October 31, 2018　=========

☆  discretionary  自分で使える

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Happy Halloween! Is Halloween becoming more popular in Japan? It is becoming very popular in Australia – but it’s really just a marketing trick to get people to spend their discretionary income! Any money that you spend on things other than the necessary items of shelter, food, and clothing, is your discretionary spending. So, buying chocolate and decorations for Halloween? Definitely discretionary spending!

Hobbies, travel, luxuries, entertainment, these categories of spending are all discretionary, too. If you have a budget, then it’s important to have these discretionary categories, too, right? Otherwise, you’ll be saving a lot of money, but you’ll probably feel really restricted and unhappy. FindingRead more about Today’s Word: discretionary[…]

October 30, 2018　=========

☆  mindless  思慮のない

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The Q&A for this month is, “Do you have a budget?” and one answer is, “Yes, this way I avoid mindless spending.” Mindless spending is where you really don’t think about what you are buying and why you are buying it, you just want to buy it. Remember my son, that is an expert in whining? He’s also an expert in mindless spending! Oh dear!

He’s too young for a budget, of course, however, I think it is time to teach him about working for money. Maybe if he earns his own money by doing jobs like gardening and cleaning the car for me, then he mightRead more about Today’s Word: mindless[…]

October 29, 2018　=========

☆  essential  絶対必要な

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Something that is essential is extremely important and absolutely necessary. One of the things I find fascinating about money as a topic is what people think is essential. Most people of course think that the three essentials are shelter, food, and clothing. Somewhere to live, something to eat, and something to wear. I think this is a common view of essentials, right?

But what else would you consider essential? Having lived in Japan and Australia, where the health care systems are so good, I wouldn’t say that private health insurance is essential, however, if I lived in the USA I would definitely say it is. I haveRead more about Today’s Word: essential[…]

October 28, 2018　=========

☆  cave in  降参する

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Oh wow… this is the PERFECT word for me and my son! If you cave in, it means that you suddenly stop arguing or resisting, and just give in to what the other person wants. My son really knows how to get me to cave in. I wish I could resist him, but he is really, really good at whining!

So, now, instead of caving in and buying him what he wants, I give him pocket money, and he can save or buy what he wants. Except of course, he always forgets to bring his wallet when we go shopping! So then of course he whinesRead more about Today’s Word: cave in[…]

October 27, 2018　=========

☆  donate  寄付する

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Donating money and things to charity is really common in Australia. When people clear out their homes and find things they no longer need they donate it to the local charity. The local charity then puts it in their secondhand shop and sells it. The money they make goes to the charity, supporting homeless people, dogs, mental health, cancer and so on.

Unfortunately, just last week, there was a big news story about people donating things to charity that were basically trash. The clothes and other items were not good enough to be sold by the charity, so the charity had to pay money to dispose ofRead more about Today’s Word: donate[…]

October 26, 2018　=========

☆  indulge  気ままに～する

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If you indulge in something, you allow yourself to have or do something that you know you will enjoy. When it comes to the topic of saving money, then obviously indulging in expensive things too often or without thinking is not going to help you reach your goals. However, the idea of the “splurge fund” that I talked about the other day is so that you have a set amount of money each month that you can use to indulge in whatever you want, without needing an excuse.

Last winter I got sick of getting wet feet in the rain, so I indulged in a pair ofRead more about Today’s Word: indulge[…]

October 25, 2018　=========

☆  conflict  対立する

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If your ideas or beliefs conflict with someone else’s it means that they clash, and are different from the other person’s ideas and beliefs. I guess you can imagine that when ideas and beliefs conflict on the topic of money, it can be a pretty tough situation! It seems to be quite common though, financial stress in a relationship is the number one reason for divorce in Australia!

The interesting thing is that it doesn’t matter if the couple has a comfortable income, a high income, or a low income. The reason is that the couple are conflicting over beliefs about money and how it should beRead more about Today’s Word: conflict[…]

October 24, 2018　=========

☆  go without  なしで済ませる

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If you go without something that you want or need, you do not get it. So, if you are trying to save money, you might go without your regular morning Starbucks coffee. Many of the finance books I’ve read all talk about the reason most people don’t use a budget: most people don’t want to use a budget because it means they will have to go without the things they want.

