Lets Talk Jobs

 My relationship with employers usually allows me 3-5 years before I need to hand in a resignation. Not to toot my own horn, but after 3 years I am pretty good at most jobs. The movie theatre, T-Mobile in my early days. I'd say I was a very good JET by the end of my 3rd contract year. I was a great teacher by the end of my 4th year at Chuo. Most recently I left a job at Green River College after 5 years.

Mostly it has to do with challenge and pushing the envelope. Once a challenge leaves the job, and management stands in the way of doing new things, it is my signal to move on.

Employment was one of the reasons we left Japan back in 2015. I didn't want my future employment to be stuck in English teaching like a train track. I'd already taken English teaching as far as I could. I had the private contract, at a private school, created my own curriculum, felt the impact I had on students. Without getting a masters degree I wasn't going to be go much further, and teaching at University wasn't going to be much more money.

Moving back to the US it took some time (15 months to be exact) before I got the job at Green River College, and at first it was just part-time. After another 14 months, I finally landed the full-time employment I had been looking for. Had an office with a window I could call my own. The job (advising) was the best parts of education (teaching), without the dredge of education (tests, curriculum building, homework, grades, etc.) Not that it didn't have it's thorny bits, but at the end of the day it was very nice.

But I hit my 5 year mark. It was time to get a move on. I was starting to grow moss, and the challenge was waning. 

Enter IT.

While working at Green River College I completed my second bachelor's degree. This time in IT. With IT, I figured I could be in a new exciting challenge, hopefully great salary, AAANNNNDDDDD it's more portable to other countries.

I left Green River College in July for a contract position. It wasn't anything special, and was a significant pay hit. It was a night gig working from home. 4PM - 2:30AM. They would ship me the equipment and train me online. Long story short, I was good at the job. What I didn't realize however, was that I was worth more. 

Six weeks into this gig I received the first of what would become almost a daily occurrence. A recruiter reached out to me and said they had a position at Salesforce that they thought I'd be good for. I asked what it paid, and it was more than 50% more than my current contract gig. Another long story short, I didn't get that job, but it was a very clear sign that said "Hey! You are worth more than what you are doing!" 

From there I would wake up, update the resume, and apply for 2-3 jobs almost every day. I would almost always chat with a recruiter first, then chat with someone in IT, and then possibly more interview. this went on for about 6 weeks when I one of the businesses got back to me and actually had an offer! I was honestly stunned, but it met all of the conditions. Full-time, benefits, hybrid schedule, great pay (hourly, but with overtime), very cool company and culture, and lots more!

So that is the very short play of my career over the last few years. The big question might be: "What does this have to do with FI?"

Well, throughout all of the jobs I've mentioned here (Jet - New Job), I've taken almost half of each paycheck and invested it into low cost mutual funds, maxed out 401k, purchased rental properties, and even bought stocks!

I've hit one of my main milestones which was to be FI by the time I am 40, and truth be told... I AM! If I really wanted to, I could call in sick for the rest of my life and be just fine. Even better if we moved to a country with a low cost of living. 

Having said that I am still working, but brining the FI mentality to my new employment. I'm not afraid of the challenges, or not performing "to standards." I go in, do my best, work hard, and feel pretty good about it. If I was worried about money, rent, bills, car, mortgage, etc. I might try to fake it. I might not present my real self, which is unacceptable. 

I think this is what FI is about. It's not even about necessarily not working, although it is a great perk. But if you want to keep working to build a new career, learn new skills, and face new challenges, you an do so without the monkey on your back. I can be honest with my team and those I work with as I am not afraid of them or what they can do to me. 

6 Years Later

I've been trying to knock out this initial post and keep getting side tracked. It is humbling to look back and see how far a mountain we've climbed. In some ways it is also necessary to take stock and make steps for the future. So where are we?

Portfolio:

I haven't and will not be posting portfolio value. It has gotten to a very nice point, and I am hesitant to post any information about it's size. All I know is somewhere along the way I surpassed some of the other bloggers I used to follow. It is at an interesting point and this might be something worth blogging about later.

Investments:

One of the main goals I had for the portfolio when moving back to the US was to diversify more. We did just that. We now own 4 1-bedroom properties in Seattle. We rent out 3 and live in one. This has been far and away the absolute best use of money. It has allowed massive gains in the value of the properties and excellent cash flow that gets rolled into equities.

Career:

This has been great, but volatile as of recent. I obtained employment at a community college, where I advised international students. The pay was great, very good benefits, and it kept me in an industry I like. However, I have recently shifted my career leaving education to IT. I am in the early stages of this new career, but I hope for exciting developments soon.

Education:

While working at the community college I received a tuition waiver so I finished a second bachelors degree (Yay!). It was in Cybersecurity and Networking and that is the direction I hope to heading.

That covers some big wide areas, and I could probably write articles about each of them for months. Maybe I just will! :) Looking forward here is a sneak peak of the next year (hopefully).

-Continue to grow and feed the portfolio!

-Look for opportunities in IT.

-Prepare to move back to Japan! :)

Surreal

 It is in an interesting feeling going back and reading my blog. First I'm hit with the feeling that it wasn't as cringey as I thought it was. Second, I am so happy that I wrote it.

It has been almost five years since I even touched this space, and going on 10 years since I started the blog. Things have changed. Life has changed. I have changed. The portfolio has certainly changed!

I am happy to look on the 90 or so posts I wrote about living and investing while in Japan. I don't often keep a journal, so reading through this was the closest thing I found.

I'd like to start updating again. Knowing how I feel now, I'd like to be able to come back in another 10 years and check in on who I was, where I was, and see the great accomplishments.

These posts were times when I stopped and took stock of my accomplishments and challenges. Because of these flags staked in the ground, I can look back and fully understand really how far I've come. I didn't do it alone either.

That is all for now. I've said it before, but stay tuned... ☺☺

Still Here

Got control of the blog back in August, and silence until now.

I suppose a big reason for such actions is the lack of action in my investment account.  I only recently acquired a job that will allow me to start investing again.  I'd like to write a post up about it later.

One thing I will point out is that I am surprised at how my investments still increased in value over the last year despite my lack of adding huge sums of money like I was before.  In fact, my portfolio surpassed the six figure mark last month!  I took a screen shot of my Mint account on that day.

More to come...

I'm Back!

It seems I have gotten back control of this account!  Blogging will ensue.

Would you buy all your stuff again?

I opened the top closet in our apartment and took down my snowboard.  I had only just recently used my snowboard for the first time in a few years.  The padding on the bindings for some reason started to peel and got my snowboarding pants covered in black smears, like I’d walked through an ash pit.  “Well, these bindings have got to go,” I thought.  I unhooked them and put them in the Craigslist/Freecycle pile.

Then I got out my little luggage weigher and decided to check how much the snowboard and case weighed.  I hooked up the little device to the snowboard bag and suspended it in the air for a moment.  I was shocked when I saw the device read 5kg.  Wait!  5kg!?

I did the math quickly in my head.  “Okay, so it’s about 950 yen, at the cheapest, to send 1kg, and this is 5, so I’m looking at paying almost 5,000 yen (around $60) to bring my snowboard home.”  Or in other words, I am buying my snowboard again for $60. 

It’s already mine.  But, if I want to keep it, I have to pay for it.  That is how I am looking at all of my possessions as I get ready to move back to the US.  Each 1kg book, 10kg box of tools, or 10kg bike must be analyzed.

1kg book:  Would I pay $10 for the chance to read this again?  No, I wouldn’t.  Freecycle it is. 

15kg of Videogame stuff (including consoles, games, controllers, etc.  This estimate is probably high):  I do play a lot of games, and I could sell it for more than that back home.  Okay, it goes.  But I am very picky which games make the cut.

Bike:  This is a no brainer.  The bike has already paid for itself, plus.  It’s coming with me.

In the end weight is the most important, but still I’m having to buy my stuff again if I want to keep it.  I like looking at it as if I’m in a store and have a choice to buy or not.  If I really feel like I wouldn’t buy it in a store it goes into the Craigslist/Freecycle pile.

So far no DVDs, books, comic books, nor toys have made the cut.  It’s not looking good for the snowboard either.

Recent Sell/Buy

I've been meaning to update my portfolio for a while but just haven't gotten around to it.  Now seemed like a good time though, as I've done some pruning and building of my portfolio as of late.  My first move was a sell:

Sold 195.196 shares of ARCP @ $9.41

This completely cleared out my position in ARCP.  I have to be honest that this initial investment was a grab at a high yield REIT.  Then the news came out that they put out bogus numbers, just about very head honcho hit the chopping block, and they cut their dividend.  They did say that their underlying business is solid, which hey, I like that, and that's what had me holding on till now.  I was down about fifty percent on this position when it hit sevenish dollars per share.  I hung on till now as it recovered but, I need dividend income dang it!  This waiting around to see what happens does not bode well for me.  So, I'm taking my loss and moving forward.  My original investment in ARCP came in two waves totaling $2554.49 including fees, and I received $183.18 in dividends, for a grand total of  $2737.67.  I've ahold all of my position for $1836.79.  My total loss is -$900.87 or almost 33%.

This is not good of course, but it's also a good lesson for me to learn.  On the whole I'm still up, but sometimes you just need to cut your losses.  I'm out of the ARCP drama now.

I've also learned the value of investing in the old boring stall worts of the industry.  Which is why I turned around and used about half the capital from my ARCP sale to:

Buy 30 shares of AT&T @ $32.96

This is my second splash into T, and it's always treated me right.  Recent weakness made a great opportunity to add here.  Infact, I went to bed putting in the order and woke up richer as the stock had increased overnight!  You gotta like that!  Plus, I don't see AT&T going anywhere but up.  They have a great history of increasing their dividend, and people love their data.  I'm very comfortable with my position here.

The rest of the money I'll be putting to work elsewhere, but it won't be in my optionsxpress account.  I'll write about it later.

2014

2014 was certainly a year of changes for me.  My job changed from a drudge to a delight, as I shifted from teaching junior high school to high school.  The GF and I visited Dubai, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and South Korea, all for the first time ever.  We made a major life decision to move back to the USA, and leave the teaching industry.  And, we started, and continue to, decompress our lives, only hanging onto things we really need.

In the midst of all of this I'm still marching towards FI.  The funny thing is, I don't really think about it much anymore.  Saving and investing are just natural reactions to me now.

Having said that, and now that the Kechi One's fiscal year (January 15-January 14) is over I can report that I saved 49% of my income from 2014!  This is shy of my goal which was at least 50%, and I'd have been happier with 55%, but again this was with taking trips, eating out, giving presents, etc.

My portfolio is now fluctuates around $80,000 and puts out over $2,000 a year in dividends.  I've got a ways to go, but I'd say I've made huge strides.  I started investing in 2012, and in three years I feel I've built a solid foundation to spring forward from.

I haven't invested in any new positions since November, as I'm saving my money for the move coming up in March/April.  Depending on the job situation, I'm not sure if I'll be able to initiate anything new till June or July.  I'm very excited for the future and can't wait to make more progress in 2015.

I hope you all had a great 2014, and best of luck in 2015!

Decompression

My GF and I spent most of the last two and a half weeks on vacation.  It’s one of the perks of being in the education field, that I will sincerely miss, when I return to the real world in the next few months.

We were quite productive, however.  One of the goals I’ve been aiming for in this whole process is an easy and smooth move.  Moving from one country to another is already a cluster without the added stress of looking for a job, a place to live, meeting old friends, hooking up a new cell phone, bills, etc. etc.  The smoother and less stressful I can make this will allow me to put energy into other tasks.

After living in Japan for almost eight years, you would imagine that I have acquired a lot of “stuff.”  Well, despite that fact I thought I was being frugal and cutting back, you’d be right.  Both the GF and I had acquired a lot of possessions.  What to do!?  Decompress.  I find the stress of a move is directly correlated with how much you have to move.  Multiply that by ten if you’re moving overseas.  Decompressing your life is the easiest way I’ve found (other than not acquiring things in the first place) to make moving easier.

Here are some tips I’ve discovered about making your move overseas as painless as possible:

1.  Time is your friend.

If you are thinking of moving, even if it’s a year away, start now!  I can’t stress this enough.  No matter how much stuff you think you DON’T have, you probably have three times that.  Look at all those books, games, DVDs, comic books, clothing…  Remember that guy that moved away and gave you all those plastic bins, Guitar Hero guitars, mini cooler, and small BBQ?  Yep, you need to deal with that now, and the sooner you start the better.

The one thing I absolutely wanted to avoid was hauling everything out to the curb and letting the garbage man take care of it.  Why?  I think, first and foremost, that throwing things away is the coward’s way out.  That’s some strong language, but you’re the one who acquired it, deal with it like an adult.  Just throwing your problems down a whole for future generations to deal with is stupid, irresponsible, and a waste.  The person who is willing to own up to what they have acquired and responsibly reallocate it is rare indeed.  I’m not trying to toot my own horn here, but the volume of things we’ve given away vs. thrown away is on the scare of 99 to 1.  That is a ratio I can deal with.

All of this takes time.  A lot of time.  You have to go through every book, game, box, suit case, bag, closet, pantry, medicine cabinet, storage closet, and backpack and choose what you really need and what is just fluff.  The sooner you start the better.

Another reason I don’t want to just throw things away is that it’s actually really expensive to throw away things in Japan.  Many times, if you want to throw away shelves, plastic bins, or anything oversized, you have to pay for it.  I’m all for this!  I think you should have to pay to be wasteful.  Maybe if this policy were enacted in more places we would see less waste.  I’ve met many a foreigner who put a dresser or table out on the curb for garbage pickup, only to be met with a notice saying they have to pay for its removal.  

Give yourself time to go through your stuff, separate out what you want and what you don’t want.

2.  Freecycle and Craiglst are your best friend.

What do you do with what you don’t want?  Freecycle (FC) an Craigslist (CL).  Those plastic bins I keep referring to have gone to a better place.  The book shelves that held all my videogames have been dismantled and are awaiting pickup.  Our kitchen table and chairs were given away along with the bedroom mirror.

I’m all for selling what you can.  I’ve done that as well.  My George Foreman grill works really well and still has value.  I have time, so I’m willing to see if it will fetch 1,000 yen on CL.  Our Apple TV doesn’t play well with our modem so it went for 6,000 yen.  But, six perfectly usable wine glasses?  I don’t think we could even get 100 yen.  So they are free.  We received two fans that work perfectly for free.  Free in, free out.

3.  Build up a community.

Now that I’ve interacted with over a dozen people via FC and CL, I often find when I have something new to give away I’ll just email people directly. Several people have asked me to contact them if I have other things to give away. I have one guy who lives in the same neighborhood who I email before I post anything as he is usually very interested.  Is he building up his own doomsday?  I can’t live other people lives.  I hope he really needs these items and uses them.  If it keeps them out of a landfill, I’m all for it.

Things start to fly out the door when you have someone who is already interested, knows where you live, and likes your stuff.

4.  Make your stuff presentable.

Nobody wants to pick up garbage and bring it to their house.  So, clean up your old things to make them look nice.  This also works with the last point, as someone who likes the look and quality of your things will likely be willing to come back and take more.

This might all seem common sense.  And yet, year after year I see friends, co-workers, and neighbors make a mad rush for the garbage bin.  Do us, and yourself, a favor.  Start early, freecycle your stuff, and don’t let it happen again.

Changing Lanes

Fluctuations in the market over the last several weeks had my portfolio looking like Fujiyama at Fujikyu High Lands.  That's okay for the most part.  I wish I could have taken advantage of the dip but actually I'm done deploying capital for the foreseeable future.  I'm not getting out of investing, but a change of lanes on the road of life has me focusing elsewhere.

You see, about a month ago I was asked if I wanted to re-contract and do another year at my job.  I had to tell them "No."  My supervisor, and Vice Principal were both very taken aback, and I could see it was not the answer they were expecting.  I explained to them that this was the best, and longest, job I've ever had in my life.  The rewards, and challenges, were second to none, but alas, I have to move on.

Why do I have to move on?  Well, there are a few things I'm not satisfied with and I'll outline them here (in no particular order).

The Job:  One of the big things about being teacher is, of course, the students.  I get to have an impact on the lives of young people.  Not just in how I teach English, but for many of them it might be their first time interacting with a foreigner on a face to face level.  It excites me that my job is meaningful.  But, I was also the head supervising teacher of the school International Education class. This was a special class where I could teach any curriculum I wanted to a small number of students who were motivated to speak, read, write, and listen to English.  This program is ending in March.  My other classes consist mostly of conversational English, or writing classes.  I enjoy these as well, but really the International Program was the real treat.

The Exchange Rate:  For anybody that takes notice of FX, the yen is at it's weakest it's been in years. This is of course good for Japanese exports, but as someone who get's paid in the Japanese yen, it makes it very difficult to send money home.  I was very lucky to have lived and worked in Japan at the opposite end of the spectrum.  From 2010 to the end of approximately 2012 the yen was so strong it was causing headwinds for Japanese companies.  I, however, reaped huge benefits from this as my salary compared to that of Teachers (or even high tech companies) was ballooning.  It made sense to say and work in Japan when I could easily send half of my salary home and get $2,000 plus!  It also made sense to work extra jobs, and find side gigs as they also "paid more."  Well, that's all over now.  

My Pay:  As an English teacher in Japan, I was making a great salary.  Trust me when I say, the direct contract with a private school is the way to go.  It pays more than a third more then most Eikaiwai jobs, and more than any other ALT job with the added benefit of being in control of your classes.  However, my contract raise ends this year.  That is, before for every year that I re-contracted, I would receive an extra 120,000 yen a year or, a bump of 10,000 yen a month.  Pretty good!  Well it sounds nice, but actually it's a little under 3% and barely keeping up with inflation.  That being said, most other jobs don't even touch that number.  However, that annual contract raise was not part of me signing a new contract for a fifth year.

The Challenges:  I suppose a better title where would be "Lack of Challenge."  When I came to my school I was a lost little puppy, trying to make his way out of his box.  But now, I own the box.  I've become a great teacher, if I do say so myself (and I do!), and therein is part of the problem.  The challenges don't really  humble me anymore.  I do my best with each lesson I create, but I don't feel like it takes my best anymore to create a great lesson.  

Japan:  I love Japan.  This place is my home now.  I enjoy the convenience of the trains, the drinking culture, and the safety net I feel at all times.  But, it's also grown too comfortable.  I remember when I first came to Japan and everything was new and exciting.  The idea of going out to Shinjuku now just doesn't hold the same air of excitement it did even just a few short years ago.  Sure, I'm getting older, and my tastes are changing, but I find myself no longer interested in even studying the language.  I've plateaued.  I'm read to move on and one day come back to Japan fresh, and hopefully financially independent.

Home:  I've said it before, Japan is my home.  I will always consider Japan a place were I can take my shoes off and relax by the fire (or under the kotatsu is a better analogy).  But, I still have friends and family back in the states that I haven't seen for years.  I'm really looking forward to reconnecting with people.

I could probably go on and on, but I'll stop there.  Life is such a strange beast when you stop and look at it.  Almost eight years ago I got off the plane at Narita Airport not sure of my future.  Now, looking forward, I'm in a very similar position.  I'm not sure were my life will lead me in the coming months, but I have to say that I am filled with so much more confidence. 

When I stepped off that plane eight years ago I was almost $40,000 in debt.  Now I have an $80,000 plus portfolio that provides almost $2,500 in income annually.  Sure, I'm not going to be living the high life on that, but I know that I always have money for food.  If worst comes to worst I'll be able to eat while I study to learn a new skill, or go through interviews.

It's very sad to think I'll be leaving Japan.  I have so many good memories here, and it will be difficult to make the transition back to life in the states.  But, in the end, it will help me grow and improve as a person, meaning I'll enjoy it just that much more when I come back.

Portfolio Update November 2014

I've had little bit of action in the last month, including a sell.  I'm pretty happy with the way things are going lately!

I recently decided to get some money back to work for me in my Vanguard account, so when my money hit my account I decided to put $2300 into the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares (VTSMX).  Things brings me up to a total of $8571.56 in VTSMX and 166.537 shares.  My average cost per share is $47.380 and the current price as of this writing is $51.47.

I have been looking at getting more money to work for me in the stock market as a whole.  I am very often torn between the Dividend Mantra "seek out strong companies at a good value," and the Jim Collins "just throw into in an Vanguard index fund and forget it," methods of thinking.  They both make very valid arguments!  So rather than throw all my eggs into one basket I've been using both methods to invest.  So far it's been working great!  I'm up on all Vanguard accounts, and there have been very few losses on the individual company front.

One day I think I'd like to move everything to index funds as it's less to think about, but catching huge yields on companies like on SBSI or NSC has kept my looking for the next opportunity in DGI.

My portfolio's total value cracked $80,000 for the first time every just before I made this last purchase.  A new five digit value is something that I like and keep me motivated.  After this last purchase my portfolio was at $82,296.  Not bad for an English teacher right?

 Rounding out the action was actually a sell order.  Back in I got in on the GoPro IPO via Loyal 3.  I managed to get in about $250 at an average price of around $32.  GoPro has seen it's up and downs, but I decided to sell my position here for a few reasons.  First and foremost, GoPro doesn't pay a dividend.  I'm not sure if they will start to pay a dividend or not.  Second, GoPro was just a fun thing I tried as I had never been part of an IPO before.  I honestly wasn't sure what it was going to do, but it's been up as much as 150% at times.  I've held the stock for almost six months now however and realized it's time to take my money somewhere else.  It was fun, but this stock doesn't really belong in my portfolio.  To be honest Twitter is also on this list, but I'll wait a little bit longer.  Finally, I figured it's a good time to sell for tax reasons.  I'm still going to be way under the line for taxable income and this was a good time to sell.

All in all I'm feeling very good!

That's a Wrap! Bike Paid Off!

That fateful day has finally come!  My trusty bicycle which I bought and started riding exclusively in 2012 has paid for itself and then some.  I've been collecting transportation reimbursements for my employers, as well as money I've made using Runkeeper and Pact app, which has now exceeded the cost of the bike plus all of the tools, accessories, and expenses associated with the bike put together.

As of my most recent calculation I'd spend $3038 on bike expenses.  I'll list them out here.

Bike	$1,000.00
Lock	$360.00
Pump	$37.50
Pedals	$20.00
Handle Bar Bag	$126.73
Fenders	$60.64
Lights	$40.00
Breaks	$62.50
Transportation	$10.50
Knog Lights	$100.00
Bike Bag	$162.00
Map Case	$30.00
Break Cleaner	$3.65
Chain Cleaner	$12.00
Brushes	$5.00
Lube	$8.00
Tire	$40.00
Tubes	$50.00
Tire	$36.59
Rack	$60.22
Panniers	$123.68
10mm bit	$11.00
Torque wrench	$32.00
5 Plyers set	$19.00
Shifter	$2.00
Brake cables	$10.00
Bike Parking April	$15.00
3 Month Pass (May-July)	$44.00
Water Bottle	$10.00
Handle Bar Tape	$10.00
Water Bottle Cage	$8.00
Helmet padding	$10.00
Seat Bag	$12.00
3 Month Pass (Sept-Nov)	$44.00
Tool box	$2.00
Pannier back pack	$36.00
Pannier accessories	$24.00
Shifter cable	$3.20
Shifter cable x 2	$6.40
Ferrels	$1.60
One month pass (June)	$16.00
3 Month Pass (Dec-Feb)	$44.00
3 Month Pass (March-May)	$44.00
Chain	$30.00
Crankset	$100.00
Cog	$30.00
Tires	$65.00
Brake pads	$16.00
3 Month Pass (Sept-Nov)	$44.00

I'd been keeping track of everything in excel, and due to the fact I live in Japan and most of these items were bought in Yen so I've rounded to the nearest dollar figure based on the exchange rate at that time.  I tracked everything as accurately as possible, but I might have missed some screws, or a one day parking expense here or there.  Still this is pretty close and the simple fact that I've been paid over $3000 dollars to ride my bike is pretty solid evidence that a bike is worth it.

I'll now list out the transportation money I've been paid to take the train but instead rode a bike.

October Exp	$377.50
Pact app	$120.00
May Exp	$54.00
June Exp	$215.78
Berlitz	$160.00
July Exp	$207.00
August Exp	$140.00
August Exp*	$15.00
September Exp	$18.00
October Exp	$54.00
October Exp*	$60.00
November Exp	$225.00
December Expense	$185.00
January Expense	$120.00
February Expense	$113.60
March Expense	$96.11
April Expense	$174.75
May Expense	$60.00
June Expense	$194.00
July Expense	$198.00
August Expence	$126.00
September Exp	$59.46
October Exp	$120.00

Total $3093.20.  As you can see I've exceeded what I've paid for the bike by $54.99!  That's right, now is my bicycle not only free but it's actually put $55 on the table!  In addition the $3092.20 I've collected actually exceeds the $3041.94 I've collected in lifetime dividends!  You read that right! Living in Japan and riding a bike has actually paid me more than an approximately $75,000 portfolio!  

That to me is really amazing!

I'd also like to point out the Pact app amount of $120.  This is real money that I've been paid to track my bicycle activities using Runkeeper and then collecting money through Pact app.  This averages to about a dollar a week.  You might think that's not very much but think about it like this:  KO currently pays out 2.85 percent.  If you put $1000 into KO you'd get $28.50 back per year.  It would take more than $2000 invested in KO to pay out the same kind of money.  Just by riding my bike I'm able to displace $2000 in needed investment capital.  If you still don't think that's very much I'll give you my paypal address and please send me $2000+, because clearly you're bad with money!

One last thing I'd like to point out is that I haven't included the "opportunity savings" of not owning a car.  I would never own a car in Japan as they are just too expensive to drive, service, and store.  But imagine how much my bike would have saved in if I'd included the money kept by not owning a car, not paying for gas, insurance, maintenance, parking, storage...  You get my point.

I'm sure one day my dividend income will certainly take over and the money I've received from biking.  But if you want to add some nitrous oxide to the gas tank while driving down the road to financial independence then might I suggest you get a bike.  I can think of no quicker way then a bicycle to take down one of the big three, freeing up capital to invest and lowering your expenses permanently super charging your way to early retirement.

Let's see what another two years brings.

Taking Down One of The Big Three

Anybody who has been in this FI "game" for longer than a month knows the strategies.  Decrease your expenses and increase your income without lifestyle creep.  The more you can decrease your expenses the further your income will go.  The more you can increase your income the more capital you can invest.  It seems like basic FI abc's.

Of course decreasing expenses is the easier of the two to do, and what springboards most people through their first few months of paying of debt, then saving and investing capital.  Increasing your income is, of course, quite valuable, however it's easier to cut out a latte every morning or cut out the cell phone than ask your boss for a raise.

A typical first worlder has three expenses that will take up most of his or her income transportation, food and housing.  In transportation I include anything that goes into getting you from point A to point B.  The includes the cost of the car, insurance, gas, parking, repairs, maintenance (nobody likes a dirty car!), tolls, etc.  I have been lucky enough to not only cut transportation down to zero dollars a month, but actually have my main mode of transportation become an income producing asset!

Well I'm taking the sludge hammer to the expenses again and this time going after the biggest of the big baddies, rent.  My story might not really be all that interesting on the surface, but it's what I've come away with that is the lesson.  In face the story is just my GF and I moved to a cheaper place.  That's it.  I've cut my monthly rent from approximately $500/mo to around $310/mo.  I'm a little bit farther from work and still getting used to the new area, but that's about it.  Like I said, not all that interesting really.

What I find fascinating here however is how long it took me to make this move.  I've been on the road to FI for almost two and half years now and only just recently decided to make this move.  I lived at my old place for almost four years.  Within those four years I never once hopped on the net and tried to look for a new place.  I unconsciously just told myself "There is nothing better and you're in a great location!  Besides your rent isn't that bad anyway."

I suppose that might have been true.  Before moving my rent was about 15-20% of my paycheck.  Not bad, but not that great.  I was also close to friends, and not too far from lots of attractions.  But then a friend of mine moved and I heard how much he'd be paying for a similar place to ours, and it got me thinking, "Why not just take a look?"

I did and found a place that now puts my at rent being less than 10% of my paycheck!  That's a savings of almost $2400 a year!  That's real money!  To put it on other words I just wiped out my prefectural taxes.  Or I just gave myself a 6-7% raise.  To put a finer point on it had I moved here from day one I'd be more than $10,000 closer to FI once you include dividends and appreciation.

The realization that I had become complacent was not something that I wanted to admit, but there it was.  The greatest realization however, I think, was now I'm looking for other areas of my life I've let slack.  Food?  Entertainment?  Let's find out...

Finding Motiviation

You don't need me to say it, but here it goes anyway.  I've been neglecting this site.  Just look at the amount of updates since January?  Two?  Yeah, that's full on neglect.

"Why?"  It's not like I've given up on my dream of very early retirement.  I haven't stopped investing in dividend paying stocks.  I'm still living a low cost lifestyle (at least compared to others in a first world country).  My income and expenses are still updated almost daily.  I'm still riding a bike to 90% of my destinations.

So what's the rub?

Motiviation.

I lack it.

How do you find motivation then?  Well, finding it in other people is a start.  I recently had the opportunity to hook up with the excellent blogger of fifighter.com during his time here in Japan.  We had some beers, ate some great chicken (Torikizoku is so good!), and sang some sweet sweet karaoke.  Somewhere in there we also talked a lot about investing.  I was particularly interested in what he had to say as his road to FI is through real estate investing, while mine, so far, is through dividend growth stocks.  Both have their advantages and disadvantages of course, but a lot of what he said made sense and the numbers really don't lie.

While I'm living here in Japan it makes sense to continue on the path I've started on, but if/when I return to the states, well, boy do I have a lot to think about!

Not only did I get a lot of information from him, but there is nothing like meeting a successful investor in the flesh to fill your typing figures with motivation.

I feel a new urge to try and communicate with the world where I am at in my journey.  Here's hoping it lasts and lasts.

Mental Wins

When I first started on my journey to financial independence I looked for every last scrap of blog post I could find in order to motivate myself to keep pushing forward.  This world, weather your in Japan or Jersey, has many temptations, and almost all of those cost money.  The goal however was to not just save my money but to invest it wisely so that over time my passive income would grow larger than my expenses and at that moment I would have the choice to exit the rat race.

Ohhhh so tempting....

It's not always easy.  I'm a big gamer and with new consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One (both of which I could run out and buy right now if I wanted) as well as the number of games they promise, it's very difficult not to purchase them with the click of a button.  I also like technology and my "screens."  For the last four or five years I've survived on a 24" Samsung TV that displays everything in beautiful 1080p, its just in 24 inches.  I'm constantly tempted by much larger 40 and 50 inch TVs.  Heck, even a 32 inch is technically a 100 % increase in screen real estate.  But, no.  I've managed to avoid all that lifestyle creep.

Not exactly what I have but you get the idea...

How?  By reading others blogs and following others' stories.  One such man is the one and only Dividend Mantra.  This man needs no introduction, as if you are reading my blog, I'm sure you've read his.  DM is a monster when it comes to blogging and picking winning stocks.  I can't lie, a bunch of stocks I've purchased have been based on his advice.

I followed his blog religiously, and remember very specifically an article he wrote that struck a jealous chord in me.  It was back in May of 2012, and I was just a little beginner still excited by each email I would receive from OptionsXpress about an incoming dividend (I still get excited, it's just they come so often now!).  DM, because he is the man, keeps great records and is willing to share them with all of us online.  He updates us every month on the value of his "Freedom Fund," his name for his portfolio that will set him free.  Let me preface this by saying that I completely understand he puts very little value in the value (hehe) of his portfolio.  By that, I mean, his barometer for success is his dividend income not the overall value of this portfolio.  In fact, many times he's stated he wouldn't mind seeing the value of the overall market (and in correlation the value of his portfolio) fall so he can pick up stocks at a better price.

Having said that, it still holds true that the bigger the value of your portfolio the more dividend income you're likely to receive.  You'd have to agree it would be very difficult for a $10,000 portfolio to bring in the same kind of dividend income as a $68,000 portfolio.  So, you'll understand when back in May of 2012 I read DM's post about the value of his portfolio reaching $68,000 while I was sitting there with just under $10,000 in all of my investment accounts.  Granted DM had been investing for a good year or two before me, but still it's hard not to look how far others have climbed and realize how much farther you have to go yourself.

Well, it was quite the mental win for me when just this last week I was updating my spreadsheet and low and behold, my total portfolio value crossed the $68,000 mark!  I couldn't believe it.  I was now that guy standing tall, on a milestone peak that just a few short years earlier I was looking up at!  It felt great and I really needed to tell the world!

Again the value of the portfolio is really just a mental win, the real victory is the financial win because my forward annual dividends crossed $2,000 a year!  That's right!  I've basically bought back more than a month and a half of my life, every year, for the rest of my life!  That to me is amazing, and quite motivating to boot!

Whew...  That was a lot of exclamation points.

What's interesting about this is that it didn't "seem" so difficult.  Staying the course has become easier.  I don't mean it's always easy to not spend money and invest it, and I don't mean the journey hasn't been long (two and half years at this point).  What I'm trying to say is that it seems very natural, to me, that I'm where I'm at now.  I suppose that makes sense as I've watch my investments grow every step of the way.  Watched and tracked how my dividends have increased and seen the compounding effect of time.  I'm sure this must be how it was for DM, and every other blog I read about where people are investing and chasing their dreams.  However, when I was starting out it I had to fight just to obtain $8.00 a year in dividend income.  Now my portfolio generates this and more automatically.

There are still many other FI bloggers out there with portfolios bigger than mine, and that's fine.  We are all going to the same destination, we are just taking different roads and at different points on those paths.  I'm not a very competitive guy but I do like to see where I measure up with others who are similar to me.  Who knows, maybe somebody reading this is in my position two and a half years ago. If you are, let me tell you, stay the course.  It's worth it.

Bike Update

This blog has been dormant for quite some time. I haven’t felt the inspiration for any new posts, especially when I read other blogs that seem to cover exactly what I would have written about anyway, and they did a better job.  I can’t promise that anything is going to change dramatically after this post either, but I suppose it’s good to wipe away the cobwebs every now and then. 

I sat down recently over one of my many excel spreadsheets and updated some numbers only to find that I am within striking distance of one of my long term goals:  having my bike pay for itself

I probably could have done a better job giving updates on this but to make a longer story short, back in 2012 I decided to invest a pretty big chunk of capital into a nice bike, $1,000 to be exact.  The fun didn’t stop there however, as I also needed a lock, riding glasses, tools, parts, etc.  I’ve kept track of everything and the total so far is $2,685.21.  Yep, the accessories, tools, and equipment cost more than the bike itself.

But I wanted all of this stuff for free.  No, not just free.  I wanted it to make me money.  I wanted my bike to become an income producing asset.

In Japan, your employer pays for your transportation to and from work.  So, if you have to take the train and the fare is 500 yen your employer will then refund you 500 yen on your next paycheck.  If you ride your bike however, you can pocket the 500 yen (500 yen is about $5).  My train fare to work is almost double what it is in my example, 900 yen.  So every day that I decide to get on the ole war horse and bike to work I get to pocket almost 9 bucks.  That money really adds up over time, enough to even cover the cost of the bike and its satellite costs.

I started back in September of 2012 and since that time I’ve collected $2,305.74 in work related travel compensation.  That leaves me with only $379.47 to go.  I’m confident that by August or September not only will my bike be paid off but it will start paying me!  Notice how I haven’t included a single cent from not having to pay for gas, insurance, car maintenance, car parking, etc. in my calculations.  If I were to include that cost savings as well, my bike would have been in the black many months ago.  Nor am I including the money that my money is making from being invested.  Again, it would just put me into the black faster.  But, I’m only looking at cold hard cash that I have collected in hand. 

Even more than the money is the health related benefits.  I wasn’t overweight before so I wasn’t looking to drop any pounds, but I feel confident that I can drink a few beers during the week and not have to worry about it.  I sleep soundly at night, and my GF says I’m looking the best she’s seen in a while.  It also feels good to know that I am in the beginning of my 30’s and probably the healthiest person in my group of friends.  I think of this time as a critical point where if you don’t start taking care of your body it’s going to take more time and energy to dig yourself out of a hole.  The sooner I start getting in fit condition the easier it will be to keep my body like that.

I’ve also learned more about my community and neighborhood.  In case of another earthquake I would know how to get home in case public transportation stopped.  I could even help other foreigners who might not know the way.

When I owned a car I knew how to change my oil, and put gas in the tank (or waste money rather).  Anything else beyond that was beyond me.  Now, I’m my own mechanic.  I’ve learned how to change brake and shifter cables, align my derailleurs, clean a chain, replace brake pads, and use clip-less pedals.  Just about the only thing I haven’t done yet is change my bottom bracket, but even that wouldn’t take much effort.  The beauty of a bike is in its simplicity.  Anybody can look at one and pretty much “get” how it works.  Then it’s just a few youtube videos to learn the tricks and you’re off and running.  I never used to have confidence in my car because it was always braking down, and I even had good mechanics in my family.  But with a bike I never ever have to worry again about being late or abandoned on the side of the road because of an overheating radiator, or a failed alternator.

The only drawback that I can think of is that I don’t get an hour and a half on the train to read, study, listen to music, or play videogames anymore.  Not that that’s a bad thing, and not that those activities can’t be done any other time of day.  I still find a lot of time to sit in front of the old TV.

I suppose the only thing I might have done differently was to look at a used bike versus a new bike.  Unfortunately I was on a limited time line when I bought my bike, plus I got a great deal on it from the company that makes my bike.  Still, I could have saved probably another $500 or so by searching Craigslist more. 

Portfolio Value Reaches $50,000!

I never thought I'd ever write that title, especially if you asked me 22 months ago.  But just yesterday I bout 56 shares of KMI which pushed my total portfolio value to more than $50,000! 

That put's me half way to my first $100,000, which most people say is the hardest.  I believe it now.  I've seen the money that I socked away start to trickle back to me in dividends and capital gains.  Once I get to the magical 100k mark the journey to 200k will be supported by that raging inferno. 

A short update after a long long pause but I feel good.

2013 3rd Quarter Dividend Updates

I save as much of my capital as I can every month in order to invest it into equities and index funds that will one day cover my expenses so that I can break out of Shawshank.  How am I doing now?  I noticed a drop in growth in my dividend income this quarter.  This was due to some purchases that I made after the ex-dividend date, meaning I didn't receive any income from those companies this quarter.  It is unfortunate but I'm not going to let that stop me.  My time line is not "4th quarter 2013."  My time line is "the future."  I picked up good quality companies at great prices.  I will be holding this portfolio for years to come so one missed quarter won't even be a blip on my radar.

Here are the dividends I received in quarter three 2013:

KO	$8.60
PM	$6.86
T	$15.22
COP	$21.16
KMI	$11.82
NSC	$10.54
INTC	$16.47
AFL	$5.64
AAPL	$18.43
SBSI	$14.73
JNJ	$10.42
MCD	$18.37
O	$6.72
PEP	$8.83
VNQ	$9.05
VBINX	$15.45
VTSMX	$13.44
VFIAX	$68.21

Total:  $279.96

This is a 13% increase over quarter two 2013 of $247.99 and brings my 2013 total up to $715.10.  My goal is to hit $1000.00 in dividend income for the 2013 calendar year.  I'm 71.5% of the way there.  I'm very confident that I will hit my goal.  Just looking at the math side of things I'll make at least $279.95 in quarter four plus any new purchases.  Very exciting!

August - September Expenses

I'm still around!  Haven't fallen off the earth yet, but some days that doesn't sound too bad.  The work cycle is back in full gear and will continue until winter break in December.  I shouldn't complain but that doesn't mean I won't.

I've been doing alright on the financial front.  The last few months have been gang buster on the income side.  I'm pretty sure this year will be the most money I've ever made and hopefully saved/invested.  Let's break into it.

Income
Paycheck:  ¥340,736
Part Time Job:  ¥33,104
2nd Part Time Job:  ¥25,585
TOTAL INCOME:  ¥399,425

August was a huge month for bringing in money.  I was on summer vacation from my main teaching gig so that allowed me to work more at other jobs and to increase my income.  This is nothing new and if you've kept up with my blog this is something that I've wanted to do for a while.  Normally I go home to the states but this year the GF and I took a short trip to Singapore, but for about six or seven solid weeks I had open wide and free.  Rather than using all that time playing video games, or watching movies (which I did do), I made some more money.

Expenses  (In Japanese Yen):

Rent	50000
Eating Out	42983
Groceries	14778
Transportation	9470
Bills	12552
Entertainment	4576
Misc	500
Alcohol	13632
Bike	5410
Medical	2550
Present	315
Travel	39860
Clothing	2000
Missing	225
Lodging	33448
Fees	460

Expenses ballooned this month as, like I said, I had lots of free time.  I didn't spend all my time working and did spend a lot of time with friends which led to beers and a few nights out on the town.  Still all of that taken into consideration I feel pretty good about my expenses here.  Travel and lodging really bumped my expenses for the aforementioned trip to Singapore.

TOTAL EXPENSES:  ¥236,520

TOTAL SAVINGS:  ¥166,666
SAVINGS RATE:  41.37%

My savings rates for the last few months have been:


July-August:  58.68

June-July:  52%

May-June:  64.07%

June-July:  52%

April:  47.34%

March:  42.85%

February:  65.43%

January:  47.36%

My average savings rate for the year is now:  52.43%.  My goal for the year is to hit 55%.  I've been saying this all year as my savings rate has slowly inched up, but I think I will hit this savings rate before my January 14th when my financial year ends.