You have to grow into things
Was not expecting to get my purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu this month. I don’t particularly feel like I deserve it, and had been expecting to train for at least one more year as a blue belt.
But now that I have it I will just have to train more effectively to become a purple belt (there are only five belts in jiu-jitsu, purple is the middle one and arguably the first one that means something).
I remember feeling the same way when I got my blue belt in January 2020.
And it felt very natural to be a blue belt up until last week. So I think purple-ness will come in time.
But the same is true in many areas of life. Every new job I took I was not qualified for nor experienced at, but taking it on anyway led to experience and qualifications.
Even RetireJapan started as a blog written by someone who knew next to nothing. I still have no real qualifications.
But after coaching hundreds of people and teaching thousands through our books and courses I feel like I have grown into the role a bit.
What have you tried that you weren’t qualified for but ended up getting good at?
Even more exciting iDeCo news
An early Christmas present?
iDeCo contribution limits are going up by 7,000 yen for most people, but going up MASSIVELY for employees without a company DC pension (from 23,000 yen a month to 62,000 yen a month!!!).
So people with a DC pension at work will have a combined contribution limit of 62,000 yen a month.
People without a DC pension at work will have the same limit for their iDeCo alone!!! So 62,000 yen a month. This is huge.
And kokumin nenkin payers will have a monthly contribution of up to 75,000 yen. Nice, but doesn’t given how much worse kokumin nenkin is than kosei nenkin, a bit disappointing that this is not higher.
Merry Christmas indeed 🎅
(I haven’t found a source that talks about kyosai nenkin payers yet, but hopefully they will also get the same increase taking them to at least 27,000 yen a month or even a match to that amazing 62,000 limit)
Your First Ten Million Yen
We’ll be running our flagship personal finance course Your First Ten Million Yen again in February.
Sign up here to receive updates and have the chance to sign up when we launch next month. We have some new packages and price points, so there should be something for everyone this time.
If your finances are not set up yet (you are not saving and investing regularly, don’t understand nenkin and insurance in Japan, don’t have a plan for your financial future and retirement) this course could change your life for the better.
RetireJapan TV S3E02
Join us this week (Dec 16th) for a new episode of our video podcast! Ask questions or join in via the chat. YouTube, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
YouTube
Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel.
The Forum
Speaking of which, the Forum is doing well (38,963 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
Almost finished The Iron Council by China Mieville (on the last bit). It was good, but still probably my least favourite of the trilogy. The Scar was the best.
This week’s links
- Really enjoying this blog recently (but I still like living where we do on a flat plain): Hints from Japan’s hillsides
- I’m probably second half: I’m in the final third of my life
- Reality is a construct: How It Seems vs How It Is
- Buyer beware: As demand rises for abandoned houses, so do cases of hidden defects
- Ha, ha. I’m a practitioner of the ancient Japanese art of hirune: I Have One Word for ‘Ancient Japanese Wisdom’: Bull
- There goes that 1.5 degree target… wonder how high it will go in my lifetime? Climate crisis deepens with 2024 ‘certain’ to be hottest year on record
- I have made three of these: The 4 Types of Investment Mistakes
- What is the next big choice? One big choice shapes a hundred more
- Yeessss: Wanting and getting
- This was pretty good, a bit US centric (YouTube): 22 Years of Brutally Honest Retirement Advice in 22 minutes
- I like these guys (YouTube): Courtyard Chats: Japan is Changing Ft. ‪@Yabatan‬
- Not selling publicly subsidised housing like Harumi Flag to speculators would be a good start… Tokyo government considering fund for housing support
- Enjoyed this. Haven’t been in a McDonald’s for a couple of years now: The meaning of, and in, McDonald’s
- Be interesting to see if this succeeds going forward: Chip Cities Rise in Japan’s Fields of Dreams
- Really interesting interview (YouTube): 40+ Years in Japan
- Not sure how I feel about this. Nuclear is an important power source, but Japan has not proved it can manage it responsibly IMO: Japan brings nuclear power back into energy fold in new plan
- Some medical stories in this Reddit thread.
- Interesting (long) interview with a wealthy UK retiree: FIRE-side chat: contracting killer
- Makes sense: exercise is easier if you enjoy it. ‘Just do something you enjoy!’ Have official targets made exercise a chore – and happiness more elusive?
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.
The Monday Read, going out to more than 2,950 subscribers each week. Please share this post/email with friends/colleagues who may be interested in it.
If you were forwarded the email you can sign up to our weekly or monthly list here.
Or you can subscribe through WordPress below if you want to get each post the moment it is published:
Check out the RetireJapan website for more information, the Forum for discussions about personal finance and investing in Japan, and our coaching page if you need more help.