The Monday Read: Golden Week approaching
The longer I live here the more I appreciate Golden Week For anyone on the Japanese annual schedule (year starts in April), these first four weeks are exhausting. So the gods (or previous Japanese governments, I guess) have given us Golden Week to make up for it. It is perfectly timed, arriving majestically just at […]
The Monday Read: Take a deep breath
Halfway to Golden Week Today was glorious in Sendai. Wonderful weather, warm, cherry blossoms are still out. Went to jiu-jitsu in the morning and had an okonomiyaki party at the in-laws’ in the afternoon. We’re halfway to Golden Week. These first couple of weeks of the year are always brutal (classes at my wife’s school […]
GUEST POST: Easily filing your taxes in Japan as a freelancer or small business
Today’s guest post is for people who might need help filing their taxes: freelancers, small business owners, etc. Robert runs a service helping people learn to use software to do this easily and reduce the time and stress involved with filing taxes. Personally I also need to get better at this kind of thing, so […]
The Monday Read: Full-time work and RetireJapan
There are only so many hours in the day Had my first week of full-time employment, and I drastically underestimated how exhausting and time-consuming that would be. Despite my best intentions, I was not able to publish a new blog post, nor upload a new YouTube video. Now, some of that was due to the […]
The Monday Read: happy new year
New year, new you? The new year in Japan starts in April. January to March is just the tail end of the previous year, so it doesn’t have to count. How is 2024年度 shaping up for you? Any exciting projects on the horizon? RetireJapan TV The next episode of RJTV will be on April 15th […]
Understanding price and value
Possibly the most important aspect of personal finance Price and value are at the heart of money and personal finance. Money is a store of value, and value is subjective Each person is going to have a different perception of value. How much are things worth to you? How much value you get from a […]
The Monday Read: Last week of the year
Starting the year in April I have kind of grown to like the rhythm of the years in Japan. Starting everything in April seems right now. Accordingly, this is the last week of the 2023 academic and work year. People are finishing up jobs and graduating from schools. Next week they will be starting new […]
Guest Post: Turning Japanese
Naturalising in Japan as a UK national This is a guest post very kindly submitted by Thomas after I pestered him to write it. I am also considering naturalising and giving up my UK citizenship, so I was very interested to read this comprehensive and personal account. Take it away, Thomas! “I think I’m turning […]
The Monday Read: Mission Accomplished
Finishing a big job We finished the latest cohort of our flagship course, Your First Ten Million Yen, today. Had a wonderful group of participants and the new flipped format of the course was really enjoyable to teach. I can’t believe it is over. (sign up for news about the next one here) I need […]
The Four States of Personal Finance
What should your focus be? Last year we ran a poll on social media. The results were pretty consistent! YouTube Twitter LinkedIn The results didn’t surprise me. But I am not sure I agree with the results. Do you need to make more money? This might seem like it obviously applies to everyone (more money […]