Naturally, the authors all say that having a budget actually means you don’t have to go without. The reason they believe this is that a budget makes you think about what you really want toRead more about Today’s Word: go without[…]

October 23, 2018　=========

☆  estimate  見積もる

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If you estimate a quantity or value, then you make an approximate guess or calculation of it. Most budgets work by getting you to estimate your income and expense for the month ahead and then allocate your spending according to how much you estimated. I used to do this, but it wasn’t long before I realized that I always estimated incorrectly – I estimated my income too high and my expenses too low! Big disaster! Ha ha.

Now I use a budget where you don’t have to estimate your income. Instead, you don’t allocate your income until you actually get it. That way there is no needRead more about Today’s Word: estimate[…]

October 22, 2018　=========

☆  allocate  計上する

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If you allocate something for a particular purpose, you use it for that purpose. So, for this month’s topic, you can talk about your budget and how you allocate your money. Like I mentioned the other day, the Australian financial adviser I follow recommends that you allocate 60% of your income to daily expenses. Then allocate 20% to your emergency fund. Then allocate 10% to your short-term goals. And then allocate the final 10% to your “splurge fund,” which is money that you can splurge (Oct 6th word) on anything you want.  

I like the idea of allocating my money into goals and money for splurging.Read more about Today’s Word: allocate[…]

October 21, 2018　=========

☆  personality  性格

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You might be wondering what the word personality has to do with the topic of saving money. Or maybe you already know that we all have different money personalities. It turns out that there is a new industry in the USA, and it’s a hybrid of financial planning and psychology: it is “financial psychology”. Have you heard of it?

Financial psychology is all about finding out what your money personality is, and taking steps to make the best of your personality. There are four main types: Money Avoidant (these people don’t want to be greedy), Money Worshipper (these people think more money will make them happier), MoneyRead more about Today’s Word: personality[…]

October 20, 2018　=========

☆  balance  残高

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The balance in your bank account is the amount of money you have in it. Back in the “olden days”, you could go into a bank and say to the teller, “I’d like to check the balance in my account please.” However, these days, you would probably just use the ATM to check your balance. Or even your phone! In fact, I can’t really remember the last time I used an actual person or ATM to check my balance. All my banking is done online or on my phone.

When I do use the ATM to withdraw money, I always take the receipt or choose “no receipt”Read more about Today’s Word: balance[…]

October 19, 2018　=========

☆  strategy  戦略

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A few years ago, I read a book about a 9-Step strategy for financial peace of mind. I thought it would be great because it was written by an Australian guy, so it was suitable for my situation. When I read it though, I felt it didn’t match with the financial strategy I was currently using – which was from the USA. So, I decided not to follow his 9-step strategy and kept using my American system.

Fast forward to September 2018, and I had a big AHA moment about how the American software I currently use can fit within the strategies that the Australian financial advisorRead more about Today’s Word: strategy[…]

October 18, 2018　=========

☆  emergency fund  臨時予算

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An emergency fund is the money that you budget for… can you guess? Yes, emergencies! Too easy! The problem in Australia is that most people don’t have an emergency fund. This means they have no peace of mind, and that if they have an emergency – car breaks down, kids get sick, they lose their job etc. – then they have no money to help them cope with that situation.

Most finance experts recommend that your emergency fund should be at least 3 to 6 months’ worth of your expenses! That way, if you do lose your job or get sick, then you have enough moneyRead more about Today’s Word: emergency fund[…]

October 17, 2018　=========

☆  peace of mind  安心

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If something gives you peace of mind, it stops you from worrying about that problem or difficulty. All of the books I have read about finances suggest having enough money for peace of mind. All the authors suggest having some savings set aside just for emergencies. This will give you peace of mind because you know you won’t need a credit card or a loan if you have an emergency. And of course, they suggest that you save for your retirement.

Knowing that you will have enough money for retirement, can give you the biggest peace of mind possible. In Australia, most older people whoRead more about Today’s Word: peace of mind[…]

October 16, 2018　=========

☆  expense  出費

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Yesterday we talked about the money that comes in, your income. Today, we’re talking about the money that goes out: your expenses. An expense is something that costs you money. So, for most people, the obvious expenses are rent or mortgage payments, food and clothing. Most finance books say that those are the three expenses you cannot avoid. You have to have somewhere to live, something to eat, and something to wear.

