RetireJapan

Both of my kids were born here in Japan. Went the Japanese public school route and are now in High school. They were fortunate enough to both enter a relatively high level public HS and enter the IB (International Baccalaureate) program. Wife and I are very happy with the program as it's a heavily d...

adamu wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 7:10 am Overthinking. 100% VTI and forget about it.

Or even better buy the world with VT.

VTI is what I'm currently buying. And I'm sitting at 96% equities
A bit over the top, perhaps but I'm just getting started.

Pretty sure 18 the the key age for Americans regarding finances. In Japan too, I guess. I got my son an Etrade account when he was 18. He was in the US at the time and had a US phone number, address and state ID. Without those I am not sure what would have been possible. I tried to set him up with ...

This is a topic I am thinking about as well. With me and the kids having US citizenship, options are not too great. Starting with things like the Junior NISA would be nice, but I'm not sure if the selection would be useful or safe from a PFIC perspective. Plus even though it is tax-free in Japan th...

Yes, it seems Americans often get the short end of the stick. Will check the bond option with Treasurydirect. Had forgotten about that option. As for Interactive Brokers, the expensive (monthly?) maintenance fee is what initially discouraged me from opening an account with them. Some sort of minimu...

Thanks for the reply. I had the idea that custodial accounts are only good until the kids become of legal age, correct? Since my kids are 17 and 18 I'm not sure if it would even be worth opening the accounts for such a short period. Hmmm. :?: Probably not going to apply for FA in the USA as my kids...

We used Junior NISA accounts for our kids but they all held individual stocks so we could avoid the PFIC tax complications for US citizens. If you can open US accounts, a custodial account for your kids gives you the greatest freedom in investment choices. Both the US custodial account and the J-NI...

So I'm thinking to begin some type of savings / investment account for my children. Ideally, I would like to put the accounts in their respective names using their US Social Security numbers. They are 17 and 18 years of age. This would not be for university as I'm obviously way behind the ball on t...

So I'm thinking to begin some type of savings / investment account for my children. Ideally, I would like to put the accounts in their respective names using their US Social Security numbers. They are 17 and 18 years of age. This would not be for university as I'm obviously way behind the ball on th...

I just started this application process last night. Filled out the online part and am waiting for SBI to send the documents. Their email said it would be a week. I am hoping to not have any name nightmares. Even the simple online application was finicky with katakana / hiragana. Also half digits wit...