Sometimes all you need is a bit of perspective
This week I published a slightly gloomy blog post. I was feeling a bit down, feeling like I wasn’t making progress, feeling frustrated.
I got a lot of nice comments and suggestions, which helped me look at the situation from a new perspective.
And I also further recovered from having the ‘flu, which was particularly brutal this year. It’s taking a long time to fully recover.
That mental fog was definitely affecting me.
So thanks to our wonderful community, and the healing power of time, I am feeling better.
Take care of yourselves. Sometimes it’s okay to mope around for a bit and give yourself space to get better.
Your First Ten Million Yen 2025 starts today
Our flagship course Your First Ten Million Yen starts today! There are still some places if you would like to join us, or if you know anyone who needs a road map and some encouragement to get their finances in order. Get more information and sign up here.
The next cohort will be in February 2026. I hope you can join us this this week though -starting now vs starting later makes a huge difference.
New site for US citizens in Japan: The FI Prof
A good friend of RetireJapan, Daniel Mills, has launched a new site with resources for US citizens living in Japan. Daniel is also a US citizen, and has a lot of experience with buying real estate in the US.
Some good stuff here: Investing for Americans in Japan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Wealth Across Borders
RetireJapan TV S3E03
RJTVS03E03 was a blast! I had several rants about tourists, but the rest of the episode was pretty interesting. Check out the podcast here. Also on YouTube.
YouTube
Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel. We published a new video about mortgage rates in Japan.
The Forum
Speaking of which, the Forum is doing well (39,843 posts so far). The forum rules are here. In essence, 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 books
I have been on a Terry Pratchett binge! Bought all of his Discworld books on Kindle and have read the first six already. It’s really interesting re-reading his early work, before he hit his stride.
I reckon they’ll keep me busy for the next couple of months or so 😉
This week’s links
- This system is (unsurprisingly) ridiculous: Osaka Expo Tickets
- Not surprised. Even our net worth went up by 25% last year: Wealth of world’s billionaires grew by $2tn in 2024, report finds
- Nice reminder: Reality Check
- It’s not just the weak yen: The ‘grossly overvalued’ American dollar
- Trump crypto shenanigans: Are you tired of winning yet?
- This is a deeply shameful situation for Japan and I hope it is fixed soon: Old murder cases return to the news amid media focus on false convictions
- Enjoyed this video (YouTube): trump memecoin is insane
- I like this: Prayers for health that really work
- This rings true to me: The Hero and other Cultural Characters
- Derek has PLANS. Oh my yes: Bet
- Interesting: Stocks Are More Expensive Than They Used to Be
- Baby steps: ‘Rising star’: Europe made more electricity from solar than coal in 2024
- This was fascinating (YouTube): What does Elon Musk want?
- Nice (long) interview with Ermine from Simple Living in Somerset: FIRE-side chat: Better late than never
- This is an interesting idea: The Tiniest Mission
What do you think? Anything interesting in there?
If you enjoyed today’s Monday Read and want to contribute to our costs, you could buy me a coffee (more like some web hosting, amirite?). All donations much appreciated.
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Thanks as always – glad to hear you are feeling positive 🙂
My wife and I have just booked our flights over to Japan for this year, so once the financial hit wears off I’ll start looking forward to it more. Will be staying with her family for some parts, but will find time for some travelling whilst we are there!
I hope you and your wife’s health picks up, Ben. Be aware of how many people’s lives you’ve changed with what you do at RJ. You’re changing lives! That’s a huge deal and not an easy thing to do. I’m sure there are a lot of people like myself who are not particularly active in the RJ community but have gained life changing information that has help them get their finances in order and set them for a much better financial future. What you do here is a great thing and I and many other people are very grateful for it. Thank you.