RetireJapan

So I've got only about 60,000 a month to do what I want with for investing. Just started a NISA in Feb. I've heard that diversification is key - not all your eggs in one basket. Gold, bonds, cash, etc.

So with so little to invest (vis a vis others in this forum whose numbers add a zero or more), what would you do if you only had that much to put away each month?

Some stats:
50y
one kid (maybe two)
need to buy a home soon
Non-PR

I've asked other questions on this forum and I know my options are quite limited (a.k.a the better side of a century in age), hence me seeking wisdom from others. Not sure when retirement will hit, but I can't afford to do something for 15+ years and then say, "Rats...I should have..."

Thank ya!

solo7100 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 09, 2025 4:39 am So I've got only about 60,000 a month to do what I want with for investing. Just started a NISA in Feb. I've heard that diversification is key - not all your eggs in one basket. Gold, bonds, cash, etc.

So with so little to invest (vis a vis others in this forum whose numbers add a zero or more), what would you do if you only had that much to put away each month?

Some stats:
50y
one kid (maybe two)
need to buy a home soon
Non-PR

I've asked other questions on this forum and I know my options are quite limited (a.k.a the better side of a century in age), hence me seeking wisdom from others. Not sure when retirement will hit, but I can't afford to do something for 15+ years and then say, "Rats...I should have..."

Thank ya!

Focus on getting PR first, that is pretty darn important, especially with a kid. Are you married? That route is the easiest.

Once you have PR getting a home will be much easier!

....

That is two in the bag...

...
Having a second kids at 50 is a tough call, I would definitely do it if I felt my finances where firm. I would hesitate if not.

Do you have a 3-6 month emergency fund? Do you have the birth expenses and other necessities set aside?

If yes to both, then continue on with saving and investing as much as you can monthly.

At 50 you probably want more of a cash buffer.

I'm not sure anyone can give you valid advice based on the few details you have given.

Some of the key questions are. What is your cash buffer? Earnings? Earning potential?

With that said, it might be worth investing something to get into the habit and grow your understanding of the markets. Even 5,000 or 10,000 yen a month is something.

What about iDeCo?
That saves you some income tax too.
I may be inclined to prioritize iDeCo over NISA if I were you.

Hanimal wrote: ↑Wed Apr 09, 2025 7:01 am I'm not sure anyone can give you valid advice based on the few details you have given.

Some of the key questions are. What is your cash buffer? Earnings? Earning potential?

With that said, it might be worth investing something to get into the habit and grow your understanding of the markets. Even 5,000 or 10,000 yen a month is something.

Thanks for that. What kind of details would help? I don’t even know what would need to be known to move forward on this topic.

beanhead wrote: ↑Wed Apr 09, 2025 7:33 pm What about iDeCo?
That saves you some income tax too.
I may be inclined to prioritize iDeCo over NISA if I were you.

Thanks for that. When you say prioritize, do you mean stop the NISA and go all in for ideco, or do some kind of hybrid thing?

solo7100 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 09, 2025 10:21 pm

Hanimal wrote: ↑Wed Apr 09, 2025 7:01 am I'm not sure anyone can give you valid advice based on the few details you have given.

Some of the key questions are. What is your cash buffer? Earnings? Earning potential?

With that said, it might be worth investing something to get into the habit and grow your understanding of the markets. Even 5,000 or 10,000 yen a month is something.

Thanks for that. What kind of details would help? I don’t even know what would need to be known to move forward on this topic.

I think the main point is how much cash you have to invest without stretching yourself. As mentioned by others you need a fair bit in the bank in case of emergencies before investing in stocks. Investing can be risky in the short-term so you need bare that in mind.

The owner of this website offers some financial courses I believe. You might benefit from something like that. Although I don't know the costs involved.

Thanks for that. Yes, we have about 2 1/2 months of emergency cash on hand...trying to get that up to 3 months, but at the same time have to pay bills, a little savings for now (until that emergency stash is up to spec).

I've been looking at various threads and learned a lot about NISA, iDeco, investing, etc. I'm just wondering with so little to work with what would be a wise option at this point. For example, split 50/50 into NISA and iDeco? 10/40/50 into cash, NISA, iDeco?

I mean, with the recent drop in the market I've lost about 16% of my initial investment already! And I'm just getting started...I had the mind to pull all my money out of NISA and back into a regular bank at this point...I put in x amount of money starting 2 months ago, and in that time lost 16%. Not a good feeling when starting this journey at my age.

solo7100 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 09, 2025 10:22 pm
Thanks for that. When you say prioritize, do you mean stop the NISA and go all in for ideco, or do some kind of hybrid thing?

iDeCo gives you a tax benefit. Take a look at one of the calculators to find out how much.
You could use that tax rebate to put into NISA if you want.
NISA is much more flexible, of course, but do you need flexibility to access this money? It seems that maximizing the amount you can invest is the goal.

Everyone has paper losses from the past few weeks. If you want to turn that into a real loss, sell your funds. If you prefer not to throw money away, stay calm and keep investing what you can while prices are lower.

solo7100 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 10, 2025 5:23 am I mean, with the recent drop in the market I've lost about 16% of my initial investment already! And I'm just getting started...I had the mind to pull all my money out of NISA and back into a regular bank at this point...I put in x amount of money starting 2 months ago, and in that time lost 16%. Not a good feeling when starting this journey at my age.

There are two things to bear in mind here:

1. Investing in stocks is for the long term. Statistically it is almost impossible to lose on a stock index investment covering 10 years or more, and much more likely to win.

2. The best up days in the stock market usually follow the worst down days. Like yesterday the S&P rose 9.5%, which was its biggest daily gain since 2008. The Japanese All Country ETF 2559 is up 9.8% today (as I type). Imagine how you'd be feeling now if you'd sold yesterday!