#133 [Pro Tips] 10 things that allowed a salaryman who had 'zero' savings until age 40 due to power harassment-induced depression to effortlessly save 20 million yen in 8 years and become 'free' enough to take his children on a trip to Italy ④

💡 This is the story of how I reviewed my 'assets' instead of my 'savings' and realized I had 10 million yen without even knowing it.

There is a 'pro tip' that I really want those who are building assets to know.
It is the perspective of thinking in terms of 'assets' rather than 'savings'.

🗂️ There are two types of assets

First, you need to know that assets are broadly divided into two types.

✅ Fixed assets: Things like houses and land that cannot be converted into cash immediately. Since they are subject to property tax, many people have likely heard of them.
✅ Liquid assets: Things that can be converted into cash immediately. This time, I will focus on these 'liquid assets'.

💰 Let's understand what liquid assets are

The following items are all included in liquid assets.

💴 Cash in bank accounts or securities accounts and the valuation of investment trusts
🛡️ Life insurance or educational insurance that provides a surrender value if canceled
🏅 Gold being accumulated (such as pure gold accumulation plans)
💎 Luxury goods that can be converted to cash if sold on Mercari or at a pawn shop (jewelry, watches, brand-name bags, etc.)

📖 I gained insights from the book 'Your Money or Your Life'

One day, I had a major realization after reading the book 'Your Money or Your Life'.
This book stated that one should perform an 'asset verification task'.

This task involves listing everything you own that can be 'immediately converted into cash'.

For example, in times like these...

🏥 When you suffer a serious illness and need high surgical costs
🎓 When your child is accepted into a private university and you really want them to attend

Through the book, I learned that in such situations, everything that can be converted into cash and used can be counted as an 'asset'.

📦 I actually tried listing my assets

In my case, the following items came up.

📜 Life insurance with a surrender value that I joined at the recommendation of my wife's relative
🎓 Educational insurance I had been saving for my child's university funds
🧾 Cancer insurance that my wife had contracted
⌚ Watches, wedding rings, and brand-name items that could likely be sold on Mercari

When I recounted all of these as 'liquid assets'...

I realized.
Honestly, I was very surprised. Because at that time, when asked 'How much savings do you have?', I had been answering 5 million yen.

🏠 Please note that a home cannot be counted as an asset.

Since it is difficult to sell a primary residence and convert it into cash immediately, it is naturally not included in liquid assets.
Furthermore, if there are property taxes or a mortgage, these are deducted from your assets as 'liabilities'.

💡 'Whether it can be converted to cash immediately' is the key point in determining whether something can be considered an asset.

🚫 If your net worth is negative, stop investing for now.

This is just my personal opinion, but if your net worth after deducting debts like loans is negative, you should not continue investing. First, it is important to review your household finances and create a stable situation.
Investing should only be done with surplus funds.

💬 Investing should only be done with surplus funds.

⚠️ I believe investing is the '3 Ks'.

In my own view, I think investing is the '3 Ks'.

Following the rise in US stocks last year, many people started investing.
However, reality is not so simple that your assets will grow just by 'opening a brokerage account, buying an index fund, and leaving it alone'.

📚 I believe that investing is an action built upon continuous learning.

✨ Summary: You might be further along in building assets than you think.

✅ Continuing to invest in index funds through dollar-cost averaging is very effective for building assets.
✅ In addition to that, I recommend taking the time to list out your 'household assets' once.
✅ You might be overlooking things that can be converted to cash immediately, such as insurance, gold, or luxury brand items.
✅ By checking your spouse's or family's assets as well, the overall picture will become much clearer.

📝 Finally

Discoveries like this might be lying dormant in your own household.
By uncovering your 'hidden assets,' you can realize your true financial strength.

📌 This surprise will serve as encouragement for your future asset building.

❤️ To everyone who read until the end

Thank you very much for reading to the end.
If you felt this was even slightly helpful or gave you some insights,
please hit the 'Like (♡)' button; it would be a great encouragement!

Your support gives me the strength to keep sharing.
Thank you for your continued support.😊