Saving Money: Setting Aside Your Coins+ Update

Happy Saturday everyone!

Sorry for such a lack of posts. Things have been pretty slow these past couple weeks, but I just wanted to share another money-saving tip with you all :) A few years ago, my parents started setting aside every $5 bill that they received. If they bought something and a $5 bill was in their change, they would put it away and not touch it. At the end of the month, they deposited all of their $5 bills and it really added up!

Since coming to Japan, I've been doing the same thing. I set aside every 500 yen coin that I receive and then deposit it into my bank account at the end of the month. As soon as I get home, I put any 500 yen coins that I have into a coin purse and will not touch it. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I had 14,000 yen in 500 yen coins in a little coin purse after one month! This month hasn't been as much, but it still makes a nice difference when I deposit the money :) It might be hard to resist the urge to spend your $5 or 500 yen on something small like a lunch or a few snacks, but it will add up and both you and your bank account will be grateful for it in the future ^^

On to my short update! My trusty camera finally gave out on me about three weeks ago so I haven't had a camera until this week when my new one came in~ :D It's a Nikon D3200 and it weighs significantly less than my D70 did! So far, I'm very impressed with it and will be exploring Kyoto for the first time tomorrow with a couple girlfriends so I will be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you all!  Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful weekend :)

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"

Packing Omiyage: What to Buy?

When you go to a new place, it is polite to bring omiyage, or gifts, with you to give to people that you meet or will be working with in the future. Going to Japan through the JET Program means that you will be meeting  A LOT of people and it is polite and respectful to give something to them, especially if they are important or superior to you (think the principal at a school or your supervisor). Because of the wide breadth of people that I will be meeting, my mom and I have been gathering various omiyage over the summer. Here are a few that will be going into my suitcase:

Sticky Notes 

Sticky notes are a teacher's best friend and because they come in so many different shapes, sizes and colors, they are very handy gifts. I bought these cute Hawaii-themed sticky notes from Don Quijote and thought that they would be useful omiyage for the English teacher at my junior high school. 

Little Trinkets with a theme

I've been told that keychains and other small trinkets make wonderful omiyage and bought a couple to give away. The cute ribber slippers are actually erasers! I've never seen them before, but thought they were absolutely adorable and had to buy some :) The Hawaii-themed keychains were pretty cheap, so I might go out and buy some more. These were bought from Don Quijote as well :)

Coffee  

At the JET Q&A Session, a former JET told us that coffee is one of the best gifts to bring when we go to Japan because the teachers at the school(s) can share it in the staff room. Many tourists often buy Kona coffee when they visit Hawaii so bringing a couple bags of the fragrant coffee for teachers is usually greatly appreciated. 

Macadamia Nuts 

The ever popular mac nuts definitely make it on my list of omiyage to bring! They come in a variety of flavors, making them a delicious snack to much on during the day :) You can buy these from a wide variety of stores-- I think my mom bought these from Longs when they were on sale. 

Other omiyage that people have told me are useful to bring are pancake mixes, pencils and stickers (especially for students), and local candy. Do you have any that you will be bringing that haven't been mentioned? :)

JET Q&A Session and Workshop: Helpful Tips and Advice

July 1, 2013

This past weekend, I attended the JET Q&A Session and Workshops at Tokai University and was able to meet other Hawaii JETs. Former JETs and the Hawaii JETAA council were there to give us a plethora of tips and advice that would be useful for us to know. Below are some of the tips that I was able to pick up.


Money

• Japan is a cash-based society:
• Credit cards are not commonly used
• Always carry around cash with you
• Create a budget and stick to it

Banks

• Find a larger bank for money transfers (you can also use the post office to transfer money)
• When transferring money back home, be sure to watch the exchange rate as it often fluctuates
• Keep your name order consistent and pick either Japanese or English when writing your name
• Ex. John Smith, Smith John, ジョンスミス、スミスジョン、etc. 

Omiyage

• Coffee, nuts, etc are good
• Teachers can share the coffee
• Avoid bringing chocolate because it may melt 
• Ask your predecessor how many teachers there are at your school to plan how much omiyage to bring
• Give your neighbors omiyage when you arrive-- it will help you in the long run! 

School

• You will have 3-5 days after arriving at your Contracting Organization to use before teaching. This is a good opportunity to walk around the school and meet the students
• Talk to all of the teachers, especially during summer when they are not as busy
• Because you will not be in class the first month or so, it is a good idea to prepare lesson plans and your 自己紹介（じこしょうかい）, or your self-introduction
• Some good reward prizes for students include Hawaii stickers, English word stickers ("Super" "Great Job!" etc.), pencils, candy, etc. 

I hope this helps a bit! I'm getting so nervous and excited to go to Japan in a little over a month! (:

Getting Ready: A Couple of Books to Read

JET Handbook and Japanese for JETS

I recently received both the JET Handbook and the Japanese for JETS in the mail and opened it as soon as I could. The JET Handbook has nearly everything you need to know before going to Japan: pre-departure, appointments, insurance, taxes, work, living in Japan, safety in Japan, support systems and even a section on leaving JET. I would pay special attention to the designated insurance and tax sections because the book covers so much and answered many of the questions that I previously had. The entire book is written in both Japanese and English-- Japanese on the left side and English on the right side. Because there is so much information that is given throughout the book, I jotted down notes that I felt would be very useful so that I wouldn't have to flip through the book to find the information again. 

The Japanese for JETS book is another very handy resource to have on hand, especially if you have not taken Japanese before. Included is a poster which has not only the hiragana and katakana chart, but also basic greetings and phrases that you will often find yourself using in Japan. There is also a numeral chart that will help you remember how to count in Japanese. The book itself is very user friendly in that it is written completely in romanji to make it easier to pronounce words and phrases. However, there is also hiragana and katakana to make the transition of reading romanji to Japanese characters easier. The vocabulary that is introduced is written in romanji, then hiragana and finally an English translation/meaning is given. Below are some examples from the book:

mada heta desu           まだへたです         still poor at

sono tonari                  そのとなり             next to that 

The book also includes two CDs that enable the user to practice listening to and speaking in Japanese by using the dialogue provided. I suggest using the CDs, even if you have already taken Japanese classes because it exposes you to a good amount of Japanese speaking. Happy reading and listening! (: