How I Changed After Learning About Money, Having Only Known Saving

Hello. I am Jin.

I had always thought that
money was something to be saved diligently.

That was what I was taught by my parents, and
I never questioned it.

But after becoming an adult, I learned that
while it is important to "protect" money,
knowing how to "grow" it
can significantly change the options you have in life.

And the sooner you know this in your youth,
the more you can use "time" as a great ally.

My parents were the saving type.
Work diligently,
and save diligently.

Growing up in such a household,
I thought money was something you put in a bank.
I thought that was just the way things were.

After I started working,
when I began receiving a monthly salary,
I would pay for living expenses,
and save the remaining money.

I felt it was amazing if I could save 1 million yen a year.
That was my sense of it.

Of course,
the habit of saving is very important.

In fact, thanks to my parents,
I did not waste money,
and I acquired the habit of keeping money.

However,
looking back now,

I feel that while I was taught the importance of saving,
I never had the opportunity to encounter
the concept of growing money.

Bank deposits do not decrease.
That is why they are safe.

But,
I also never had the opportunity to learn the concept
of having money work for you.

While learning about money after becoming a working adult, I learned that for using money,
there is not only
"spending"
and "saving",
but also
the concept of "growing" it.

Of course,
there is no need to take large risks.

There are ways to grow assets over a long period of time while utilizing systems like NISA and iDeCo.

What is important is
not trying to grow it significantly in a short period,
but making time your ally.

From a young age,
investing monthly within a reasonable range.

Instead of being swayed by short-term price fluctuations,
I grow my assets over a long period of time.

Just knowing that such an option exists
greatly changes one's sense of security for the future.

People in their 20s have their own strengths.
That is having a long time, over 40 years, until retirement.

If you continue to save even a little bit every month,
the power of time and compound interest will work,
and your future options will expand significantly.

So,
is it too late to start in your 40s?
I don't think so.

Even in your 40s,
you still have over 20 years until retirement.
From the perspective of asset formation,
20 years is by no means a short time.

I have reached my 40s myself,
but I believe I can still make time my ally.

And once you reach your 60s and beyond,
it is no longer just about increasing your assets,
but about enriching your life by using them little by little.

Depending on your age and situation,
how you interact with money also changes.

That is precisely why
it is important to learn about money from a young age.

The values inherited from parents are significant.

Working.
Spending money.
Saving money.

Most of these are learned naturally within the family.

In my case, it was the value of
"saving steadily."

That is by no means wrong,
and I believe it is an important way of thinking.

However, beyond that,
I have learned that there are
other options for how to interact with money.

I want to pass on to my children
not only the importance of valuing money,
but also the importance of learning about money.

Ways to use money include:

Spending it.
Saving it.
Increasing it.

And,
turning it into experience and learning.

It is not about choosing just one thing, but
learning to think in a balanced way.

That might be the power needed
to live without financial worries.

Working hard is important.
Striving to increase your income is also important.

And,
thinking about how to protect
and how to utilize the money
you earned with your own time is also important.

Not knowing something,
and choosing not to do something after knowing it,
are very different things.

Investing in yourself to increase your income.
Acquiring the skills to work.
Those are very important things.

And, for the money you earned by working,
you should also have it work for you
little by little during the time you are not working.

By doing so,
while preparing money for the future,
it becomes easier to secure time with your family
and time for yourself.

Personally,
I didn't start learning because I wanted to increase my money,
but because I wanted to cherish my time in life.

Working is important.
But life is not just for working.

Time with family.
Time with friends.
Time to travel.
Time to do nothing.

To cherish such time,
I believe that learning about money
is one of the essential forms of education for enriching your life.