well, this is scarier than I thought it was: Delta Variant: Everything You Need to Know
  21. Tempus fugit: 24 hours
  22. The secret to success? Writing. How to write, by Tim Ferriss (Twitter thread)
  23. The Atami thing is worse than I thought: The sky above, the mud below
  24. How to tell stories (Twitter thread)

Phew, long one this week! What did you think? Anything good in there? I enjoyed #3 and #8 in particular.

7 Responses

  1. In relation to #18 the question about what percentage should be Bonds vs Stocks

    What do you think of this risk vs return breakdown of allocating 1-10 per cent of your overall portfolio to Bitcoin.

    1. Well, I think there is no reason for Bitcoin to have value, so it’s kind of like talking about adding magic leaves to your portfolio from my perspective ^-^

      Obviously so far Bitcoin has been worth something, and it could well end up being worth more in the future, so don’t listen to me, I don’t know what I am talking about. But neither does this guy.

  2. (11) https://www.retirejapan.com/blog/the-state-of-retirement-in-japan/

    This is truly terrifying. I suppose there is little a person can do except save for themselves and their family, taking advantage of iDeco/Nisa/J-Nisa.

    I suppose in a way I should be glad my PT status allows me to save 68,000 a month in iDeco. Perhaps that will leave me better of than a larger nenkin allotment. I wonder if it is worth a semi-retiree getting a PT job just to receive a larger iDeco allotment?

    I have made sure that my son has citizenship from my home country, and I will work hard to make sure he is fluent in English. An escape plan you might say….just in case.

    1. That’s my plan for next year! Once I finish working in March, will max out iDeCo and NISA for as long as they allow me to 🙂

      I guess it would even make sense to sell things in taxable accounts in order to max out the tax-advantaged ones…

  3. Hi….
    #8, I got the idea, but way too wordy…and all those ads were truly annoying.
    #12 & #16, Both good reads, thanks.
    Thanks for the interesting mix of material!
    kp

  4. #16 — Good, but the quirk I noticed was the several comments after the end of the article. Take a look at their credentials!

    1. Not bad, but I feel our own RJ commenters could give them a run for their money 😉