The joy of Money and Quality of Life

[Bubblegun]

It seems we often talk about how we save money, often looking for savings here and there, and some people often think it's like living a life of frugality and we can't enjoy life, and that only encourages them to stick their head in the sand.
So I was wondering how we spend our money to allow us to enjoy life.

I would like to start off with a couple of things I have done because I don't really spend money on travel, drinking out, eating out, hostess bars/ partying it up and spending say about 10,000 yen on a single night out. For many this might be once a week or more.

I prefer to spend my, money on my hobby, that was/is modeling. This kept me in the house instead of spending 10,000 yen on a single night out, so a pretty good return on my investment there financially and mentally.
After that I decided to stop that for a while ( I've got back into it again) and I tried to become a rock star and take guitar lessons.I loved it and 12,000 per month was again a great return on the investment as I didn't want to go out.

I also prefer to visit the sent once a week, at 600 yen this is a super cheap night out, and with a drink another 400 yen so 1,000 yen for the night.

Cinema is good, and although there are the deals, I prefer just to enjoy the movie and pop into the corner shop and buy what I like to nibble.

I invested in a PS4. This must have saved me a ton of money and prevented my enriching the bar owners profits, After 2 months, I had recouped all my initial investment, and saved.

Another bad/good spending habit is coffee shops. At the moment my regular is Mr Donuts, as I can get free refills, read retire japan, while trying to do some work, or just to get out the box house. 540 yen a day, which is less than the cost of the subway to work.

I was wondering if anyone has any other things they do that can help us not just enjoy our money also help us to save.

Finally my number one hobby is saving money, 20%+ is taken out of my salary every month and disappears into the financial heavens, which is great to see and has served us well.

Sometimes spending money in other ways can help us save money, and help us enjoy life.
Does anyone else have hobbies or interest that allow uss to not waste money, but enjoy it and allow us to save in other areas. Could inspire some of us to take up something new.

[goodandbadjapan]

Paddle boarding - I bought a board for about 50,000, I think, a year and a half ago. A one-off payment the has since given me so much relaxation and pleasure for no additional cost. Take a little picnic to a the lake, spend a few hours on the water and de-stress! After the initial layout it is a very cheap hobby if you have easy access to water!

Another one that did cost me a few million yen but has been worth every penny was building a big wooden balcony on my house - big enough for a hammock and tables and chairs. I have spent so much time happily sitting out there with a drink when I might have previously headed out for the evening. Not money spent on a hobby but definitely on improving my quality of life.

Vinyl records - I love music and last year finally got a record player here. I know it is easy to get music free these days but her is a joy in scouring all the Hard Off Vinyl sections and finding albums from your youth at ¥110 each! You can spend less than a thousand yen and then have a few hours of listening (often in a hammock on the balcony).

[Jansen]

I have a few cafes and coffeeshops I visit every week or two and spend about 3-4 hours there just working. I'm trying to become a known face/regular and obviously the owners and regular staff know me already but we're still not on speaking terms yet. I'm not a sociable person so I'm not quite sure what's the next step. It's a fun-to-me thing I do to break the monotony of a solo-biz owner in a home office.

Besides this, as mentioned elsewhere, I've spent quite a good bit of money on my car and like to go for long drives in a random direction, then just walk around like a lost hiker.

I often buy the latest iPad, I honestly use that way more than my iPhone. The bigger screen makes it an awesome ebook ready and being a mobile device makes it just easier to pick up and use than a laptop. I don't buy many apps or games, most of my purchases are ebooks so it's really just a very fancy ebook reader that's also good for many other things.

Good running shoes?
I probably buy a new pair every 6 months because I walk so much in them then parts of the sole flatten out. I usually get whatever fancy looking Nike one is available just out of habit.

[RetireJapan]

I'm lucky in that most of the things that make me happy (reading, writing, walking, coffee) don't cost very much.

10,000 yen a month for membership of my jiu-jitsu club.

Food from the supermarket, or kaiten sushi.

Or ramen.


In the before times, we'd spend more on international travel, but that seems to be off the table for a while. All the more for the investment account, I guess

[captainspoke]

Tho I don't like to be hurried at it, I like to cook, and enjoy eating well/healthily. Good veggies/fish are always worth spending on. I encourage my wife to do the same, tho she hesitates a little on this.

