From a 2 million yen deficit to finally breaking even: A rural relocation mom's household budget recovery story

Nice to meet you.
I'm mon, a mom raising two children (soon to be three) after moving from Osaka city to the countryside in Kyushu🌿

Today, I'd like to write about

the story of how my household budget fell into a 2 million yen deficit after moving to the countryside

and
the overall picture of how I managed to get back to breaking even.the overall picture of how I managed to get back to breaking even and I'll try writing it down.

⸻

1. From the city to the countryside. I thought, "I'll manage with both my income and my life somehow."

Originally, I was living in Osaka city, working as a dual-income couple in an apartment.
Both my husband and I had decent incomes,

we weren't the type to get hooked on brand-name goods,
and we didn't smoke, drink, or gamble.
So honestly,

"I know I should keep a household budget... but I'm sure it'll be fine"

was the mindset I lived with 😅

However, after my child was born,

I started to feel more and more,
This environment might be a bit cramped for my child...as I encountered more situations like these. • The neighborhood park is always crowded
• Complaints about footsteps from the floor below
• Just going out to play involves crowds and money
With all that in mind, I took the plunge and


decided to move to the countryside in Kyushu.Somewhere deep down, I thought,

even if my income dropped a bit,

"
Rent and cost of living are cheap in the countryside, so it'll work out somehow~ "and I had a rather vague way of thinking about it.

...but reality wasn't that sweet 😇

⸻



2. The first year of relocation, a surprising 2 million yen deficitThe first year after moving.

When I opened the books,
the annual balance was a 2 million yen deficit.Roughly listing the reasons, it looked like this.

• Income dropped significantly
• Household income in Osaka: approx. 6 million yen (husband full-time, my maternity leave allowance)
• Household income in the first year of relocation: approx. 3.8 million yen (both of us had periods of leave or were just starting new jobs)
• Rising prices are hitting the countryside just as much
• Moving expenses and costs for new appliances and furniture
• Life became car-centered, increasing gasoline and maintenance costs
• Daily spending was still being done with the "same mindset as in Osaka"
Housing costs also changed like this.

•
Living in Osaka • Owned home (mortgage paid off), with apartment management fees + parking fees = 25,000 yen/month
•
Current life • Detached house with a garden and two parking spaces, rent 45,000 yen
Furthermore, to return to my parents' home in Osaka with the family,

we take the car on the ferry, which costs about 100,000 yen each time.
"

It's the countryside, so living costs will go down~ "I thought, but instead,


"income drop + initial costs boom + same old mindset"meant thatthe deficit grew in the blink of an eye.
This is really bad... and this was the moment I had to seriously face my household budget.

Since the Osaka house was owned with the mortgage paid off,
I decided to sell it when I made the decision to move.

The proceeds from the sale were roughly divided into:
• Cash to protect our current life

• Funds for future asset building (NISA, etc.)
and I manage it as


a separate category from the daily household budget
.⸻

3. The first thing I did was start an "imperfect household budget"

The first thing I did there was

change how I keep the household budget
.Back when I was in Osaka,"



I need to keep a household budget~ "I would think, buy a "money-saving notebook" at a bookstore, and finish in 3 days.I'd install an app, and stop opening it after a week...

I was completely a "

person who gives up on household budgets after 3 days

" type 😂The reason I was able to continue this timeis because I took the plunge and relaxed the rules. • Not every day, but


inputting everything once a week
• Categories are fine being rough
• Don't worry too much about things paid in cash that you don't understand, just treat them as "errors" • Make payments as much as possible via

card or barcode payment so they can be tracked in the historyBy switching to this "relaxed household budget", • First, I started to see the big picture of "


how much our family is spending " • Where it looks like I can cut back • Where I want to spend money that matters
I gradually began to understand.
(I've summarized the detailed method of the relaxed household budget in

another article, '


The method I arrived at after failing at household budgets many times“relaxed household budget”method' 😊)

⸻

4. Reviewing fixed costs

The next thing I tackled was reviewing fixed costs.

Since circumstances differ for everyone,
I will write down what I actually did.
• Housing costs
• Management fees + parking 25,000 yen → Detached house rent 45,000 yen
• It simply felt like it had "gotten more expensive," but because of that, there are also benefits like
• Includes two parking spaces
• Comes with a yard where the kids can run around
, so I rethought, "
Is this a fixed cost worth paying?" •

Communication costs • In an area where you can't watch TV without subscribing to cable TV, Wi-Fi + TV went up from 3,500 yen to 5,000 yen.
• Instead, I reviewed other subscriptions and narrowed them down to
"

only the ones I really watch."•

Insurance • Insurance I had signed up for when I got married, just as I was recommended, thinking "it'll serve as a pension in the future..." I was paying nearly 800,000 yen a year...
• After moving, I organized and researched the details one by one, and narrowed it down to
"

only what is truly necessary
," or switched plans.• Car loan

• Since I still had a car loan from my time in Osaka, I took the plunge and paid off the remaining balance in one go, eliminating the loan.•
Scholarship


• At the timing when our household income dropped, I went through the procedures to have the repayments temporarily suspended. What was important here was,

not "I'm going to review everything perfectly all at once!"
but
reducing things one by one from where I could

This is the stance I took.

