Talking About Money

This is a discussion about whether you are effectively saving and using points that have the same value as money.
It might not seem related to architecture, but it actually is!

Are you making effective use of credit cards?
You can accumulate a lot of points just by using credit cards for everyday purchases.
By using credit cards efficiently, you can go on trips for free or get the things you want.
Hotels and flights can also be free♪

If you already know this, you don't need to read on, and I'm still learning myself, so I'm not an expert.

Some people might think this sounds unrelated to architecture, but it is very much related.
After all, you take out a housing loan, right?
At that time, why not optimize your monthly payments, such as reviewing your insurance or smartphone bills?

When it comes to utility bills, phone bills, insurance, and shopping, paying with cash is just paying cash.
There is nothing more expensive than something free.

This might be helpful for those who don't know.
I'll write about my own experiences.

What do you use to make your payments?
There are opportunities to spend money every day, such as on utility and communication costs, as well as groceries, clothes, and dining out.

If you only use cash, please be aware that you are losing out.
Why? Because cash payments don't earn points, right?
If a store has a stamp card, you can earn points, but they can only be used at that specific store.
If you pay by credit card, you also earn points on that card.

By the way, I use four credit cards.

1. American Express® Business Gold Card

2. Marriott Bonvoy® American Express® Premium Card

3. PayPay Card Gold

4. Rakuten Gold Card

These are the four cards I use, in order of priority.
I have others, but I hardly use them.
The reason for choosing Gold is because the return rate is high lol
I don't have them to brag, 'Hey, I'm a Gold member' lol

The reason I have so many is that I switch which card I use depending on the situation.
The reason for switching is that the point return rates differ.

For example, the PayPay Card.
On Yahoo Shopping, days ending in 5 get an extra 5%.
Right now, they are offering an extra 5% every day, and SoftBank users or Yahoo Premium members get an extra 2%.
Even for me, the return rate is around 7%, so it's a great deal.
Please look into the details yourself.

AMEX is also a great deal. (It depends on the person)
For example, the Amex Business Gold is a good deal if you spend 2 million yen a year, and the MBA is a good deal if you spend 1.5 million yen a year.
If you don't spend that much, maybe it doesn't apply to you??
Please look into this as well.

Also, if you register for Membership Rewards Plus, you can convert points into miles for airlines like ANA and JAL, or transfer them to Rakuten points.
You can also convert them into MBA card points, so if you use your MBA or Amex Business card for your main payments to accumulate points, you can go on business trips and vacations using only points.

By the way, there are hotels all over the world where you can stay using MBA points.
This includes Marriott-affiliated hotels, as well as Sheraton, Ritz-Carlton, and so on.

I actually stayed at The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon during a business trip to Tokyo.
Of course, it was a free stay because I paid with points.
It's expensive to stay for one night now, isn't it? Maybe around 100,000 yen...
A few months ago, it was half that price lol

However, it's better to transfer points to ANA miles or MBA points.
JAL is 2,500 points for 1,000 miles, so there's no sense of value lol
ANA is 1,000 points for 1,000 miles, but Nanki-Shirahama Airport only has JAL!
When using Osaka Airport or Itami, ANA is convenient.
I think transferring to MBA was 1,000 points for 990 points.

With a PayPay card, if you accumulate points, you can use them for Yahoo Travel, and if you use it at restaurants or for daily lunches where PayPay is accepted, you can even eat for free.
Rakuten is the same, isn't it?
Thanks to this, many of my business trips are free.
I mainly use Yahoo Travel, so I pay for both flights and accommodation with points.
If there's no accommodation on Yahoo, I use Rakuten.

There are endless examples, but there are various other benefits, so please look into each credit card.

If you feel that annual fees are required, or if you find it confusing and scary, it might be safer not to have one.
I don't hear this as much lately, but some people used to say they were afraid of using credit cards because they wouldn't know how much they spent if it wasn't cash, but as someone who has used credit cards and QR payments for many years, I don't think that's the case. Maybe it depends on the person.

