The Monday Read: Noticing

Welcome to The Monday Read, RetireJapan’s weekly collection of content, musings, and links related to personal finance and life in Japan.

I’ve been really impressed with my phone camera recently. Found this crab on the path on my way to work the other day and took a quick pic, but the quality is unreal.

Funnily enough, that was the first crab I have seen by that river in 23 years of living here, but of course the next day I saw about twenty of them.

There is probably some kind of allegory there.

RetireJapan TV

This month’s episode will be broadcast 20:00 on Monday July 24th. We’ll be joined by special guest Derek Wessman. You don’t want to miss this one!

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YouTube

Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel. We published 3 new videos this week:

1. 11 ways (+1 high tech bonus) to stay cool in Japan’s summer heat -without breaking the bank
2. Should YOU invest in NISA in 2023?
3. 9 reasons to retire in Japan, and 5 reasons not to

Please watch, share, like, and subscribe 🙂

The Forum

The Forum is doing well (28,642 posts so far). Here are the latest active threads:

This week’s books

Finished reading Clockwork, by Mike Michalowicz. It’s a very practical book for business owners.

Started reading The YouTube Formula, by Derral Eves. Very good so far, I hope this will help us grow the RJ YouTube channel a bit more 😉

And I bought From the Trash Man to the Cash Man, by Myron Golden. I’ve been enjoying his YouTube content recently so picked up his book. Haven’t started it yet though.

This week’s gadget

As I mentioned in the ‘staying cool in Japan‘ video, I’m a huge fan of… fans.

My latest fan is this beauty from Xiaomi. It has internet connectivity, you can see turn it on and off and monitor the temperature and humidity remotely with your smartphone (which I thought was kind of pointless but a friend commented that would be useful for monitoring their pets), and best of all, it has a chargeable battery inside that lets it run for hours without being plugged in.

This is actually really useful: you can carry it around the house, I am tempted to take it to the park, and it would be invaluable in a power cut.

This week’s links

1. I’m 80-20 stocks-bonds and plan to stay there for now: Have Older Investors Become Too Aggressive?
2. Banks are evolving in Japan: Mizuho Bank Reprioritizes Its Domestic Home Mortgage Business
3. Talking about the US: A Dozen Contrarian Thoughts About Inflation
4. I’m not sure we’re going to see a stronger yen for a while: My Financial Times Oped On The Yen
5. If anyone needs more Derek Wessman, you can find some here: Not a Podcast—Episode 8
6. Humidity we have plenty of! ‘It was an accident’: the scientists who have turned humid air into renewable power
7. I’m not even surprised anymore: Big oil quietly walks back on climate pledges as global heat records tumble
8. Those numbers are amazing: Japan Reality Check #7: What has changed?
9. This is largely true in my experience: You Can Handle Much More Than You Think
10. Spain too: No retirement: Why are more and more people over 70 still working?
11. This really feels like climate change: everyone talked about it but no one really took it seriously until it was too late. How AI Will DISRUPT The Entire World In 3 Years (Prepare Now While Others Panic) | Emad Mostaque
12. This seems reasonable but can probably be abused: New Definitions of Crime and Punishment for Non-Consensual Photography in Japan
13. I have a case on my phone: Some Other Forms of Wealth
14. Good news. Japan and Climate Change: Not As Bad As It Looks, Part I
    Japan and Climate, Not As Bad As It Looks, Part II
    This is pretty depressing: 70% Renewable Energy By 2035? Physics Vs. Politics
15. Not sure how I feel about this. I wouldn’t like to see Japan decriminalise drugs. What’s the Deal with CBD and THC in Japan? Featuring Chillaxy CEO Toshiki Inoue
16. Damn, Derek. The past is not true
17. I have a few of these: Is it time for Plan A?
18. This seems somewhat positive: Bulk Packaged “Label-less” Consumer Goods Catching on in Japan
19. I really like both of these guys (YouTube): The Money Expert: “Do Not Buy A House!” 10 Ways To Make REAL Money: Ramit Sethi
20. No one knows. Nikkei ¥‎40,000? Thinking outside the box
21. I’m glad I am closer to retirement and not starting out now: Old dog, old tricks
22. Found this useful: The 1% Principle…
23. This is more or less what I do, but with a fraction of the money: Revealing My +$10 Million Investment Portfolio

What do you think? Anything interesting in there?

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