March – April Expenses and 1st Quarter Dividends

Things have been quite hectic lately with my school moving locations, a new route to bike, new students and lesson plans, etc.  It doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about investing however or living a frugal life.  I can always do better at both but just giving it a shot puts me on the front lines of a happy fulfilling life where my time is my own.

I track my expenses from the 15^th of one month to the 14^th of the next.  Here is what happened from March to April (Numbers are in Japanese Yen):

Income:

Paycheck:  299,904

Part-time Job:  18,394

Questionnaire:  500

Selling stuff:  1,240

TOTAL:  320,038

My income was pretty much where I thought it would be.  Down quite a bit from February but that’s only because February had quite a spike in it with the STEP Eiken test and discovering 50 hours of unused vacation time from my part-time job.  Next month I will receive a raise at work (which was forgotten on my April check so I’ll get double the raise in May) and also start receiving travel expenses monthly.

Expenses:

Rent:  50,100

Eating Out:  45,364

Groceries:  10,578

Transportation:  4,950

Bills:  6,696

Entertainment:  1,200

Alcohol:  4,817

Bike:  18,666

Medical:  550

Present:  25,701

Videogames:  1,515

Lodging:  12,770

TOTAL:  182,907

SAVINGS RATE:  42.85%

AVERAGE SAVINGS RATE 2013:  51.88%

Expenses came in a bit harsh this month with some winners and a few losers.  I bought my GF a nice present for Valentine’s Day in February which means I had to pay the CC in March.  A few drinking parties with the new teachers at my school plus the spring break bug to get out and catch some brews with friends had me forking over more cash for “catheter and tube” drinks.  Bills and Medical were wayyyy down and have been down compared to last year.  I canceled my postpaid phone and went prepaid in January and I’ve been taking much better care of my teeth so my dental visits are just for checkups and maybe an x-ray. 

My yearly goal for the year is to save 55% of my income.  So far my average is 51.88%.  I’m not very worried about this going forward as I mentioned I’m receiving a raise at work and I’ll start to collect transportation expense for the train even though I am taking my bike.  In addition I don’t have any big plans for the summer so I will try to get some time in at my part time job while still collecting a paycheck from my employer (I get paid summer, winter, and spring breaks).  In addition there are still two more STEP Eiken tests this year which will help to pad my bottom line.

1^st Quarter Dividends

As I buy more stocks I get paid more dividends.  It’s that simple really.  My first quarter of 2013 saw a blowout compared to last year.

Total Dividends Received 1^st Quarter 2013:  $178.96

Total Dividends Received 1^st Quarter 2012:  $44.17

Wow!  A more than 300% increase over last year!  I’m pretty happy with that!  Of course the best part is that all of these dividends are being reinvested so they will pay me more the next time around.  And if the company decides to increase the dividend, well, it just doesn’t get any better. 

Double Whammy

As anybody investing in stocks knows the market is pretty expensive right now.  Almost anything that I bought a year ago is up ten to twenty percent!  The market has recovered all of its value that it lost in the crash of 2008 and I'm not sure if it is showing any signs of slowing down.  Of course this makes things like the value of my portfolio look nice but in reality it's not the game that I want to be playing.  Not that it's impossible, but it is certainly more difficult to find value in this market.

Another problem that effects us expats is the exchange rate.  As any expate living abroad and sending money home is aware the exchange rate is like an extra hoop you have to bring into the equation.  For expats it's having to line up two scopes before we can pull the trigger on a deal. 

In the last two or three years living in Japan has been great!  The Japanese yen grew to new heights that had never been seen.  Of course this was not good for Japanese businesses as their products were now more expensive and exports fell.  But for us expats using yen to buy US dollars it was a breath of fresh air.  I never thought I'd ever see the day when 75 yen would buy me 1 US dollar.  Those were the days I lived in for the last three or so years.  It was like everything was 25% off including stocks, plane tickets, and gadgets.

This is not the story as of late.  Due to a change in the Japanese government, renewed consumer confidence, and an aggressive stimulus plan the yen has taveled back to being on par with the US dollar.  This means a big change for me and my salary. 

I did my best to abstain from squandering my money on frivilous items and focused on putting everything I could into stocks even during the days of a strong yen.  But I also developed an expectation of how much I could buy with my yen.  For an example let's say I was making $60,000 US dollars last year.  I did my best to save and invest and mangaged to achieve an almost %50 savings rate.  Now my salary has fallen to almost $45,000 a year.  If I continue at the same spending rate as last year my savings rate will fall to almost 33%.  Of course this isn't a complete apples to apples comparison but the point is my yen will no longer buy me the huge number of shares that it used to.

This has led me to a cross roads where I have to make a few important decisions.  Do I pick up another job and try to earn more?  Do I continue to invest in US dividend growth stocks?  Do I change my focus to the Japan domestic  market?  Where can I reduce expenses more?

Honestly I haven't made a decision yet concerning any of these.  Any other expats out there what's your take on the situation?