People often tell me I have no desire for material things, but personally, I don't spend much money.
Since it's mostly things necessary for work, personally, I don't have any interest in wanting a nice car, watches, high-end brands, or nightlife, so I don't really feel any interest in those things...

The reason why I accumulate so many points is that, in my case, I have business payments, so if I pay for those with a credit card, I accumulate a lot of points.
Even if you don't have that many payments, there are ways to benefit, so please look into it.
It would get way too long if I wrote it all down lol

I think I accumulate about 1 million points in total per year.
I've never actually calculated it, so this is just an estimate, but there are times when I accumulate even more.
I really think sole proprietors and business owners should definitely do this.
Sorry if you already knew this...

Really, if you are a sole proprietor or a company owner, if you can pay for business expenses with a credit card, you will accumulate a lot, right?
My own pocket money has been points for a long time lol

By the way, the topic is about how these points relate to construction, but the setup has become quite long lol

In the case of housing, there is a mortgage.
For stores, you might borrow from a bank.
It doesn't matter to people who buy with cash though lol

Let's think about housing.
Let's assume for simplicity that the monthly mortgage payment is 100,000 yen.

But monthly payments aren't just the mortgage, right?
Utilities, smartphone, insurance, car-related expenses, school, etc.
Aren't you paying about 150,000 yen in total?
Sorry for the rough calculation.
I'm writing this as an example to make it easier to calculate.

Let's assume you were paying about 150,000 yen in total every month.
Suppose there is a case where you pay only with cash or bank transfers, and a case where, for example, half, or 75,000 yen, is paid by credit card.

In the case of cash, you don't get points, but with a credit card, you do.

How many points do you get when you pay 75,000 yen with a credit card?
If the return rate is 1%, that's 750 yen.
If it continues for 12 months, you get 9,000 points.
(This is just a simple calculation, so please don't misunderstand.)
(I'm not good with numbers, so please look into the details yourself.)

Wouldn't it be more profitable to use a credit card??
I think PayPay is fine too.
If you use credit cards or PayPay at shops for shopping and dining out, you will get even more points back.
If you accumulate points, you can just use them.
Even if the return rate is 0.5%, you should use it.
Isn't it a waste to just pay with cash??

If you make all your annual payments with credit cards or other payment methods that earn points, you will likely accumulate much more than 9,000 yen.

That can also be a little help for things like mortgage payments.
If you find a payment method that suits you, you can live much more profitably than you do now.
Let's find your optimal solution!

If it's AMEX, I can invite you.
Both you and I will get bonus points, so there's no loss.
Writing this might sound like a suspicious story lol. I won't force you, but a PayPay card is fine, or Rakuten is fine too.

If it doesn't work out, you can just cancel it.

If you buy daily necessities on Rakuten or shop on Yahoo Shopping, they deliver them to you, you accumulate points, and you save money and time.

When you consider everything in total, I don't think you'll lose out.

This time, I introduced how to live a little more profitably.
The content this time might sound like a credit card solicitation and be full of suspicion, but the people around me are almost all doing it, and it's not suspicious at all and is a way not to lose money.

But if you have any anxiety, it's better not to do it.
If it becomes a source of stress, it's not fun, so I don't recommend it.

That's all for the talk about money.
It got long...

Hachimura

Postscript...
By the way, if I give you some very specific numbers, this is the total amount of points I've earned since I started using PayPay.

I have about 930,000 points.
I've used PayPay for business payments, so I think it's easier for me to accumulate them than for the average person, but even 1/10th of this is quite a good deal.

Even for small amounts like shopping at the supermarket or utility bills, points add up if you accumulate them.
If you add up the points from other credit cards, there are even more.

In my case, I use points for supermarket shopping, lunch payments, and flights and accommodation for business trips.

This goes for business owners, of course, but even if you aren't one, PayPay is easy to start with, and there's no annual fee.

I think the Amex Business card depends on the person, but the PayPay card or Rakuten card are also good deals.
I strongly recommend that you look into it yourself first!
Points may seem trivial, but they are significant.

Please give it a try.
If it doesn't work out, you can switch to something else, or just stop using it.

I might sound like a scammer peddling some weird information product, but this is the truth lol

Hachimura