i’m 23 and have been living on my own for about a year now, and am looking to tighten up my finances so i can set myself up for a stable future. what are your favorite secrets/tips for saving money in japan? it can be anything – food, entertainment, travel, utilities, rent, anything that can help cut down!
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Meal prep and not buying bento’s everyday for lunch saved me like 4000¥ a week
Eating out is cheap, public transport isn’t. Spend some time going school/work by bicycle and take that time from cooking if needed. If you’re moving soon, that will also allow you to choose a smaller flat with a smaller kitchen. I followed that for some years and I saved a lot + got in great shape from cycling. This advice doesn’t work if you live with more people (cooking time becomes more worth it) or if you don’t like sports.
Get bento when the discount stickers come out around 6pm.
Tips:
• Go to your nearest supermarket between 6pm – 8pm where all of the bento’s or something have a discount sticker on it.
• There’s a drugstore called “CREATE” that giving free 15% off coupons and stuff like that, or just go to gyomu supermarket because it’s cheaper ( Snack also cheaper ) there’s a 10 yen – 20 yen price difference
• Don’t go to the convenience store, even it’s for beer or alcohol. Trust me, for one boss coffee cans on konbini you can get 1600ml coffee on supermarket
Summary: go to your nearest supermarket.
The best advice I’ve heard is to cultivate cheap hobbies and skills without sacrificing health and wellbeing, from when you’re young, so when you’re old, they become your habits. With the perks of being old, you’re more resistant to change, thus once you’re used to cheap habits, you automatically save money without even trying.
When I was your age,
* I skipped every little “luxury” in the day, Starbucks every morning ? Yeah no, I’ll make my own coffee at home. Haven’t had Starbucks since last time my mate came to visit.
* As a single person, it won’t make much different eating out everyday versus cooking at home on the day-to-day basis, but in the long run, you’ll learn how to optimize and cook better. Not to mention, cheap bentos take toll on your health.
* No Gym. Instead rent a place ~20 minutes away from the station, cheaper rent! You get to walk to exercise for 40 minutes daily, for free!
Study, don’t focus only in spending less but also in earning more
There’s lots of 10%~50% bargains at the supermarket.
Learn to cook with Japanese ingredients. Cheese, beef, cream, and imported canned goods will break the bank.
General advice is track each penny and be able to predict what you are going to spend.
Cooking your own food is cheaper than discounted bentos.
Honestly a good way to kill a few birds with one stone is to get moved in with a lover.
– half rent
– half bills
– more incentive to cook at home. If you eat more than them then you’re saving on food costs.
– less need to go out, happier to stay in when there’s company.
– stay with their family for vacation (free)
– if you cross dress you have double the available clothes
– double up your CD and DVD collection.
– if they earn more than you this is a multiple times better strategy.
With the caveat that if you get married then all hell can break loose financially. So be careful.
To the extent that you possibly can, put *some* money away each month into savings. Even if it’s just 1,000 yen, to create the habit. Eventually, look into putting some of that savings in to investing….. /r/JapanFinance can be a good resource for options on how to invest.
And please understand that investing in your future is much more than just saving money. Money saved is *very* good, but money invested, over the decades, is MUCH more meaningful to your future years’ comfort.
– choose where you shop for groceries wisely and don’t do all your shopping in one store. the grocery store you never visit might be selling bananas for 30 yen cheaper.
– make your coffee at home.
– don’t go to the gym. if you just want to exercise, run, walk or do yoga at home.
– the expiration date on things is just a suggestion lol. buy the discounted meat that’s supposed to expire today that they’re selling for 50% off. you can still cook that next thursday if you freeze it well.
– try to earn extra money and save it.
– when you earn more money, don’t upgrade your lifestyle. live way below your means as much as possible.
Gyomu Super saves me from starvation.
#1 advice i have for you is learn how to budget properly.
Yes, you can live frugally but bare in mind that even frugality has its limits. Knowing exactly how much money comes in and out of your hands per month will open up so much saving and then… future investing potential for you
Moyashi (bean sprouts), cabbage, eggs, pork.
Supermarket after work, discount items, “time sale.”
Buy a used bicycle somewhere local and use it everywhere.
If you drink, get Shochu and mix it with oolong tea.
Make your tea/coffee at home.
Do nothing
There’s more you can do with your rice cooker than just rice. I’ve found decent recipes for Chili, frittata, jambalaya, and others online that can be made in a rice cooker. Make a big batch, refrigerate/freeze leftovers, and your meal prep for lunches or dinners are set for a few days if you don’t mind some repetition, and it’s cheaper that way.
