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[No. 171] Re-examining "Self-Investment" After a Long Time: Small Capital Entrusted to the Future 💹🌱

2025年12月7日 19:00

In our daily lives,
we spend money in various ways.

Among them,
there are things that are necessary,
things for enjoyment,
and—there is also "investment" that connects to the future.

Today, for the first time in a while,
I would like to take a fresh look at "self-investment."

👉 [No. 34] Self-investment can be freer: Every day spent cultivating is for the future 🌾

When asked, "Is that really self-investment?"
whether or not I can say, "For me, it is."

📖 I have compiled articles on the theme of investment in a magazine.
Please take a look at this as well if you'd like👇
👉 Cultivating the Future: Renji Enko's "Trust and Entrust" Investment Record

The difference between consumption, waste, investment, and speculation 🌏📚

First, let's try dividing the flow of money into four categories.

Consumption
　Expenses necessary for daily life.
Waste
　Things that are not essential, but enrich our lives.
Investment
　Things that invest capital and generate future returns.
　What I value is long-term investment × low-cost index funds.
Speculation
　Things that are highly speculative and have strong uncertainty.

Just by being conscious of where money goes,
your own values become much clearer.

Assets and Liabilities: My own definitions 👛🌱

In accounting, it is organized as "Debit: Assets / Credit: Liabilities/Equity," but
I interpret it a bit more in terms of daily life.

Assets
　→ Things that support you even in difficult times.
　　 An image similar to the saying "painful experiences become future nourishment,"
　　 things that give back strength to you as time passes.
Liabilities
　→ Things that cause money to flow out. However, you cannot judge whether they are good or bad based on numbers alone.

For example, a home bought with a loan.
Even if it is a liability if you only look at the numbers,
the time and memories spent with family accumulate,
and it becomes an irreplaceable place of happiness.

There is value that cannot be divided by numbers.

So, what is "self-investment"? ✨📈

Investment is based on the premise that it will bring returns to your future self.
Therefore, self-investment is also about building a foundation that supports your future self.

I believe it can be broadly divided into these three categories.

1. Investment in Health 💪🌿

High-quality bedding
Unsalted tomato juice
Fitness equipment

📝 Click here for related articles👇
👉 [No. 85] Free Weights and Machines: Cultivating the Meaning of Choice 🏋️‍♂️⚙️

There is no need to decide whether free weights or machines are superior.
You should change your choices according to your environment, age, and physical condition.
The important thing is that it is sustainable and done without strain.

👉 [No. 105] Getting Organized with Workday Routines: Consistency Between Strength Training and Life 💪🌅

To be honest, tomatoes are... but it's different from not consuming them at all.
A daily habit of one glass helps regulate the body's rhythm.

Even if your body doesn't change immediately,
it becomes an asset that will surely help your future self.

2. Efficiency Investment for Time and Peace of Mind ⏱️🔐

Dishwasher
Washing machine
TP-Link Outdoor Camera 'Tapo C410' + Tapo Care

I am actually installing and using the Tapo C410 camera at home.
It serves as an 'eye' for crime prevention and watching over daily life.

Precisely because we live in an era of convenience,
I want to cherish the time to enjoy a little bit of 'inconvenience' on purpose.

For me, time in the field reminds me of that exact feeling.
There are things that cannot be measured by efficiency alone,
and by facing them while touching the soil, my own axis becomes aligned.

Of course, in terms of saving time, using a cultivator or farm equipment is overwhelmingly faster.
I also use machines when necessary, and I use a grass cutter normally too (laughs).

Even so, the 'fundamental' approach when facing the field is to engage with it by hand.
It is not that I am choosing inconvenience, but rather,
a stance of 'investing only the necessary capital where it is needed.'

A shovel, a hoe, and myself.
In the midst of the hardship, I confirm that I am alive.
Tilling the soil is tilling one's fortune.

Self-investment is the same;
it does not mean everything should be made efficient.
The balance between convenience and the realization gained from inconvenience
is where my core resides.

③ Investment in Knowledge and Efficiency 📚💡

ChatGPT
YouTube Premium

Subscriptions and smartphones are now 'indispensable tools'.
But, are you leaving them 'signed up and forgotten'?—Stop for a moment and take stock of your life and expenses.

Investments that increase judgment, concentration, and mental space
will work for your future as invisible assets.

Self-investment is 'building assets to help your future self' 🌱💫

You only spend the money once.
But the value that returns from it lasts a long time.

The foundation of health,
the margin of time,
the deepening of learning.

Although these are hard to see in numbers,
I believe they are asset-building actions that will surely strengthen the future.

⚠️ Note: Regarding the financial information covered in this article

📝 This article is based on the author's experience and personal thoughts.
💹 It is not intended to recommend specific financial products.
📊 Information may contain errors due to revisions or updates.
✅ Please make decisions and investments at your own risk.

Underlying × Tilling
Fields, bodies, and investments—a way of life that keeps tilling.
Renji Enko