The joy of Money and Quality of Life

[Bubblegun]

Some really good investments in ourselves and quality of life.

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?

I think it might be we prefer to spend our money and time on other things, instead of giving it to the local gaijin bars, and peeing it down the toilet, which from anecdotal information means about a 10,000 yen a night. At once a week turns out to be 40,000 yen a month. Quite expensive.
I also think people assume people who drink alcoholic are more sociable. Possibly?
It may also be that when we were single we were focused on other delights of the night., which made the investment seem worthwhile………. at the time. Then I realized all my money became her money and all her money became her money. When they said for richer or poorer……….cough cough.

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 .

Vinyl records - I love music.

I’d love to see a pic of that balcony. Cool idea. What was it before? One of theirs plastic Japanese ones?

Records, kids will never enjoy spending time together admiring the art, the touch and feel of a record and also playing a whole album without having to press skip.

So it Seems we all enjoy popping out to cafes, and just being with other people.

Right now I’m starting a new hobby, model trains, second hand stuff but I get to save money, recycle,save the planet, and have a damn good time with the kids. Right now it’s the flying Scotsman and the Mallard. It has certainly come a long way from when I was a kid.
Sadly Japanese rental homes aren’t that big so I’ll have to make space.

We all seem to have one big interest, our financial side but such wide interests, and we spend money on them, by maybe avoiding Starbucks, Gaijin bars/over inflated booze.
I’ve also started to send my clothes for repair.
650 yen for a new pocket instead of chucking it,
A ripped shirt, again 650 for a running repair,(2500) for the super repair). And YouTube’s cleaning channels have become pretty darn interesting. Signs of getting old my friends.

[captainspoke]

...
Records, kids will never enjoy spending time together admiring the art, the touch and feel of a record and also playing a whole album without having to press skip.
...

A couple years ago one of our kids was dog sitting for a prof (US) and they had a stereo. She sent a video on LINE of a hand lifting and then putting down the arm on a turntable. It was a novelty for her -- music, no music, music, no music.

[nagoyayagona]

Interesting thread.
Looking back at last year's spending, I can see that holidays/vacations were a big cost.
But they are also some of my best memories of the year, so I don't exactly regret the spending.
Still, I do wonder if we could do things more efficiently/cost-effectively...

We got away from home 4 times in 2021. 3 were just for 2 nights each, in onsen or similar.
In the summer we had a longer break in an Air BnB for about 10 nights.
Interestingly each break cost us about the same, whether for 2 nights or 10.
For that reason, I'm sure we had better "value" in the Air BnB.
I think we might try Air BnB for the shorter breaks as well and see how we get on this year.
Always open to suggestions. (But we're not campers!)

[Bubblegun]

Interesting thread.
Looking back at last year's spending, I can see that holidays/vacations were a big cost.
But they are also some of my best memories of the year, so I don't exactly regret the spending.
Still, I do wonder if we could do things more efficiently/cost-effectively...

We got away from home 4 times in 2021. 3 were just for 2 nights each, in onsen or similar.
In the summer we had a longer break in an Air BnB for about 10 nights.
Interestingly each break cost us about the same, whether for 2 nights or 10.
For that reason, I'm sure we had better "value" in the Air BnB.
I think we might try Air BnB for the shorter breaks as well and see how we get on this year.
Always open to suggestions. (But we're not campers!)

It’s good to know we are spending money on the things we love, because I think one of the biggest barriers to those who haven’t started saving seems to be they perceive of a loss in quality of life.

I think slotting away 10,000 a month is doable for most, (English teachers) on PAY DAY. Then it’s never seen.

I think this is something I should look into this year to try and get away for a couple of days.Although I haven’t really got a scooby where to go. LoL

How did you find the costs, compared to the usual hotels in Japan?

[TJKansai]

Basketball. With sons (and locals) a couple of times a week. Only cost is shoes every 6-12 months. Gym rental is ¥3,000 a YEAR!

Camping. I have way too much gear but it lasts a decade or more.

Brewing. Actually saves a fair bit of money, and every few months we have local brewers' events where we swap beers and bbq/picnic.

Travel. We formally spent a lot on international (1-2 times a year, 2-3 weeks each time), now we spend about 30% of that on domestic.

Cooking. For me, as I can make stuff I crave. My wife appreciates not having to think about a few meals a week. Pre-Covid we would have dinner parties a couple times a year. I bought a sous vide and love it. Now I am contemplating an air fryer...

[TJKansai]

How did you find the costs, compared to the usual hotels in Japan?

We haven't done much Abnb in Japan, though I did have one in Tokyo for a week (¥4,000/night) which was better than a hotel room.

Air BnB comes out ahead in certain situations. Cleaning fees often kill the deal if you are staying less than 2-3 nights. Families usually come out ahead if staying a few nights, since a couple hotel rooms will usually be more than a Abnb that sleeps 3-4. Plus the option to save on meals by cooking can be huge.

We had a large 2BR apt in central Madrid for a week, worked out to be just ¥10,000/night. Great supermarket food and wine too!

[yakushika]

I've found great satisfaction in woodwork. I started from nothing, either equipment or experience, and have spent a decent amount on tools (drill, sander, circular saw, jigsaw, router, plus loads of hand tools like planes, chisels etc) and have a large enough shed to store wood and have a workspace. There are plenty of sawmills round here so I can get beautiful wood for tabletops and functional wood for frames at a reasonable price. I've learned a lot from the internet, and trial and error, and I have to say that I am very proud of some of the stuff that I have made - tables, shelves, boxes, hangers, table and bench for the garden etc. I've always got a project on the go and there's a real feeling of satisfaction in making something which you can use and which will last. Of course, most of the stuff you could get cheaper at Ikea or Nitori, but that is not the point. I don't see me doing this commercially but it seems to solve the equation of maximum satisfaction, time filling and not too expensive.

[Bubblegun]

I've found great satisfaction in woodwork. I started from nothing, either equipment or experience, and have spent a decent amount on tools (drill, sander, circular saw, jigsaw, router, plus loads of hand tools like planes, chisels etc) and have a large enough shed to store wood and have a workspace. There are plenty of sawmills round here so I can get beautiful wood for tabletops and functional wood for frames at a reasonable price. I've learned a lot from the internet, and trial and error, and I have to say that I am very proud of some of the stuff that I have made - tables, shelves, boxes, hangers, table and bench for the garden etc. I've always got a project on the go and there's a real feeling of satisfaction in making something which you can use and which will last. Of course, most of the stuff you could get cheaper at Ikea or Nitori, but that is not the point. I don't see me doing this commercially but it seems to solve the equation of maximum satisfaction, time filling and not too expensive.

That's awesome. There is really something therapeutic about working with nature or in this case wood. The smell, the touch, and the sense of accomplishment have all got to be intrinsically valuable.
I'm in the middle of building a model railway, and I liked just cutting, gluing, and nailing the wood together.
In fact the running theme here is, its cheaper, and a great way to save money, by investing in a skill, or hobby for ourselves which
doesn't involve hostess bars and drinking in the gaijin bars. In fact this was one of my first ever financial calculations when I came to Japan.
A PS3 cost a 40,000 yen and a one game 7000 yen. One night a week instead of going out saved me hundreds of thousands of yen over the following years.

[captainspoke]

...
Brewing. Actually saves a fair bit of money, and every few months we have local brewers' events where we swap beers and bbq/picnic.
...

Lager or ale?

From what I understand, ales are top fermenting, and at warmer temps; lagers are bottom, and much cooler.

[Haystack]

...
Brewing. Actually saves a fair bit of money, and every few months we have local brewers' events where we swap beers and bbq/picnic.
...

Lager or ale?

From what I understand, ales are top fermenting, and at warmer temps; lagers are bottom, and much cooler.

Homebrewing is illegal in Japan without a license, isn`t it?