However, any other expenses are things that you can cut out to save money. For example, instead of buying a coffee each morning from Starbucks, you can make coffee at home. Or you can “brownRead more about Today’s Word: expense[…]

October 15, 2018　=========

☆  income  収入

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Your income is the money that you earn or receive from your company for working. In Australia, owning your own home is the “Australian Dream” but the house prices are very high as we are in a property boom. There are often news articles about families on low incomes and whether they can afford to buy their home or not.

The book on investment that I am currently reading says that 60% of your income should be used for daily expenses – including rent or mortgage. The other 40% of your income should be used for savings and investments. However, like the newspaper articles, this is almostRead more about Today’s Word: income[…]

October 14, 2018　=========

☆  affordable  手頃な

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This week’s useful phrase is “I’m looking for an apartment in an affordable location.” In Australia, the prices of houses and apartments varies greatly depending on the location. Even just the suburb name or city name can change the price from affordable to ridiculously expensive! So, the new house, with more bedrooms and a garden in a bad location will be more affordable than a small, old house in the “rich” suburb.

Is this true in Japan too? What affects the price of an apartment or house? Is it the location? The size of the property? Are older houses more affordable than new ones? When you areRead more about Today’s Word: affordable[…]

October 13, 2018　=========

☆  broke  金欠の

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This is an informal word which means you have no money. You can use it in these kinds of sentences:

I hate being broke all the time!
When I was a student, I was so broke, I only ever ate Cup Ramen.
What do you mean you’re broke, you only got paid yesterday!
Don’t ask me to pay, I’m broke too!

Another funny sentence you might hear about this word is that someone is broke because their money finished before the month did. In other words, they have a few days left in the month, but no money.

Have you ever been broke? What did you do to get out of thatRead more about Today’s Word: broke[…]

October 12, 2018　=========

☆  automatic   自動的な

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One of the best things you can do for your financial future is set up an automatic savings plan. In Australia, you can often ask your employer to do this for you. So, for example, if your salary is $5,000, your employer takes out money for tax and for your retirement before paying you the money. This is automatic, so your salary would actually be $4,000 in the bank (for example).

However, you can also your employer to put part of your salary into another account before you even get it. That way, from your $4,000 payment, the company pays $3,000 into your bank account and $1,000Read more about Today’s Word: automatic[…]

October 11, 2018　=========

☆  emotional  感情的な

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I think that one of the biggest barriers to becoming financially independent is the emotional feelings that come up when we are talking about money and trying to make financial decisions. In fact, some research has shown that people who feel that they are emotional thinkers tend to put off making decisions about money and things like saving for retirement.

Interestingly though, the research also found that those emotional people felt able to make lifestyle decisions quite easily. So, the researchers suggested that they should think about “a decision about your life in retirement” (an emotional lifestyle decision) instead of thinking about “a decision about financial investmentsRead more about Today’s Word: emotional[…]

October 10, 2018   　=========

☆  logical  合理的な

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Something that is logical seems reasonable or sensible in the circumstances. So, in a financial situation, many books talk about debt and the logical choice is to pay off debt before starting a savings plan. Does this seem logical to you?

The financial guru that I follow says this is actually not the logical thing to do. He suggests that if you have $100 spare cash, then $50 should go as a debt payment and $50 should go into savings. He says this is the most logical solution because emergencies always happen, and if you pay off debt but don’t also put away money, then whenRead more about Today’s Word: logical[…]

October 9, 2018   =========

☆  realistic  現実的な

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You can use realistic in two ways when talking about your financial situation. Firstly, you can be realistic about your situation, meaning that you accept and recognize your situation and try to be practical about it. For example, you might need to be realistic about how much rent you can afford to pay each month if you want to live in Tokyo. In other words, you need to have a realistic view of what you can afford.