Depending on where you live there are probably several different grocery stores within range. Check prices on the stuff you buy at all of them. Each store/chain seems to have something that is cheaper than the others, and usually by a fairly large difference (proportionally speaking). Like that pack of granola cereal that’s usually 799 at most places will be 598 at Donki, but Alps will have cartons of milk for 50 yen less, and OK will have cheaper prices on other things. One place I lived, I would swing by one of three different stores on my way home from work every day (only slightly different route, not really out of the way), and those price differences add up on things you get weekly.
As others have said, Gyomu Super is your friend. I also use a lot of black and white pepper to enhance everything but I like spicy hot. If I dial up the heat it helps to satisfy excess hunger.
You can only cut expenses so far. The true answer is to make more money. Learn skills to get a better, higher paying job. Or start up a side business with skills you already have.
Said differently, with a lot of struggle and discomfort, you might be able to save 50,000yen per month, or maybe even 100,000yen per month. Beyond that? Very, very difficult. But you could set yourself up to increase your earnings by 200,000yen per month, or 300,000yen per month. Do it right and you could make much more.
With the right skills there is no limit to how much money you can make but there is always a limit to how far you can cut your expenses.
Don’t get married and have kids, will save you loads.
Find your local “second rate veggie” shop, that is most likely run out of some garage by some old people and sells outrageously cheap veggies, which either have some small defects/scratches/blemishes or whatnot, which make them unsuitable for regular supermarkets. I have one nearby and they sometimes have offers like 7 avocados for 200 Yen, out of which I had to bin 1, cut away 20-50% from 3 and 3 were perfectly fine. I also regularly get “salad sets” which are like 2-3 heads of salads and other random veggies for like 100-150 Yen. Can’t even get ONE head of salad for that in a normal supermarket.
Alternatively, find the nearest Hanamasa and Gyomu Super, which somehow fulfill a similar function, including incredibly cheap meat (especially Hanamasa). Donki also sometimes has good meat deals, but you have to compare prices a bit, not everything is a bargain there.
You can also do quite a bit of cheap bulk ordering on Amazon. For example, I buy boxes of chickpeas where each can costs me like less than 100 Yen. Super filling and gets delivered to my doorstep. (that stuff is heavy)
If you like coffee. I do.
¥ 100 in the vending machine or convenience store. Find a spot. Watch the world go by. It’s pretty much the same as an overpriced coffee shop.
Treat yourself once in awhile.
Get the 5 kg of rice, cook the rice and use it for all your meals. Go late to the super markets to get discounts on meat and other items. If necessary cook the meat that night (it’ll keep if you cook it) and use it for a meal or two. Get veggies when they’re discounted, I usually get my carrots from Costco because you get a lot for the price.
Go to different stores and know what to get where. Fresh Market has x, Aeon has y etc
I was poor as hell, living for 27000 yen in Yotsuya. I think I’m pretty good at frugal living in Tokyo. I’m seeing people say “manage your finances” and “look for a better job”, so to contrast that I’ll try to be specific.
* REIS Kebab in Shinjuku is 350 yen (used to be 300) and the portion sizes are great. There’s a new place in Ikebukuro with the same price as well.
* Nomihoudais are expensive, despite what people say. For an hour I’m sure your limit isn’t more than 3 large Strongs, and even at convenience store prices, that’s half the price of nomihoudais. Supermarket prices, even better.
* Also about alcohol: obviously supermarkets are cheaper, but if you are at a convenience store, the small 300 yen whiskey bottles are the best *percentage times volume divided by price* result without committing to a huge bottle, and they’re priced the same everywhere. At supermarkets the cans are better value since they’re cheaper.
* Connecting to the last point, there are tons of amazing places to hang out outdoors and it’s insane that people always want to sit at some cramped table despite the city being so pretty. Start hanging out outside. One of my favorite places is Suica Penguin Square in Shinjuku. When it’s raining, there is an upstairs area where you’re shielded. The third floor of Miyashita also works well against rain. Parks sometimes have those cone roofed benches as well – Yoyogi park has them (although homeless sleepers are often on them), Inokashira park has them, etc.
* And when you do want to sit indoors because it’s cold or whatever, consider convenience store eat-in spaces. Cheap food and drinks, good variety, free WiFi (being phased out I guess), power outlets. Some of them are very pretty too. There is one Family Mart in Akasaka whose second floor looks like a fancy cafe and has nice tables with a nice view from the windows.
* If an izakaya is a must, mega beer and endless cabbage at Torikizoku, 350 yen. So much cabbage.
* In case you haven’t realized yet, salad chickens at convenience stores are a highly accessible and cheap source of protein. IIRC same price as supermarkets, so get them anywhere.
* Chicken in general is super cheap in Japan. Start cooking chicken.
* If your standards are low, you can find very cheap places to live if you search around. Like I said, 27000 yen in Yotsuya. This was 8 minutes from a train station and walkable from Shinjuku.
