RetireJapan

Happy New Year!

I hope The Year of the Bunny brings you happiness, fun, growth, and security.

Any resolutions? I'm drafting my annual plan as we speak, and the main focus is going to be reducing. Reducing work, possessions, spending, weight, stress, and garbage online time

My main work goal is to build RetireJapan into a lifestyle business, and my main personal goal is to strengthen relationships with friends and family.

I have a number of growth and learning goals, including returning to the FP qualification and building up my jiu jitsu skills to be worthy of getting a purple belt.

It's my wife and mine's twenty year anniversary, so we'll be taking an extended trip (maybe using a RTW ticket?).

It's also RetireJapan's ten year anniversary so I'm hoping to organize an in person event

Financially we'll max out iDeCo and tsumitate NISA, and build up some cash reserves to get ready for the eternal NISA.

How about you? Have you given any thought to 2023?

* Improving my financial literacy
* Learn about REIT in Japan
* Get N1
* Learn to enjoy life.


Aside:
How does the FP qualification work in Japan? (As in exam requirements etc)

I ask this because in my home country there was no need for these I believe and it lead to many fake gurus. I'm glad there's a qualification in Japan for it.

entdark wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 8:20 am How does the FP qualification work in Japan? (As in exam requirements etc)

The FP test is not very good at the lower levels (3 and 2) but much more rigorous for level 1. I wrote about it a bit here: https://www.retirejapan.com/taking-the- ... er-test-2/

I liked a good few of those "reducing." Spending,weight,stress and garbage online time.Of course RJ isn't wasting or garbage! But you know that. Good luck with what you hope to do with this site.It's very educational and possibilities abound moving forward. One thing for me is reducing my excuses for not doing things.Being lazy and self-employed is NOT a good formula when the wife is shouldering most of the heavy lifting.Puts a mutha of a strain on the marriage. But I get with the program,everything else will fall into place...maybe! Happy New Year y'all!

Just the usual; keep investing regularly, keep an eye on CC usage and not rage quitting work whilst there is still chance of a timely redundancy..

After reversing my covid/home working weight gain last year, my focus is to entrench habits I’ve built along with some stretch goals.

I’ve managed to average over 400km on the bike each month May-Dec(including one over 100KM ride each month). I’ve also resumed running. Just 5km once or twice a week since Sept. So the 2023 goal is to keep that up and stretch to 10km runs by March(ish).

And I’m signing up for swimming lessons this month. Aiming to learn to freestyle properly at last.
I can swim fine, had all the life saving badges in my youth. Just can't manage the face under water swimming thing. I can recall swimming a mile without even getting my hair wet!
Even now, if you were the approx weight and dimensions of a large rubber brick I have no doubts over my capability to rescue you from the bottom of the deepest municipal diving pool. Obviously you'd first need to wait for me to change into my pajamas... But I digress.

Then phase two kicks in. Get the gear to go bikepacking up near the lakes! Basically carrying a tent and supplies on your bike. Aiming for an overnight in May and then see how I go from there.
And if the fitness journey continues I’m entertaining dangerous thoughts of completing a 1k swim, 100k ride and 10k run in the same day.

Our youngest will be off to Uni come April and for the first time in 22 (23?) years we can plan trips away free of obligations. So I’m looking forward to a realxing weekend away somewhere. And finding out what my wife did whilst I was gone..

Mine is to keep a done list.

Each evening, write down what I got done that day.
Each weekend, reduce it down into noteworthy things for the week.

Hopefully 52 of those will make for a productive year. At least that's the theory

Moneymatters wrote: ↑Mon Jan 02, 2023 8:12 am...
And I’m signing up for swimming lessons this month. Aiming to learn to freestyle properly at last.
I can swim fine, had all the life saving badges in my youth. Just can't manage the face under water swimming thing. I can recall swimming a mile without even getting my hair wet! ...

As a cyclist (and a swimmer in the past), good luck with these things!

If not already, you might take a look at tokyocycle--really nice folks there.

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 3:20 am
My main work goal is to build RetireJapan into a lifestyle business

It's also RetireJapan's ten year anniversary so I'm hoping to organize an in person event

Ben, please don’t take this a criticism as I’m a huge fan of the site and all that you do - this is purely advice from a fan to try and help you maximise your product: maybe the 10 year anniversary is an opportunity for a rebrand which could assist with your goal of maximising the site as a lifestyle business?

The name “Retire Japan” to me at first glance evokes a old-fashioned web forum community for retired expats living in Japan for sharing tips on where to find safe mochi; rather than the superb resource for navigating the world of Japanese personal finance that it is.

I personally believe that if your product was called “Japan Personal Finance Guru” or “Japan Expat Finance Guidebook” or “Japanese Money Management Key” or whatever, then you would reach a far wider community and more easily be found by your target audience.

I’m sure you or other forum members can come up with a far better name suggestions than the above, but purely as friendly advice would encourage you to reflect on a possible brand (name) refresh to kick off you 10th year.

Thanks again for all the awesome work you do and Happy New Year.

FIRE Japan

I like “Rich Pricks Japan”!

New Year’s desires for me
- gain weight (muscle back ON)
- clean the range hood once every 3 months
I’ll be a happy human if I achieve both of those this year.