⸻

5. Reviewing variable expenses (especially food costs)

The next thing that had an impact was reviewing my food costs.

At first, I had "food costs = one single category," but once my relaxed household accounting became a habit, I tried breaking down food costs a little more specifically.
• Ingredients
• Dining out/Prepared meals
• Snacks
Since I started doing this, my


internal monologue
at the supermarket has changed 😅"This is for ingredients""This is for snacks""This is... a snack... no, too many snacks. Let's put it back on the shelf 😂"

I've realized that a household account book is less of a

"tool for saving money"


" and more of a "tool for noticing your own habits." Also, fixing the stores I shop at helped quite a bit.
• Store for vegetables and fruits • Store for meat • Store for seasonings, milk, etc.By deciding on the stores in advance: • I worry less about "Where should I go today?"

• I gradually get a grasp of the price ranges
→ As a result, it was also significant that I reduced unnecessary impulse buying.
⸻


6. Things I focused on regarding income: Work style, solar investment, and future side hustles

While organizing my expenses, I also started wanting to change my



income foundation

at the same time. • What to do about my own work style (reviewing how I handle my main job)

• The
solar investment my husband and I discussed and started (121.6kW / FIT unit price 15.4 yen, etc.) • Deciding to continue putting 150,000 yen into Tsumitate NISA every month
By the way, this 150,000 yen per month for NISA is
not squeezed out of my current salary, but money from the sale of our house in Osaka that we are gradually moving over time.My current income is just about breaking even with my current living expenses.
That is precisely why I make sure to


keep the wallets separate for "daily household finances" and "money for future asset building."
In addition to that, there are also


seeds of side income


that I want to nurture little by little. • X (posting) • note (articles)

• Mercari (selling unused items), etc.

From a 2 million yen deficit, I couldn't immediately say "We're in the black every year & investing aggressively!" but I started to focus on these two pillars: • "Getting back to breaking even"
• "Continuing to sow seeds for the future"

Once I'm in the black, first of all, I want to

"



be able to visit my parents in Osaka without hesitation.
"
I think. Right now, we only see each other about once a season, and both of our parents seem a little lonely, so my honest feeling is that I want to start by showing filial piety there first 😊

⸻



7. The "mindset shift" that was significant for my mental state (*This is something I realized "looking back now")Honestly, "at that time" when I was rebuilding my finances, I hadn't organized my mindset that coolly. • "Why is there such a deficit..."

• "I was too careless with my spending..."

I was doing my best just to face the numbers in front of me, while blaming myself or almost entering a "suffering contest" mode of "I just have to cut everything!"
But as time passed from then, while
• reflecting and posting on X and note

• or having ChatGPT organize my feelings by typing them in as they were

I started to be able to put into words little by little that what was important back then was “

changing my approach without blaming myself.


”
This is what I'm conscious of now.
• Instead of aiming for a "perfect household account book," it's okay to have a

"

household account book I can keep up with.


"
• Instead of "Deficit = I'm a failure," reframe it as **"The way I was doing things just didn't happen to fit."**

• Through posting (X/note) and dialogue with ChatGPT,


gradually putting my feelings and values into words. I'm gradually feeling now that household finances and work styles are heavily influenced not just by numbers, but by this kind of mental foundation.⸻
8. Future goals. Toward "turning a profit" and "future peace of mind"



The first year of rural relocation was a surprising 2 million yen deficit. From there, I reviewed various things and have finally returned to
"
breaking even" I'm not at the stage where I can say
"

We're solidly in the black every year!
" yet, but:

• I've become able to grasp the flow of money with a household account book
• I've developed a sense of choosing how to spend, rather than doing it "just because," for both fixed and variable expenses
• I'm continuing to sow "seeds" for the future little by little, such as solar power and Tsumitate NISA

I think these are important changes I've gained since moving to the countryside.

I hope to continue to organize my household finances and life in a relaxed, yet steady way


together with people who are struggling with money in the same way, people interested in rural life, and people who want to at least get back to "breaking even" from a deficit 🌿
If you think "I get it" after reading this article, it would be very encouraging if you could support me with a like or follow 🥰