The Monday Read: Meeting the Community

Had another very pleasant random encounter this week. I was having lunch with my wife and her cousin and his wife in a hotel in Nagoya, and I had just walked over to the buffet to get some more lasagne when a guy came up to me and asked if I was the guy from RetireJapan. Why yes, I said.

He then pulled out a printed out copy of our ‘Ten Steps to Financial Freedom‘ free guide and told me he’d been studying it on the way to work. Turns out he was the general manager of the hotel.

Really nice guy, we had a quick chat and it kind of made my day.

If you see me out and about please do come and say hi, it’s really good to meet people and hear how you are doing. Sometimes running RetireJapan feels like I am just shouting into the wind and no one is listening, so it is great to get some nice feedback from time to time. Makes it all worth it.

YouTube

Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel. We published a new video this week on 5 consequences of not sorting your finances out.

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The Forum

The Forum is doing well (30,848 posts so far). Here are the latest active threads:

This week’s books

No new books this week, but I am REALLY enjoying The 48 Laws of Power. Amazing writing and content.

This week’s links

1. I’d love to buy or rent an old school: sadly student enrolment is growing in our area so not very likely at the moment. School’s out forever in aging Japan
2. Another demographic consequence: As security threats rise, Japan’s armed forces wrestle with a chronic shortage of recruits and low morale
3. Bit of a downer, this one: Warren Buffett Can’t Mask Ugly Economic Truths In Tokyo
4. Very interesting to show the data this way: Projected Lifetime Salary Rankings in Japan
5. Always good to have a plan B: Why working longer is a bad retirement plan
6. Spain is pretty great: Why this European retirement destination is a longstanding favourite
7. Wasn’t expecting this combination! Morgan Housel on Diary of a CEO (YouTube): The Savings Expert: “Do Not Buy A House!” Do THIS Instead! – Morgan Housel
8. I don’t know if this matters: Germany to seize Japan’s third-biggest economy crown
9. It’s a different country: When in Tokyo
10. I present all the time, but this has some nice reminders: The amateur presenter
11. Seems like it would depend on the situation: Here’s why it ‘doesn’t make financial sense’ for Americans living abroad to give up their U.S. citizenship, one expert says

What do you think? Anything interesting in there?

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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.