A Tackle of Personal Finance...

It's no secret that I haven't held a regular-salary job in over 5 years. (Yes, I did have one back in the day...) Also, most of my friends know that in those 5 years my personal finance went only as far as "How much yarn can I buy this month?" or "Can I eat a full meal in the cafeteria, or should I just go for a bagel?".

All this will soon be in the past, as I begin my journey of once again seriously dealing with a salary, bills, and savings. You might be wondering what brought on this change? During the past couple of weeks, as I searched for more and more information about the JET program and specifically about Hiroshima-ken (prefecture), I found this blog:

http://www.foreignersfinances.com/

Austin, the author of this blog, is also a JET and currently lives in Japan. I began reading his blog just to get a few pointers on how to save money while living in Japan, but what I got was much more: A view into personal finance, and how easy it can be if one takes a bit of time to educate oneself.

He talks about online banks, investing, and just general tips on how to keep money in your pocket. He also wrote a blog about his top 5 favorite personal finance books, one of which I ended up getting: "I Will Teach You to Be Rich" by Ramit Sethi. 

According to Austin: "This is single-handedly the best personal finance starter for anyone 16-35. The book is 266 pages, but it reads so fast that you’ll finish it in a weekend. His writing is infectious and it’s like reading a friend tell you to stop being an idiot with your money. Credit cards, banking, investing, savings, retirement. It’s all covered in great depth with eye-popping example and diagrams." And that's true...

I will talk more about what I have actually learned from this book and how I put these things into effect in Japan in later blogs, so for now, I just wanted to focus on one idea that Sethi mentions in the introduction:

"Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't."

This got me thinking... what are the things that I love, hands down, no questions asked? I decided to limit these down to three:

* Knitting/Yarn

* Reading

* Traveling

With this list in mind, I'm hoping I will be able to set up a network of different "savings accounts" to keep me more organized during my time in Japan. After the past two weeks, I believe a good hard look into personal finance is the first step in the right direction towards personal responsibility.

What things do you love on which you would spend extravagantly?

2 Weeks...

Two weeks from now at this time I'll be at the Ambassador's residence in my business casual outfit, enjoying the JET Program's Farewell Reception, which, if the lunch at the optional Pre-Departure Orientation is any indication, will be very delicious. By that point, I also have met all the other JETs leaving from New York City, including at least one person who will be living/working in Fukuyama City (in Hiroshima Prefecture) as well, just like I will be, and have hopefully fully packed as well, and will be ready to go.

Two weeks at this point seem both too short and too long, depending on the angle from which I view them.

If it has to do with preparation, it feels too short. Although I have by now bought 95% of the clothes, accessories, and school supplies I think I'll need for Japan, I still have to find small omiyage (presents) for at least 4-5 people, who I don't know yet, but will one way, shape, or form be responsible for me. I also need to figure out what knitting knick-knacks I want to bring, a job which, I assure you, is not in the least bit small. Not to mention, I still have to actually pack to see what fits and what doesn't. Luckily, my predecessor emailed me a couple days ago with a few details about my apartment and the area around it, but I'm still waiting for her answer to a hundred other questions I sent to her in reply (including helpful suggestions of what (not) to pack).

On the other hand, the time feels too long, because I'm so super excited to go, that if everything else would be in order, I would have jumped on the plane already. But that's just me and my impatience.

I do have to mention that over the past couple of weeks I came to believe JET did its best to place me in the exact opposite situation that I've asked for... Yes, they did ask what I'd prefer on several occasions, making me think I might actually get something out of it. (>_<) But no, so now I'm hoping... no... I'm determined to make this such an experience, where I can say a year from now that it was more than worth it even with all those unfavorable circumstances! ^_^

Wish me luck to pack on time, or better yet, let me know if you want to come over and help! ^_^

New Roads, New Beginnings, New Blog...

So OK, this was supposed to get posted yesterday, but if I don't cut myself some slack right off the bat, you probably won't see many of these in the future... -.-

Anyways... Three weeks and a day from now I'll be on a plane halfway to Japan. I thought that being away in a foreign country for at least a year would be an awesome insentive incentive (good thing that I'm going to Japan to teach English... >.<) to begin writing a blog, mainly to be a sort of keepsake, and since I hate writing by hand even more than typing, a blog seems the only way to go. However, I won't be writing just about my experiences in Japan. I also plan to write about books I've read, movies I've seen, thing's I've been knitting, etc, etc, and generally about things that are on my mind.

So as the title suggests, lately I've been thinking about new beginnings, and I acted on this urge by finally creating a new email address for myself, and leaving the old ones behind once and for all. (Though forwarding still works... for now.) I also got new AIM SN, and have been thinking about getting a whole new cell number as well. Allow me to explain where this urge is coming from:
I just turned 25 a couple weeks ago, and since then I've been thinking about just how different my life currently is compared to just 5 years ago. In the last 5 years I've met the person of my dreams, actually learned how to cook and bake (well), met all my current friends, learned to knit and crochet (again), got glasses, got engaged, renewed my relationship with my extended family, got new non-Goth clothes, got married (in New York) with which I also got a whole new wonderful family and a new family name, got married again (this time in Hungary), graduated from college, and have been living very happily overall. ^_^
Now that's quite some change and I felt like it was just natural to get a new email address and maybe even a new cell number when time comes. (For the record, my old screen name originated from the time when I was still in 3rd or 4th grade and have used it since everywhere computer related... Yeah... It was time for a change...)

The only thing that has been lacking somewhat these past 5 years was a purpose... Specifically, what will I do when I grow up? I've always loved languages and different cultures, and have been trying to find a job/career/purpose, where I could incorporate this basic interest. And this is where the JET Program (The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme) comes in:
I was hired to teach English for a year in Japanese public schools, and to help out in exchanging information about cultures (specifically my culture vs. Japanese culture). Can an opportunity be any more perfect? I'm super excited and determined to try and learn as much about Japan, its culture and language, as I possibly can, with these goals in mind (for the upcoming year only):

#1 - I will take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) in December, and pass the N4 level (old level 3). (FYI: There are 5 levels, N5 being basic Japanese, N4 conversational Japanese, N3 average Japanese, N2 native Japanese and good enough for attending college in Japan, and N1 being highly proficient in Japanese, including technical terms and such.)

#2 - I will take the JLPT N3 in July, and pass it.

#3 - I will learn as much as I can about Japanese mannerism, culture, and tradition, so that if I can't stay for more than a year and have to come back to New York, I can use that knowledge to get a job as a translator/interpreter and/or get into event planning.

So here's to new journeys, roads, beginnings, and a blog! ^_^