July Financial Challenge Thread

[RetireJapan]

I find that having a goal, a deadline, and accountability really helps me get things done.

If there is something (financial?) you have been meaning to do but haven't got round to yet, how about posting it here? We can encourage and support each other

I'm going to find a new bank account to replace Shinsei this month.

Anyone else?

[AinT]

I'll bite, I'm going to sort out my credit card situation.
I have one but don't really use it and realized I am missing out on some great point rewards.
1000 points = ￥4,000 Amazon voucher which represents about a 0.5% cash back at my current point earning rate.
Not a huge amount but 0.5% of my current monthly usage frame comes to around ￥15,000 after point to voucher conversion.

So, my challenge this month is to spend to the limit to maximize my cash back, and obviously pay it all off at the end of the month!

[RetireJapan]

I'm a fan of putting eveything possible on CC for rewards, but it's worth being aware that this can cause you to spend more than you would otherwise.

If you want Amazon points why not get an Amazon CC?
http://www.retirejapan.info/blog/review ... mastercard

[Kiyora999]

By the end of the month I have to invest my first 400000 JPY in my NISA! (and understand well the SBI platform which just look like a mess for me haha )

Then I want to find 5 good Japanese dividend stocks by the end of the month for my next investment which will be end of August^^

[Ditto]

Oh man, where do I begin. :/

Decided to embrace minimalism a few month ago. So every day, week, month has been a challenge of declutering and letting go of all things unnecessary .

Trying to refrain from impulse buying and spending on things that we don’t need or add real value to our lives.

Have 2 iDeco, 2 Nisa and 4 Juniors Nisa opened. My new year resolution was to max them all by the end of 2018. Half way done.

I would say short term goal would be to finish my outdoor/ indoor garden and have a sustainable source of fresh vegetables this year.

[RetireJapan]

Have 2 iDeco, 2 Nisa and 4 Juniors Nisa opened. My new year resolution was to max them all by the end of 2018. Half way done.

I would say short term goal would be to finish my outdoor/ indoor garden and have a sustainable source of fresh vegetables this year.

That is extremely impressive! Forza!

[JapaneseMike]

So i've finally got my NISA opened and pit 50% if the annual allowance in. My goal is to sort automation of monthly purchases so i can forget about it.

Where i'm debating is whether it's a good idea to take that approach to NISA. While putting in regularly will even out purchase prices, waiting until end of the year could mean money sitting stale in my 郵貯account doing nothing.

[RetireJapan]

I believe mathematically buying as soon as possible is slightly better (as the stock market tends to go up over time, the earlier you get in the better. Also you will receive dividends, etc.). However, you should do whatever makes you feel most comfortable.

For a lot of people dollar cost averaging (DCA) takes a lot of stress out of the purchase timing decision.
DCA = https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/do ... raging.asp

[Kiyora999]

I have the same worries too

I planned to invest 400000 this month, 400000 end of august and 400000 in october but I'm wondering if I shouldn't just invest the whole thing this month or next month now to benefit (or not...) the raise of the funds value...
Maybe because I started to buy a little of the 1550 ETF 2 days ago and that I see its prices going higher so I can buy less of it now :/

On an other topic someone told me to not buy the 1348 ETF before the distribution of the dividend (next week) because it'll become cheaper, but it's the same, I see it rising so I wonder if it'll still be a LOT cheaper after that (since we don't pay taxes on dividends, I didn't thought I would eventually make a loss if I buy now).

Timing seems so difficult but I also feel like my mind would be at ease if I just spend the money (using a little of my emergency fund)... Because I'm looking too much right now :/

[N00bster]

I have the same worries too

I planned to invest 400000 this month, 400000 end of august and 400000 in october but I'm wondering if I shouldn't just invest the whole thing this month or next month now to benefit (or not...) the raise of the funds value...
Maybe because I started to buy a little of the 1550 ETF 2 days ago and that I see its prices going higher so I can buy less of it now :/

On an other topic someone told me to not buy the 1348 ETF before the distribution of the dividend (next week) because it'll become cheaper, but it's the same, I see it rising so I wonder if it'll still be a LOT cheaper after that (since we don't pay taxes on dividends, I didn't thought I would eventually make a loss if I buy now).

Timing seems so difficult but I also feel like my mind would be at ease if I just spend the money (using a little of my emergency fund)... Because I'm looking too much right now :/

It's the good old risk/reward balance problem.

If you invest everything now, you can potentially reap more benefits since your money will be working for longer, but can also lose more in case of a crash (and lose the opportunity to buy at a lower price).

What dollar cost averaging (DCA) really does is smoothing the risk. But doing so means the rewards are smoothed as well.

My personal experience is that when I started managing my stuff myself ~2 years ago, I was quite risk-averse and DCA'd the hell out of it despite having a lot of cash on the side. In hindsight, I have missed lots of capital gains. But confronted with the same situation today (as I am still 100% in the market), I would still not put everything at once out of fear of buying the top.

Note that my reasoning for NISA is different. NISA's tax-advantage has limited in time, thus I want to maximize the time in market. If you invest in december, your investment remains tax-free four years instead of five. So as far as I am concerned, NISA will be maxed every January. And if I buy the top, there's always next year.

This excellent article (which was on Ben's weekly reading list I believe?) also puts some perspective to the fear of buying the top. What is really important is staying in the course, and letting time do its thing.