“100 Small Money Habits of People Who Save 100 Million Yen” \ stacker news ~BooksAndArticles

I picked up this book because I’m keen to know how other people think about money. 100 married ladies each contributed a money-saving tip to “100 Small Money Habits of People Who Save 100 Million Yen”. Some of their tips are not applicable in my context, but I find them fascinating nonetheless. I translated the stuff that caught my attention and made me think about money in a different way.

Small Money Habits

Sleep early. Sleep well. Save on electricity. Mind can spin and think well, thereby reducing food expenses.
Do housework in the 30 minutes before your kid wakes up. Also check your blog and today’s schedule.
Sleep at 9pm and wake up at 4am to luxuriate in two hours of me time.
Stop revenge procrastination and doomscrolling. Sleep is the best prevention against impulsive buying at night.
Do preparatory work (下ごしらえ) for that day’s dinner while making breakfast and bento lunch in the morning.
Similarly, when you make dumplings, be sure to keep some filling in the fridge to be used for the next meal.
Invest in time-saving electrical appliances like a dishwasher. Activate the robotic cleaner to vacuum the house when you’re out.
Give yourself grace to make dinner with frozen foods so that you don’t feel frustrated with yourself and spend beyond your budget.
Read regularly to sharpen your thinking and broaden your ability to consider issues from varied perspectives.
Make a memo when things cross your mind so that you can switch back to work mode quickly.
Make it a habit to journal your experiences so that you can look back on them and find hints to solve your challenges when you encounter similar obstacles in the future.
Do stretching exercises at home to save on gym fees.
Set up tents at parks and have picnics to save on entertainment expenses.
Play Pokemon Go while taking strolls at the park.
Make mugicha (barley tea) for the whole family before going out to save on beverage costs.
Have a fixed place for all items in your house so that you are clear about the stock and won’t buy a second set by mistake.
Make your home so cosy and inviting that you don’t really feel the need to go out.
Put your household items in transparent cases so that you know whether to replenish them at a glance.
Be discerning when buying clothes. Only choose clothes with colours and shapes that make you look good.
Keep your closet at 80% capacity to make it easier to keep track of the clothes you own.
Buy the same design in multiple colours.
Engage in a side hustle during pockets of free time and earn small earnings (プチ稼ぎ)
Get kids to decide which of their preloved toys and clothes to dispose of. Upload them on second-hand goods app to sell them away. The money gained can be used as pocket money for kids. Kids will also receive a financial lesson as they learn how to make money instead of throwing things away.
Rakuten allows you to use the points you accumulate as capital to buy investment trusts with Rakuten Securities. You can start with as low as 100 yen, which takes the stress off investing.
Select stocks that give shareholder benefits in the form of meal vouchers for your kids’ favourite restaurant chains or local specialty products. That way, you won’t panic even if the share price drops temporarily.
Make it a routine to apply for bounties (懸賞) early to increase your chances of getting rewards like hotel stays and snacks.
Plan when you intend to have takeout or dine out so that you can find coupons to offset the costs partially.
Use popular hashtags like #貯金達人 and #ポイ活 to find people who are good at publicising exclusive deals and discounts.
Express thanks to your husband for bringing home the bacon.
Only buy something when you can think of at least three benefits it can bring to the home.
Put on makeup even when you don’t intend to go out that day.
Pamper yourself with occasional treats from the convenience store. Keep your stash of snacks separate from that of your kids. Don’t let them know about your secret stash.
Read books to ground yourself and relieve your stress.
Start the day well by brewing fragrant, good quality coffee.
Make your dreams visual by hanging a vision board in the living room. Alternatively, make a list of your dreams and goals in your notebook so that you can enjoy the sense of satisfaction derived from crossing them off your list.
Buy Christmas and New Year frozen foods in advance (say, the 2nd week of December) to save on costs.
Grow your own vegetables, especially those that will enliven dishes with their bright colours.
Do something not typical in your quotidian life, such as having a barbecue at the backyard.
Recreate signature dishes from various restaurants at home to make yourself feel pampered.
Make simple dishes that can be prepared in 5 mins. Use pasta sauce or yakiniku dare.
Set aside a beer budget so that you can buy beer cartons and drink alcohol cheaply.
Divide your shopping list into “must-buy items” and “only buy when items are cheap”. If the prices for the second group of items are not palatable, forgo these items and keep your your budget.
Place your grocery receipt on the fridge and cancel the items when you use them as ingredients for your cooking. This helps you keep track of the things you have bought and reduce food wastage.
Use vegetable cores and peels for okonomiyaki. Add cheese to turn it into a divine dish.
Designate a “No Spending Day”.
Make all your financial assets visible within one glance (一覧表)
Draw a life plan, indicate the ages of all family members, and indicate their key milestones. Having a visible life plan helps you to know what to save for within predetermined periods of time.
Sign up for an electricity plan that charges usage at lower prices at night and in the early morning. Wake up early to complete household chores and take advantage of the low prices.
Put a ¥10,000 bill that ends with 9Z in your wallet as a good luck charm.
Have a money meeting with your other half to review your income and expenditure every quarter.
Make categories like food, daily items and entertainment and just write down the expenses. Make it easy for yourself to continue keeping track of your expenses.
Record down expenses so that they can serve as a reference for you to predict your expenses for the following year.
Refrain from using a credit card. Even if you must, keep it to one credit card so that you can stay on top of your finances.
Deposit coins into a piggy bank at the end of every day. Money saved will be dispensed to kids for their spending.
Make money visual. Withdraw your entire salary and apportion them according to expense categories. Put the required amount of money for each category into an envelope.
Use a 3-pocket pouch to manage your budget easily. (1st pocket: Daily expenses, 2nd pocket: Weekend expenses, 3rd pocket: Savings)
With a bit of flexibility, things will work out roughly as planned. (少し緩めでざっくりがうまくいく)
Anticipate big annual expenses beforehand and divide them into 12 portions. Be sure to save enough for one portion every month to lessen the burden.
Present to the family your homework and explain why you want to buy something. A contributor’s daughter researched on 7 handphone models and presented her report to the family.
Write more than 100 things you want to achieve every January, including the places you want to go, the foods you want to eat, and the people you want to meet. Look at your list every two days and cross out the items. Doing so helps to boost your motivation throughout the year.

Thoughts After Reading This Book

My parents-in-law enjoyed beef pepper rice from Pepper Lunch the most when they visited me. They really cooked it for themselves when they returned to Japan. (My wife is Japanese.)
Reading all this makes me sense the resolve and resilience of Japanese homemakers who work hard to manage their financial matters at their fingertips. Advance planning, finding good deals, recording down expenses, managing a stress-free life. I particularly admire their doggedness because some of their systems seem pretty elaborate and forward-thinking.
I think the Japanese are really good at creating experiences that enable them to feel rich and contented. It would do me good to adopt this mindset.