FIRE in Japan

[StockBeard]

Haha yes I can totally relate

[Ryuuku]

Thanks for all the replies, especially from Stockbeard for the in-depth explanation. I knew a fair bit from my limited reading of previously mentioned literature, but learned so much more.

I probably should have been clearer- I'm not actually planning to retire before 65, which is why I still want to get into iDeCo, too. I just want to do the FIRE thing without the "RE" part, if that makes sense; set myself up some accounts to accrue a vast amount of points through things I do and pay for anyway (hence rakuten), and set up an efficient, reliable portfolio, preferably with respectable dividends and other small payouts (gifts from the company, that sort of thing) in a way to get my living costs down as much as possible.

The "saving money" and "frugal living" parts I have no problem with, it's mainly the bigger financial things I'm particularly unsure of (such as investing) as I'm from a family raised on welfare and have absolutely no background experience regarding it. On top of that, jumping into something which already unnerves me in a language which, while I'm proficient in, still not entirely comfortable with 専門用語 and technical explanations in Japanese in which a に or an を could mean the difference between me getting the money or me paying the money just instills even more uncertainty in me, which is why I asked here.

Kinda like being in the scorching sun but worried about how deep the lake is. I know I need to jump in as soon as possible, but the irrational fear is a b*tch, ya know?

[StockBeard]

still not entirely comfortable with 専門用語 and technical explanations in Japanese in which a に or an を could mean the difference between me getting the money or me paying the money just instills even more uncertainty in me

I can totally relate here as well.
In my case, the solution for that was to get the general idea from US based blogs and forums (mister money mustache in particular), Japan specific information from this forum, and then basically have my (Japanese) wife run through all the paperwork to ensure what we were signing for was actually implementing the things I believe to be right.

If you have a Japanese partner, maybe that's an option for you as well?

[Ryuuku]

I have a Japanese partner, yes. But we're nowhere near on the same page when it comes to money, though that's something I wouldn't want to get into on here, I'll just say it's a work in progress.
Again, glad to hear I'm not the only one with this fear, though.

[gaijinkun]

Hello everyone!
How would you search/filter dividend paying shares and funds on SBI ?

[adamu]

I'm just wondering what you all would recommend to do, portfolio priorities, etc. if you were aiming to a similar thing (FIRE in Japan, basically.).

I probably should have been clearer- I'm not actually planning to retire before 65, which is why I still want to get into iDeCo, too. I just want to do the FIRE thing without the "RE" part, if that makes sense; set myself up some accounts to accrue a vast amount of points through things I do and pay for anyway (hence rakuten), and set up an efficient, reliable portfolio, preferably with respectable dividends and other small payouts (gifts from the company, that sort of thing) in a way to get my living costs down as much as possible.

Missing out the RE makes the advice change, because FIRE with the RE is about saving at all costs in order to retire early. Without that requirement, we can be much more casual.

We should probably have a getting started guide / checklist. Maybe there is one? Here's my version (it only uses stocks, not bonds. I may add bonds later):

1. Save as much money monthly as you can. 50%+ is good. 30% is respectable. This is money that you never intend to spend, so doesn't include saving for big expenses.
2. Work out your annual expenses. Put the money towards a 3-12 month emergency / freedom / flexibility / peace of mind / FU fund in cash. Do this first, although it can take a long time. If you start immediately investing in stocks and the market drops, you may be be forced to sell at a loss to cover immediate requirements, or may panic sell. So starting with cash savings is important. Rough guide is 1-3M yen, but it completely depends on your living expenses and risk tolerance.
3. Open a NISA (Tsumitate or Regular). I use regular because I like the big numbers. Put the maximum amount each year into ｅＭＡＸＩＳ Ｓｌｉｍ 全世界株式（オール・カントリー）
4. Open an iDeCo, put the maximum amount in monthly. Ideally I'd buy the same fund as above, but on my broker (SBI), it's not available in iDeCo, so I do this, which is a rough approximation of the above fund:
   • ｅＭＡＸＩＳ Ｓｌｉｍ 先進国株式インデックス 80% asset allocation
   • ｅＭＡＸＩＳ Ｓｌｉｍ 新興国株式インデックス 12% asset allocation
   • ｅＭＡＸＩＳ Ｓｌｉｍ 国内株式（ＴＯＰＩＸ） 8% asset allocation
   Remember to claim this on your year end tax form / tax return!
5. For any extra savings, buy the same fund as the NISA - ｅＭＡＸＩＳ Ｓｌｉｍ 全世界株式（オール・カントリー）in a taxable 特定口座 account

You can open an NISA and iDeCo each for yourself and your wife, for maximum tax savings.

I really hope the eMaxis Slim recommendation turns out to be good. It's a young fund - previously I bought Vanguard ETFs directly because there didn't seem to be any comparable Japanese options. After a few years, it would be interesting to check it against Vanguard's all world fund, to see how it's performing.

[Ryuuku]

Definitely saving that post, in addition to Stockbeard's, thanks adamu!