The Monday Read

Summer is coming

This week is week ten at my university, so we are 2/3 of the way through the semester. We are approaching the downhill part 🙂

We are also almost half-way through 2019. Hopefully you are working on your financial plan and happy with your progress. Remember to keep an eye out for your annual pension statement -it will arrive around your birthday every year.

I’ve been enjoying the ‘Retired at 45’ blog (４５歳でアーリーリタイアして資産生活) so we have a couple of posts from there this week.

Here are this week’s links

1. I hadn’t considered this angle: Japan is not Battle-ready for Climate Change
2. Ridiculous situation: Japan Desperately Needs More Day Care Workers. New Mothers Need Not Apply
3. Really enjoyed this (very long) podcast: Joe Rogan Experience #1309 – Naval Ravikant
4. The year after retirement might be more expensive than you think: ついに住民税の納付書が到着しました
5. Good write-up of The Snowball (Buffett’s biography): Did You Win The Ovarian Lottery?
6. Another really interesting book review: WHY ARE THE PRICES SO D*MN HIGH?
7. At least they are honest about why, I guess? Gov’t rejects ¥20 mil savings estimate for those living to 95
8. Not many people have iDeCo accounts (see page 9): iDeCoを始めとした私的年金の現状と課題
9. Average household savings for each prefecture: 1世帯あたり貯蓄額 [ 2016年第一位 奈良県 ]
10. This is pretty close to the lower end of my projected retirement income: How much do you need to earn every month for a ‘normal’ life in Kyoto? Here’s a sample budget
11. I didn’t realise your pension increases even during the periods you are exempt for: 国民年金の免除申請の確認に行ってきました
12. This would be better if people invested their savings: Japanese women face retirement savings gap of almost 20 years, World Economic Forum says
13. Food for thought from one of my favourite sf authors: Why I Am a Bad Correspondent
14. These guys watched ‘8 Mile’ too many times: The underground rap battle for Japanese businessmen
15. Some of these are pretty good: I Show The Cultural Differences Between Japan And Other Countries (50 Pics)

What do you think? I enjoyed #3 very much. It’s a lot more optimistic than my usual fare, and I like Naval’s definition of retirement (just after 1 hour 49 minutes in).

I also read some books this week:

• The 100-Year Life, by Lynda Gratton. Still reading this slowly. It’s a bit dry, but some interesting points.
• Limited Wish, by Mark Lawrence. The second in his YA D&D themed series.
• Facing Violence, by Rory Miller. I don’t know why I enjoy reading about self-defence, but this is an excellent book on the subject.