Four years ago, we decided to stop renting and finally buy our own place. For the longest time, we thought we’d be renting for the rest of our time in Japan. We didn’t want to be tied to a multi-decade mortgage. We didn’t even apply for permanent residency because we believed only people applying for…
Tag: finance
Why We Don’t Own a Car in Tokyo (And Don’t Miss It)
We sold our last car in 2013, thinking we might miss the convenience. Over a decade later, we haven’t looked back. Living in Tokyo, we’ve found that owning a car just isn’t necessary—and in many ways, it’s more of a burden than a benefit. Getting Around Is Easy Without a Car The train station, which…
Moneytree Review
I have been using Moneytree for a couple of weeks now since I posted my first blog about it, and I believe I am ready to give my short review. Who Moneytree is for? This is for both Japanese and foreigners living in Japan, who want to manage their personal finances including expenses, on their…
Moneytree – Promising New Personal Budgeting App
On the way home from work, I chanced upon this article featuring how this small Tokyo startup is getting funding from big Japanese banks — Mizuho, MUFJ, and SMBC, not to mention Salesforce, which is one of the world’s largest technology companies. This is notable news in Japan because Japanese banks are notoriously risk-averse, and…
Blogging For Money
You might notice some changes in my blog site. You will notice ads below the banner and on top of the sidebar. I tried to make them as discreet as possible so as not to scare off all my readers… all both of you. 😀 In theory, if you would click on those links, I…
Return of the Super Yen
Just how strong is the yen right now? It’s so strong it’s cheaper to buy a book from Amazon US than from Amazon Japan! I bought a book from Amazon US and it only cost me 3,283 yen and that includes international shipping. Buying the exact same book from Amazon Japan would cost me 4,459…
State of the Mutual Fund
After much hesitation, I decided to check the status of my mutual funds and see how it has been performing so far. I’ve been making regular monthly contributions for almost two years now. Gain/Loss Percentage: -28.61% Sadness.
iBank 3 is Out!
iBank 3 is Out! For a long time when I was still a Windows user, I’ve used Microsoft Money to manage my finances but since moving to the Mac, I found it hard looking for a Mac alternative to Money. It’s very nice and it blends very well with the whole Mac experience — meaning…
Rico Learns to Forex
Ten days ago, I opened a test account with a popular American Forex broker. They initially gave me $50,000 to play with and using this fake amount, I was able to practice buying and selling currencies in real-time using their software. In ten days, my $50,000 is now $58,904! That’s like saying I earned a…
Midnight Black Account
I just sent my application for a Shinsei Bank account and I must say, the hardest part in filling up the application form was choosing the color of the bank card. They have 32 colors including Big Sky, Orange Juice and Cherry Blossom. I ended up choosing Midnight, because I know It’s as close as…
Ang Yen Laban Sa Piso
Kumuha ako ng data mula sa Oanda at ito ang nagawa ko… ang pagkukumpara ng Japanese Yen sa Philippine Peso mula nung unang dumating ako sa Japan nuong June 19, 2000 hanggang ngayon, April 2, 2006. Ito ang mga napansin ko… Kapag meron pa kayong gustong idagdag na observations, mag-iwan lang kayo ng comment.
Brand New o Segunda Mano
Ngayon ay nalilito ako kung brand new ba o segunda-manong kotse ang bibilhin ko. Maganda kung brand new dahil makasisigurado akong walang gas-gas, hindi laspag, amoy bago ang loob at nasa perpektong kondisyon ang kotse. Maganda rin naman kung segunda mano dahil sa parehong halaga ay makabibili ako ng mas malaki at mas magandang modelo….
Enrico in Tokyo 