From my experiences of (30 years of maybe extreme) frugality:
* Cook: if you’re used to eating at restaurants or buying take out foods, you may not enjoy this at first, but soon enough you’ll learn how to cook things you enjoy, often more than you do restaurant food, for yourself or your family. Get a bento box or other food containers and a drink container. (We feed a family of 3 well for about ¥60,000 to ¥70,000 per month.)
* Walk: if you live in a big city, walking directly somewhere can take about the same time as taking public transport, be more interesting, and reveal to you more about your neighborhood. As a bonus, being willing and able to walk will prompt you to consider less expensive living places farther from stations.
* Read: Most places in Japan have good public library systems and allow you to get a card if you live in, study in, or work in a municipality.
* Live with the seasons: Many places in Japan have relatively mild climates, and you can get along well without using air-conditioning and heat at most times if you both dress appropriately, especially indoors in the cooler/colder seasons, and expect to be hot or cold.
* Get a hobby (not only a pastime): Many things you can study and improve at in your free time end up being cheaper than continually ‘consuming’ entertainment in the long run even if they involve some startup expense. (I bought a digital piano back in the early 1990s for about ¥100,000 and spent happy hours weekly playing and practicing; the piano broke about 3 years ago, and we got another. Everyone in the family draws and makes things, too.)
* Learn to fix things: YouTube is a marvelous resource for learning how to make things last rather than replacing them. Repair people deservedly cost a lot of money, but if you learn simple mechanical repairs, you don’t need to use them except for system repairs.
* Wait: If you feel the desire the buy something, wait. Wait a day for things that cost more than, say, ¥1000 and a week for ¥10,000 and longer for higher prices. You’ll often find you don’t really have the same desire to buy something if you wait a bit.
Check Jmty before buying anything. Lots of bargains and free stuff there.
Join a gym, learn about nutrition: prevention is better than cure. Aside from a great way to kill time and relive stress, a good work out program will do wonders for your immune system, mental health and ability to build a routine. If the gyms not your scene, buy a decent bicycles.
Basically do regular exercise, and develop a habit (not a fetish) for it.
It will always pay off, and if you want to think really far ahead: especially keep going in your early to mid 30s when your metabolism begins to plummet and your mental habits really affix themselves.
This will save you millions of yen in the long run and tens of thousands over the next few years.
Stay away from Softbank/Ntt/AU
When I first moved here and was making nothing I joined a gym. I made sure to go there everyday and use their showers. I saved more then my membership costed. I also keep my ac running all the time at 27 in the summer, my electric bill fell by over 2000¥ because it didn’t have to work as hard cooling down when I got home everyday. Gas is also usually more expensive then electric so use an IH heater not a gas one if you cook. Best help is always use cash. Physical cash can help you keep track of your spending and constantly being able to see how much something costs can help you limit impulse buys. Credit cards are very easy to overspend with.
Find a farmer’s market and buy food at humane prices, and cook. This includes rice.
There’s a JA market immediately next to a JA supermarket nearby.
A whole pumpkin costs 150 yen at the market, and half a pumpkin costs 380 at the supermarket.
As a matter of fact, use all low cost supermarkets you can, possibly Costco too, if it’s near you.
Owning even a kei car will hugely save you on transportation, allow you to go to lower priced markets, but NEVER EVER pay a dealer to do your shaken. Shop around for preventative maintenance, but do a User Shaken for only the actual cost and save hundreds of thousands.
The money mill in Japan seems to be a triad of (1) cars being turned into a money pit by devaluation of the used ones to make you buy newer ones combined with ludicrous shaken costs to leave you with no choice,
(2) a housing market made to prey on salaries and disposable homes that need not be that way, and (3) convenience sales, be it food, small insurances, or anything that can be sold for twice the price.
If you want a house, buy an akiya and slowly renovate with a carpenter. Get a couple of seismic dampers for 100.000 each, buy and add decent insulation, DIY a lot, and you’ll be set for life.
Shop Mercari and Yahoo Auction, go to used goods stores. I spent about 120.000 on used tools that would have cost 800.000+ as new.
And have fun, live slow 🙂
I only drink water everyday.
I had a year of focussing on killing all my debt. It obviously depends on your salary, but at 250k or so I did the following:
Took 40,000 yen out of cash every month.
10,000 yen a week divided among food and pleasure at your desired ratio.
I bought like 20-30 100 yen tupperware boxes and a really big pot, then made curry/stews of different variaties in bulk. Japanese Curry, Green curry etc.
Buy the biggest bag of rice you can find at the cheapest price.
Every sunday make as much curry as I could and freeze them.
Also make 2-3 batches of rice and freeze them in one portion stacks.
Supermarket usually has trolleys with veggies near end of life, can get a huge amount of stuff for a couple thousand yen for curry.
Only use credit card/other money for essential expenses. Really ask yourself if you need a new so-and-so.
Make an excel sheet that records all your spending, saving and debt (if applicable).