Not much to report this week. A few things on the horizon, but nothing I can announce just yet.
We’re still looking for guest posts or reader profiles. If you would like to contribute either of these please get in touch!
This week’s links
- I need to do more of this: When in doubt, try the difference
- Really impressive video: HUMAN Extended version VOL.1
- Probably not that much time: How Much Time Should You Spend on Your Finances?
- Thinking about the cost of home ownership: How To “Lie” With Personal Finance – Part 2 (Homeownership Edition)
- I’m not holding my breath on this one unless the government gets better at enforcing labour laws: Japan considers bringing part-timers into employee pension system
- This is great. Maybe I am rich already… How I got rich on the other hand
- I still have some work to do: The Spectrum of Wealth
- The lack of response from AirBnB is disappointing: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
- Or just withdraw a fixed percentage: How Retirees Can Withdraw More Than 4 Percent Per Year
- Let’s do disposable chopsticks and cutlery next: Japanese retailers to be required to charge for plastic bags from summer 2020
- Water management in Japan: Media Mix, Nov. 3, 2019
- This is a great idea: Saku’s Random Book Club
- This is not new, but the enforcement might be: Japan to tighten tax rules on wealthy people
- I can’t imagine: ‘After His Death, I Didn’t Cook Anymore’: Widows on the Pain of Dining Alone
- Stay on your toes: Trading Sardines And The Hubris Of Investing Success
- Wonder if it is too late for me to figure my career out: Useless Career Advice
This week’s books
- Blue Moon, by Lee Child. The latest Jack Reacher book. I’m a fan, but this series has variable quality. The first few books were probably the best, apart from that hypnosis one that just didn’t work for me. I would say Blue Moon is B/C grade Reacher. It’s topical, but the central concept was kind of illogical and that grated on me. I also found the violence is becoming a bit… mean-spirited? Blue Moon is a fun read though, and it got me through a tough day 🙂
- From Having a Boss to Being My Own Boss, by Leonard Loo. This is an autobiography by an entrepreneur in Japan. I’m about half-way though and enjoying it so far.
I agree with the author of item #3, once an investment plan is in place and going smoothly, one shouldn’t pay too much attention to it, until one’s situation changes.
Item #13 makes it appear that Japan is implementing policies similar to those of the U.S. to track foreign bank accounts and investments. Foreign residents of Japan who have overseas property and investments should of course be attentive to this, but one particular point of concern would be retirement accounts. Will the Japanese recognize the special treatment that foreign countries give to retirement products, such as American individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401Ks? Would holders of these accounts have to report retirement accounts as they do other foreign accounts?
Well, Japan is, as most countries do, expecting residents to pay taxes here. This is different from the US ‘taxation based on citizenship’.
Japan does not recognise foreign tax-exempt accounts as tax-exempt (I don’t think any country does), so any capital gains or dividends in such accounts would have to be reported and tax paid as usual.
To me, #9 seems like the most solid/interesting bit of reading. Not really a surprise, given the author.
I’d steer clear of #14 if you’re at work.
That said, if you’re reading this it might be too late.