i’ve been here in japan for more than 4 years, but i still don’t have any savings. people find it hard to believe, and sometimes i do too.
but looking back, i finally understood why. aside from helping out with the finances at home, i had this mentality of “spend to be happy”.
everyone knows very well that i’m living alone in japan, and homesickness is not new to me especially in my first few years. aside from attending mass weekly, i usually travel and meet my friends in yokohama and osaka. and these are not cheap. i also try to travel in and around nagoya with new found friends. plus, dining out with friends in italian restaurants and steak houses.
and of course, shopping. who could resist the gadgets here in japan?? not to mention the 3g phones and the very fast internet. nothing here is cheap.
but i know how to save, as long as i have a goal. i usually save for my vacation back home. and i spend everything during the holidays. sometimes, i feel that i’m working so that i’d have money to spend during my vacation. lol.
now that i’m getting older (argh.. as much as i want to deny it, i have to face reality that i’m not getting younger), i feel the need to save for my future. and for this year, i FIRMLY resolve that i would. but.. BUT i’m not saying that i would deprive myself of all of these things. i would have to just lessen my expenses and be a smart, and not an impulsive, buyer/traveller.
okay.. since i’m inspired by the Julie/Julia Project, i think i also need to set some deadline and some goal. i would save 300K yen by December 2010. since this is savings, i should have a separate savings for my travel expenses on my vacation in the Philippines that time.
Ganbarimasu!
sounds familiar.
i tried to save monthly, but for some reasons, i still spend it. anyway, i will not stop saving until it becomes my habit.
i am starting again, from 3,000pesos a month in manila on an account that i cannot touch (hurray!). i am telling my husband we need it for our retirement fund.
my views about money now have changed as well. i feel bad if i could not save, even a thousand pesos a month somewhere. and i still have a coin bank for 500yen coins
instead of having the “happiness” on buying things, i forced to be happy on saving money. yeah, you should learn how to cheat yourself too.
well, first and foremost, i have to clean my credit card again. and that is a priority. but on the sides, i am saving… slowly but surely.
issho gambatte ne!
yeah, i know you can relate to this
well, right now, i still don’t have a savings account here. but i’m also trying to save in the philippines. i have a bpi account there, so that’s where i’m starting. about the 500yen coins, well, the first thing that i spend are the coins hahahaha. actually, i’m considering opening a post office account, and that’s where i’m going to save all my money.
and i guess, i also need to teach myself to be happy when i save, and not when i buy things
ja, otagai ni gambatte!