Heading into the holiday season
It’s the last day of classes at my wife’s school today. Tomorrow the winter holiday begins and we’re not back at work until January 7th.
I really enjoy this time of year.
I started cooking Christmas dinner in 2004 after we got married (mainly because I missed it!) and I’ve done it every year since, except a couple of years we went back to the UK or spent in Thailand.
The turkey arrived a couple of days ago and is thawing now. I will go to the supermarket and get everything else I need tomorrow. The key is Brussels’ sprouts, which is the family’s favourite part of Xmas Dinner. You may find that hard to believe if you don’t cook them properly -in the oven drizzled in olive oil, salt, and black pepper until they are crispy on the outside and melty on the inside.
We eat on Christmas Eve, Spanish style, which I find way preferable to lunch on Christmas Day. Our way I get to cook all day on the 24th and we have the whole family come over for an early dinner.
Christmas morning, we can relax, get up whenever, and just eat leftovers all day. Bliss!
Then for New Year’s Eve we do the traditional Japanese thing of eating a lot and watching Kohaku. New Year’s Day we go to my wife’s parents’ place and walk to a nearby shrine. We write our kanji for the year that day too.
This year I’ll be in Cebu for the New Year, so we’ll do the kanji writing when I get back.
What do your holidays look like?
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.
Most people make up the tuition costs within a few months of starting, then this could potentially add tens if not hundreds of millions of yen to your net worth over your lifetime.
RetireJapan TV S3E02
We had a blast on Monday doing the Xmas episode of RJTV with our live audience. Check it out on YouTube or your favourite podcast platform.
Good news for US citizens in Japan?
Some potential good news for US citizens this week.
And an explanation of the details: Residence-Based Taxation Bill Explainer
The most important point might be that this proposal is for a new option: people who are happy with the current system can choose to not apply to be exempt.
I really hope this goes through.
YouTube
Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel. Made an unexpected video yesterday!
The Forum
Speaking of which, the Forum is doing well (39,097 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
Finished The Iron Council by China Mieville. Enjoyed it, but it was definitely The Scar, then Perdido Street Station, then The Iron Council for me. Looking forward to reading more China Mieville books in the future.
Now I’m reading 100 to 1 in the Stock Market: A Distinguished Security Analyst Tells How to Make More of Your Investment Opportunities. It was written in 1972, but still kind of interesting and inspiring.
Amazon furusato nozei
Amazon.jp’s furusato nozei section seems to be up and running. I think I found the least aspirational gift on there…
They are going to wipe out the other furusato nozei online portals, aren’t they?
This week’s links
- This was fascinating. Some bold predictions in there: We Are Headed Towards a System of National Capitalism
- Excellent points here. Also highlights how beneficial it is currently to live in Japan with investment income: Japanese Boomers to Get Cash from Government
- Chris Broad’s production values are unbelievable now (YouTube): The Day Japan Fears The Most: $1 Trillion Disaster
- I enjoyed watching a Taylor Swift concert on Disney+ with my granddaughters. Not sure I would have paid 50,000+ yen to go to one live… Economics of Taylor Swift’s $2B+ Eras Tour
- Will be checking this out: New book by Japan-Based Syndicated Columnist Baye McNeil Released Today
- Long and rambling, but some interesting nuggets in there. Early retirement vs finding work you love: Against Workism – a defence of Early Retirement
- I can imagine some reasons why: Owning a home linked to longer life in the US
- Some cold water on the strategic Bitcoin reserve: Three Things I Think I Think – Strategic Reserves and Stuff
- Really relevant for retirement? I’m nearly 80 and there’s a void in my life that hobbies can’t fill
- Impressive! Inari-yu wins top UNESCO prize in Asia
- This blog is great (got it from Derek’s comment section): Walking from England to India
- The dark side of crypto? Crypto is for Criming
- This was great (YouTube): How I learned to speak Thai fluently
- Yikes. Coal use to reach new peak – and remain at near-record levels for years
- Lots of reasons for this: Record 346,482 kids in Japan missed 30 class days or more in 2023 school year: survey
- Another outrageous story. Almost a year? Japan rapper confined for 302 days over bogus robbery accusation raps interrogation
- If we had these here I would get some: ‘If 1.5m Germans have them there must be something in it’: how balcony solar is taking off
- This. So much this. If you choose to remain silent the police should not be able to waste your time and theirs with endless day long interviews for months on end: Police confiscate ‘I refuse to be interrogated’ T-shirt of suspect
- Really enjoyed this interview. One of my dreams is to live in Thailand for a bit and learn the language (YouTube): Growing Up as an African Man in Thailand
- Many are waiting for this, but it could take a while: Japan’s Financial Services Agency Begins Considering Tougher Regulations on Cryptocurrencies; Regulations May Lower Taxes
- Huge issue, even in Sendai: Mind the labour gap: Worker crunch piles pressure on small-town Japan
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.