The second way is to set a realistic goal for your finances, meaning a goal that you can reasonably expect to achieve. For example, you might want to sayRead more about Today’s Word: realistic[…]

October 8, 2018      =========

☆  cautious  控えめな

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Are you cautious and careful with your money? From what I have seen while living in Japan, most Japanese people are cautious compared to Westerners. When I lived in Japan, credit cards were not very common, and most people saved money. In America and Australia, most people have credit cards, and a lot of debt. Unfortunately, being cautious and careful with money doesn’t seem to be common in these countries!

The quote for this week is by Joe Moore, an American celebrity, and he says, “The time to save money is when you have some.” This seems to be a cautious and good way to thinkRead more about Today’s Word: cautious[…]

October 7, 2018 =========

☆  review   （支出などを）見直す

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Do you review your spending? As I said earlier in the week, I track my spending, down to the last cent! The only thing I don’t do that much is actually review my spending. At the end of the month, I always plan to go back through my spending and review where I spent money and what I spent it on… but then I forget!

One book I read recommended that at the end of the month, you review your bank statement or credit card statement to check your spending. He suggested categorizing each expense so that you can easily see where you are spending money.Read more about Today’s Word: review[…]

October 6, 2018　=========

☆  splurge   散財する

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If you splurge on something, it means that you spend a lot of money, usually on things that you don’t need. I just saw the movie, Crazy Rich Asians. Have you seen it? I really enjoyed the movie, so I splurged on the e-book, and the two other books in the series, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems. I read the first book very quickly. And am now reading the second one, China Rich Girlfriend. They are fun books, but all of the characters splurge on such expensive things all the time, it’s like a whole other world to me!

For example, one character in theRead more about Today’s Word: splurge[…]

October 5, 2018　=========

☆  track spending  (支出を）記録する

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Do you track your spending? I use an app to track my spending. I record both incoming and outgoing money. I’ve been tracking my spending for years! Most of the time it is easy and I enjoy doing it, but sometimes, I get busy and forget to record something, so I need to think hard about where my money went so that I can track my spending accurately.

Last weekend for example I was missing $8… but because it was school holidays and we had been busy, I could not remember where I had spent the money. Did I buy a snack or some drinks? AnRead more about Today’s Word: track spending[…]

October 4, 2018　=========

☆  cut down  切り詰める

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If you use the word cut down in a financial situation, you mean that you spend less money. You can also use this word to do or use something less, for example cut down on coffee, or a businessman who wanted to cut down on travel and spend more time with his family. So, here are some examples on how you would use this word in a financial situation:

You always spend way too much on eating out, you should cut down!
If you are spending more than you earn, can you find ways to cut down?
Why not look at your credit card statement and see ifRead more about Today’s Word: cut down[…]

October 3, 2018          =========

☆  blow  浪費する

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If you blow a large amount of money, you spend it quickly on luxuries or in a wasteful way. For example, you might go to the casino and blow all your money within 30 minutes. Have you ever heard about lottery winners who win a huge amount of money and then just a few years later have no money again? This is usually because they blow all their money on luxury items and big houses and giving away money to family without really thinking!

Interestingly though, many financial gurus suggest that you have “money to blow” each payday. So, of course you put away money forRead more about Today’s Word: blow[…]

October 2, 2018      =========

☆  regret  後悔する

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Have you ever regretted anything you have bought? There’s nothing worse than the feeling of regret when you’ve spent money, right? Once, when I first started my business, I bought an online course that said it would include weekly coaching and help me get my website started. Of course, it didn’t! The course was terrible, and so was my coach…

I instantly regretted buying the course, but I couldn’t get a refund. Of course, nowadays, it’s pretty easy to get a refund for things you buy online, as most businesses offer a 100% money back guarantee, but still, many people feel regret, and even feel foolishRead more about Today’s Word: regret[…]

October 1, 2018　    =========

☆  put away  貯金する

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Ooh, this month’s topic is Saving Money! Another favorite topic for me! Last month, a famous Australia financial “guru”, The Barefoot Investor released a new book for families – apparently it is the only kids’ money guide you’ll ever need. When I went to buy the book, it was $25 (expensive!!) However, the shop assistant said if I spent over $40 they gave me $5 cash back… so I looked around the store to find another $15 to spend on books! Ha ha!

How ironic, I’m buying a book on financial advice, which recommends putting away money rather than spending it, and yet I wasRead more about Today’s Word: put away[…]