Even tho now/winter is the off season, I have three bikes, and while none of them are new, keeping them all ready is nice since then I can choose. I do routine work, but it's the riding I enjoy. I don't mind paying the bike shop for one thing or another while I go riding.

I've got a couple stones, but there's a guy that sets up in the front entrance area of one of the grocery stores that does a wonderful job sharpening knives. Every other month or so I have him do one or two.

[pfdsa]

One of my best investments so far was a tool box. At first bought a 10,000 yen set with questionable quality at the home center. Been upgrading with better tools when something breaks, wears out, of if it lacks torque/functionality, so now must have invested around 30,000 yen. I find that this is a good strategy because you avoid buying expensive tools that you end up not using that much.
Thanks to it managed to learn how to fix pretty much my entire car (except for the engine and transmission), fix broken stuff around the house, fix broken stuff like laptops, and helping out friends once in a while with their car, etc. It doesn`t only feel great to be able to fix it yourself, but allowed me to save some serious money since I started doing the car shaken myself. So far didn`t need to take my car to a mechanic for the past 3 years.

Investing in good quality camping gear was also a good choice for me. There are plenty of places where you camp for free, and when the weather is good instead of going to a restaurant I can just buy some good quality food, get in the car, drive somewhere and cook outside. Doing this also creates some quality time where you actually speak with your family/friends, etc, instead of staring at a TV or smartphone.

Buying well-made jackets and boots is also a good investment in my opinion. At first is expensive, but if they`re well-made they will last you a long time. If you learn how to sew, or replace the sole/insole, it could even last you a lifetime.

Also think that learning martial arts is a better investment than just paying for a gym subscription. With martial arts you get to work-out while learning other skills.

In a society/country where everyone tends to just buy new and throw out when not needed anymore, I find it very rewarding, both financially and emotionally, to do this kind of stuff.

[AreTheyTheLemmings?]

A question popped into my mind when reading this thread: Is it significant that most of the things mentioned here are essentially solo activities? Apart from jiu-jitsu etc., the activities are things you do yourself. You might see or be among other people, but there is no requirement for real social interaction. The fact that we enjoy essentially solo activities is fine, of course, and it's not central to the question that this thread raised in my mind. What I ask myself is should we conclude that "other people" do not provide value for money?

[RetireJapan]

A question popped into my mind when reading this thread: Is it significant that most of the things mentioned here are essentially solo activities? Apart from jiu-jitsu etc., the activities are things you do yourself. You might see or be among other people, but there is no requirement for real social interaction. That's fine, of course, and it's not the question that this thread raised in my mind. What I ask myself is should we conclude that "other people" do not provide value for money?

Interesting question. I tend toward introversion, and need to spend at least a few hours on my own every day in order to feel rested.

Spending time with people for me doesn't cost (much) money: I spend time with my family at home, I meet friends for coffee or lunch or a walk, I zoom or email friends in Europe. Sometimes we invite people to come for lunch or dinner at our home. A lot of my interactions are online (marginal cost is zero once you have the device and internet connection).

On the other hand, one of our biggest spending categories is gifts to family, which has been up to half our annual spending in recent years. I guess family are worth it though

[captainspoke]

Cycling can be social--bike clubs, group rides, etc. But most anything scheduled is done outside of normal work hours, on weekends or holidays. And those groups are younger and faster than I am. I'm not in kanto, but it seems TCC people meet and ride pretty often.

I do meet up with a person or two now and then, and there's another guy who doesn't ride but we meet at a small park for chitchat, every week or two (former colleague, also retired). I ride before or after that.

[Tokyo]

Save money and improve quality of life… that’s not so easy.

Okay, I don’t gamble, smoke, drink or indulge in magic mushrooms so the considerable money saved there I can spend on imported cheese and chocolate. A nibble of 18 month aged Royal Beemster: That’s certainly quality of life.

The best toy bought in recent years is the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 waterproof speaker (NYTimes recommendation). It’s about ¥11,000 on Amazon but I got a brand new one on Merkari for 30-40% less. Bath or shower, every night is karaoke night! I have 4 bath-specific Spotify playlists depending if I need to chill or make out to be John Bonham on my full kit of air drums. Music lovers should not think twice before getting one of these beauties.