Living a deliberate life
I went snowboarding today for the first time this season. We had great weather for it and the resort was playing upbeat jazz music instead of the usual ’80s pop tunes. A big improvement.
At first I wasn’t thrilled about going, but my wife wanted to so I duly got up at 6am and drove the hour and a bit to the slopes.
Of course, once we got out there I enjoyed it and now, tired sore and sunburnt, am glad we went.
Left to my own devices I have a favoured routine, one that works for me, that is comfortable and repetitive. But it is not good to do the same thing every day.
From time to time we need to do something out of the ordinary.
What have you not done for a while that you might enjoy? What is missing in your day to day?
YouTube
Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel. We are growing quite strongly this year, and it is largely down to your help and support.
This week we published a video about dividend investing. Hope you find it useful! What’s your take on chasing dividend yield?
RetireJapan TV
Had a great conversation with Martin from Smart Money Asia about personal finance, life in Japan, and crypto! Lots of nuance on how he views cryptocurrency in 2024.
Check out the recording on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform (just search for RetireJapan TV, and if you can’t find it, let me know).
And also check out Martin’s follow up blog post here: The Investment Case for Bitcoin
It’s a great summary and clarification of his points, with links to sources and information. I found it really helpful, and I’m a still largely a crypto sceptic!
The Forum
The Forum is doing well (32,203 posts so far). The forum rules are here. In essense, they are:
- Be nice
- Ask any question you like
- Only answer questions when you have relevant knowledge or experience
Here are the latest active threads:
This week’s links
- Great Reddit post about the 2024 nenkin adjustments here: Pension benefit amounts for 2024 releases
- It’s not new NISA accounts: Foreign traders, Chinese fuel Japan’s market rally in new year
- This is a great idea. It probably has an enormous return on investment: ‘Senior cafeterias’ gaining steam to support elderly
- Interesting (and detailed!) look at what happened: Toshiba and the hidden costs of activism
- This makes sense but I imagine it will be far more complicated in 30 years time when I am getting older: Protecting Yourself from Fraud, Theft, and Scams (Part 1)
- Entire system is not fit for purpose. Just give people normal working visas instead of this weird endebted slavery thing they have cobbled together: Vietnamese trainees told to undergo contraception to work in Japan
- This guy is a genius: A Japanese man who made a living from letting people rent him to do absolutely nothing says he now does it for fun
- Completely off topic but a fascinating article about a crazy Dutch skating race: Elfstedentocht: The famed, frozen race that may never return
- Interesting article about the UK. Wonder what the situation is here? I get the feeling Japan is more grounded: Britain’s richest 10% don’t think they’re wealthy – and that’s disastrous in the fight against inequality
- Very long and detailed article that won’t surprise anyone: You’re Too Old For That: Age Discrimination in Japan Tech
- Awful. Why was he in custody for so long? I don’t see the need for an arrest here, let alone months of incarceration: Indonesian man dies while in police custody north of Tokyo
- Slightly old news story, but very interesting: Billion dollar scam
- This should be more visible than it is (YouTube): Japan’s Throwaway Children
- A nice Twitter thread for once: Tell me something quirky that you like about 日本
- While we’re on the subject: Is Even a Little Bitcoin Too Much for Your Portfolio?
- Not a fan I see: Dropping China?
- Sad to see this headline, but good that people are paying attention I guess: Japan to fight crime in quake-hit areas with 1,000 security cameras
- Yes, but I’m not sure I want to (UK focused article): Can you afford to live to 100?
What do you think? Anything interesting in there?
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I know quite a few people in the top 10% both here and abroad. With a few exceptions, none of them regard themselves as being rich and do not spend extravagantly. Many are retired or are approaching retirement. They either have limited income or are still saving. Some own a really expensive home but selling the home is not at all advantageous unless you move away to a cheaper area or country. None of these people are starving but they don’t fly business class, drive imported cars, employ maids and gardeners and regularly eat at Michelin Guide restaurants either. That’s the top 2-3%.
That’s a really good point. My wife and I are likely in the top 10% in Japan for net worth, but we don’t feel rich either. We are very comfortable and blessed, largely because our needs are modest.
From the outside, we probably look not particularly well off. Old Aqua car, modest manshon, normal clothes. We do eat whatever we want though, regardless of the price 😉
#5 – I wonder what we can do to protect from identity theft/scams in Japan.
Keep your hanko safe 😉
To reply to your question: “What’s your take on chasing dividend yield?” I’d reiterate what I posted in this forum thread: https://www.retirejapan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3451
While the phrasing ‘chasing yield’ is easy discount as an investment tactic, IMO using something about dividends when constructing an index fund, is a valid/useful metric. On the one hand, Vanguard has a number of funds with ‘dividend’ in their names–and as you’d expect with Vanguard, when reading those funds’ descriptions, the word ‘index’ will be there.
As pointed out in the forum post, some aspects of dividends paid can be helpful in the same way as other common metrics (PE, PEG, PB, PS, debt, debt-to-equity, FCF, ROE…) when evaluating stocks in order to create an index. And again, note that the two largest ‘dividend’ holdings in that Vanguard fund are Apple and Microsoft–which also just happen to be the two largest stocks in that group of the magnificent seven, responsible for having pulled the market along this past year. And they were identified and placed in this fund due in part to their histories as dividend payers.
So to answer, should you “chase yield”? No. But the question should be asked differently–can something about dividends be used when constructing an index?
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program…!
#9 “A rich man is one who knows when he has enough”.
“…to be poor in needs.”
#12 — Wow, this was eye opening to say the least. With AI becoming more commonplace, we have to be more vigilant with our online activities. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure!