Saving Money: Create a Budget

For this post, I'm straying from my pictures and diary of what I've been doing in Japan. We're talking about financial stuff today!

You're in a new country with a steady job and let's face it, you have a list of places you want to go, things you want to do, foods to eat and clothes to buy. And let's not forget your apartment that needs to be furnished! But wait, you haven't forgotten about paying rent, utilities, insurance, social security, phone, cable/internet and other bills right? Somehow that paycheck looks a little smaller than it did before you added all of those factors.

My parents have always been very frugal, wise and smart when it came to spending money. They could afford to buy a lot of things, but rarely did because they decided to invest in their children and to save up for their retirement in the future. I owe everything I've learned financially to them because of their lifestyle. Coming up here, they encouraged me to try new things and to create new experiences, but also told me a piece of advice that they have used throughout their lives: Live below your means. Just because you can afford to buy that new speaker system doesn't mean you have to get it. Would you die without it? What's the worst thing that could happen if you didn't get it?

Upon hearing their advice, I decided to create a budget for myself. My dad told me to "always pay yourself first" when you get a paycheck. That means, you pay the things you need to: rent, utilities, etc.- things that you have to pay. Another thing that should be in there is money for your savings and Roth IRA (Individual Retirement Account). I took these into consideration and made my own budget. I started with the salary that I make every month and then added categories for things that had to be paid at the top: social security, health insurance, rent, utilities, phone, and internet. Those are all fixed prices (utilities will vary depending on your usage of water, gas, AC, etc.) Adding a miscellaneous category for any home repairs or additions (ie. cups, hangers, a new microwave if yours dies, etc.) was another thing I added. After looking at the amount I needed to pay, I would write down how much money I had left for every category.

After those came things that were also important such as transportation (we get reimbursed for that, but I wanted to add it to keep track) to get to and from school as well as groceries because no one wants to go on an empty stomach.  These numbers may vary depending on your lifestyle. For an example, if you need more food than others, then your groceries category may be higher than others.

Once I made sure I had enough money for those, I added categories for my savings and Roth IRA. These are essential for everyone else and myself so I made sure to put aside a substantial amount for both of them. If you haven't started a Roth IRA yet, I highly recommend that you do. Starting to save up for your retirement while you are young will only help you in the future. The most you can deposit into your Roth IRA for the 2013 year is $5,500 so you cannot deposit no more than $458 a month.

Lastly, I added a category for trips and my "leisure spending". Being in a different country, you will undoubtedly want to travel and putting money aside specifically for this can help you keep track of how much more you need to save for that two week vacation to Korea. Leisure spending includes eating out, shopping, transportation to places other than your school, drinking, etc. So if there is something that you really want to buy that is a bit expensive, save up for that special purchase :)

I hope this proves to be somewhat useful for you all! Sorry for such a long post. I'm very grateful to have parents who taught me so much about saving money. Thanks Dad and Mom! :)
And remember to "live below your means"

Bon Odori: A night of tradition, music and fun!

Happy Tuesday みんなさん～！The weather has been very nice lately with cool breezes  :)

This past weekend, my friends and I decided to go to our first Bon-Odori matsuri in Japan since our arrival and it was such a memorable night :)

A Bon-Odori is a traditional festival that is held during the summer where people honor their ancestors and remember what they have done for us. Many people dance in a circle around a tall stage/scaffold  where taiko drums are played to keep a steady beat. Every song has a special meaning behind it and each region has a local dance in addition to different music.

 I have always wanted to attend one in Japan, so it was truly a very humbling experience for me. This event allowed me to wear my yukata for the very first time! That was enough to excite me from the start. Having never worn a yukata before, my friend, Karyn, was gracious enough to help me with mine ^^

The Bon-Odori was held at a winery in Seishin-Chuo and seeing the women talking together in their favorite yukata with their geta and fans made me smile countless times throughout the night.

They even had a program where you could rent a yukata for the night for FREE! With that and a few encouraging words from us, a few of our friends (and a new friend!) decided to wear yukata for the night. I think it made their night a lot of fun :) Karyn wore her own pink and purple yukata while the others enjoyed wearing their free yukata ^^

The best part of the night was getting into the circle around the stage and dancing to numerous songs. Some were familiar while others were brand new to me. However, by watching the women in the inner circle, I was able to eventually catch on and had so much fun! Even people who did not know the dances at all would join in the circle and follow the movements of everyone else. I was sad when the festival finally ended, but I was able to walk away with so many fun memories, new friends and a deep appreciation and gratitude for my heritage.

Thank you so much for reading! :) I will update the blog when I can and really do appreciate you being so patient with me~ have a wonderful week!

Kobe Nightlife

Last weekend, some of the new JETs and I decided to stroll around Kobe from late afternoon to mid evening and it was quite an experience! We come from all over the world in this group: Canada, New Zealand, Trinidad, California, and Hawaii :)

As we were strolling around the shopping district, we happened to come across a magnificent view of the port area and I couldn't resist taking a picture. Many locals were eating dinner outside on tables or sitting down and enjoying the view with us :) To the far left is Kobe Tower which stands at 108 meters tall and next to it is Kobe Port Tower Hotel. To the far right is Oriental Hotel that undoubtedly offers beautiful views of the area as well.

The famous Kobe Port Ferris Wheel was right next to us and for 800 yen, you can buy a ticket to ride in one of the cars! I was sold in an instant and the view was absolutely breathtaking. You could see a panorama view of the port on the right and a spectacular view of downtown area on the left from the top of the Ferris wheel. I definitely plan on riding it again in the future :)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful Aloha Friday and a relaxing weekend! :)

Tokyo Orientation Pictures

Since I finally got internet, I can upload some pictures!! :)

When we arrived in Tokyo, we were greeted by so many friendly faces who enthusiastically pointed us toward where the buses were. They essentially formed a line from the terminal all the way to the baggage claim area and out the door and down the sidewalk until we saw lines of buses.

We were able to explore the city after checking into our rooms at the Keio Plaza Hotel and it was such an amazing experience! The humidity took its toll on us, but it was so much fun to walk around and peek into all the stores.

Some stores are several stories high and each floor sells specific merchandise. For an example:

The first main floor had glasses and sunglasses, the first floor above it sold casual watches, the 2nd floor sold more high-end watches, the 3rd floor sold fitness and brand bags and the 4th floor sold clocks (I bought my alarm clock on that floor!)

The Hawaii JETs were all pretty close since we spent a lot of time together during pre-departure events and at the airport. We decided to go for a round of karaoke and needless to say, it was a blast :D

Night life can be such an adventure :) My friend and I were on the 29th floor of the Keio Plaza Hotel and our view of the city was exquisite to say the least~

That's my Tokyo Orientation summary! I wasn't able to take pictures inside the hotel during our workshops because there wasn't any time since we were constantly on the go, but I got a shot of one of the many chandeliers that hung in the lobby...

Thank you so much for reading! I'll upload more pictures of Kobe life soon :)

Japanese Food Displays

I'm a sucker for Japanese food, but what continues to amaze me on a daily basis are the food displays that restaurants and shops put out on display for hungry customers like me to see what they sell and give in to my hungry tummy and go inside. Apparently these are called さんぷる, or sample, and are handmade from polyvinyl chloride. The market for these in Japan is huge and the plastic models are custom-made for different restaurants to look identical to their food which blows my mind.

Hungry yet? The details and texture of the fake food never fails to impress me. Always a great strategy to entice potential customers :) I wonder how long it takes to make a set of these....

Would seeing these on display encourage you to stop by for a bite to eat? :)

UPDATE: Flying out, Tokyo Orientation and Kobe Orientation

Hi all~ sorry for such a lack of posts :( I still don't have Internet on my laptop so I'm using my phone although it lacks all the pictures that I want to show you >.<  but I'll start from arriving on Tokyo.

The flight from Honolulu to Tokyo was approximately 8 hours and a 19 hour time difference so when we left Saturday morning, we arrived in Tokyo Sunday afternoon. Felt a little cheated of the day that's we lost, but it was so exciting for finally make it to Japan!! All the Hawaii JETs flew out together and after going through all the immigration  and passport steps, we were greeted by many people wearing bright green shirts! These were TOAs (Tokyo Orientation Assistants) and they helped us grab out bags and show us where the tour buses were. Being from Hawaii, we're exposed to quite a bit of humidity, but that was nothing compared to the humidity in Japan. You feel sticky the moment that you walk outside.


Tokyo orientation took place at the Keio Plaza Hotel and it was gorgeous. I can't imagine the bill that the Japanese government racks up from this with over 1,000 of us staying in the rooms. Needless to say, the elevators were always busy for the next couple of days as we went down to breakfast, to our various workshops and ceremonies and back to our rooms during our leisure time. The workshops were very useful and helpful and ranged from team teaching to using technology in the classroom to driving in Japan to skill development for ALTs. Once our twelve hour day was over, we had the night to ourselves to explore Tokyo with our newfound friends. During orientation, I was able to meet people from all over the world such as from New Zealand, England, Canada, various states in the US, Australia, Trinidad, Singapore and even Trinidad!

The Kobe JETs flew out on the 7th and we were greeted.by various members of the Board of Education, including out supervisor, Ando sensei. We also met our JTEs (Japanese teachers of English) and they took us to our apartments and helped us settle in. Over the next few days, our sempai JETs took us through orientation and showed us our neighborhood, Gakuentoshi. I caught the subway for the first time and throughout the days, was able to get a small taste of what Japan will be like :) everything is a new, but valuable experience for me and I'm thrilled and extremely honored to be able to be where I am now. I promise to upload pictures from my laptop once I get Internet on it!