Would be great if it weren’t for the pollen
Super nice weather these last few days here in Sendai once that wind died down.
We’re in the last few days of the year now. New hires will be starting work, kids will be going into the next year in school, some people will be retiring.
A lot of fresh starts.
Who is looking forward to the new start in April?
RetireJapan TV
RetireJapan TV will be back on April 23rd from 20:00. We’ll be talking about how to navigate the health system here in Japan. Join us live to ask questions or contribute to the discussion.
YouTube
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The Forum
Speaking of which, the Forum is doing well (40,730 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 am still on my Terry Pratchett binge! Bought all of his Discworld books on Kindle and am currently reading The Fifth Elephant (24/41). Really enjoying it.
I’ve also been reading the post-Lee Child Reacher novels. Not enjoying those as much. Really badly written compared to the Lee Child novels. Everyone speaks like Reacher, the fight scenes are terrible, and the plots don’t make much sense. Sad to see.
This week’s links
- Completely agree with this Monevator post: How to waste money
- Our friend the FI Professor is back: How I’m Investing in an Uncertain World
- Computer says no: Is any nation serious about tackling climate change?
- Even I need to think about this from time to time: What’s In The Center Of Your Portfolio?
- Interesting overview (YouTube): Why Are Birthrates Plummeting Worldwide?
- My impression is that people in Japan don’t plan to buy more than one home in their lifetime: Not buying it
- Good basic overview: Navigating Finances in Your 40s: Essential Financial Strategies for Mid-Life
- Japan was #55: The secret to happiness? Doing pretty okay, I guess
- Especially if we are regular buyers: If Equity Markets Didn’t Fall as Much Their Returns Would be Lower
- Sounds good to me (the return of the tram): Lost in Tramslation
- Coffee and books: What is the Point of Money?
- This was great: Pure Independence
- I love this kind of article (although it did remind me a bit of the ‘only gay in the village’ sketches): Cafe run by Japanese island’s only foreigner aims to be new tourist spot
- Really nice, concise view on portfolio design: Do You Know The Muffin Man?
- Slightly gloomy post from Martin: Put it all on red
- Maybe we need some beekeepers in Japan: “The New-Wave Yakuza”: Meet the new gangs with the same old tricks
- First I’ve heard of this, but it makes sense given that every other country seems to be implementing something similar. They should charge more for it though: Japan reveals sweeping new rules for tourists
- This kind of coverage could lead to rule changes: ‘Wild loophole’ allows non-UK residents to apply for full state pension
- Including our favourite Okinawan hangout Miyakojima: Japan unveils first plan to evacuate 100,000 civilians from islands near Taiwan in event of conflict
- I like cashless, but also feel that you should be able to pay with cash if you want to or don’t have access to cards/apps: Cash is Still King in Japan, but Digital Payments are Mounting a Coup d’état
What do you think? Anything interesting in there?
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I am looking forward to the new start as am now down to a 3-day, 10hour week. Feels legitimately like being semi-retired now.
I think we will see an explosion in debt with digital payments as credit card companies,and mobile phone companies all see an opportunity to automatically get connected to the customer’s automatic smartphones. Speed of payments allows the behaviour and company to bypass the visual, and mental budgeting system. I think we have seen this in the U.K. where some people, due to the financial crunch, prefer cash because they can physically and mentally budget. I remember when credit card companies would increase customers’ rates quite and without the customer ever asking, and the customer would naturally spend up to the new limit. I’ll stick with cash. Speed is good for the business bad for the customer….in the long run. It has been well documented in psychology.
Thanks as always for this week’s blog, lots of great content much appreciated.
Spring has finally come to the UK this week, hoping I avoid the hayfever and can enjoy some outdoor time in between work.
Have a good week and thank you Ben