Even with 70 million yen, I can't sleep... Common symptoms of the 'I don't want to lose it' disease among high earners
"I'm afraid to open my bank app every morning."
"Even when my wife says 'Let's go on a trip,' I end up saying 'Not right now...'."
"A colleague died suddenly, and I can't get my own old age out of my head."
Late 40s, annual income of 14 million yen, assets of 70 million yen.
Even though I'm a textbook 'winner,' the restlessness in my chest won't stop.
Could you be the same?
The other day, I came across a fable that can be read in just 30 minutes.
The title is "The Man Who Didn't Want to Lose and the Bankbook That Never Ages ~Nights I Can't Sleep Even with 70 Million Yen~".
It digs into the fear that every high earner harbors: "I have money, but my life has stopped" in a three-part story.
The restlessness begins with a casual remark from my wife.
The protagonist, Seiji Takano, is a 48-year-old sales manager.
He is what you'd call an elite, working hard at a major manufacturer.
One night, his wife said offhandedly while looking at a magazine,
"Did the 20 million yen retirement problem get solved? Don't we need 30 million now?"
That remark was the trigger.
From that night on, Takano's mental calculations wouldn't stop.
What if I calculate with a 2% inflation rate? What if medical expenses skyrocket?
What if my wife gets sick first? What if I get sick first?
70 million yen—that impressive figure—began to look like a warning color instead.
Every morning, opening the bank app becomes a ritual.
"It's increased... thank goodness," I think, but 30 seconds after feeling relieved, the restlessness returns.
It's such a common experience for high earners that I felt a chill down my spine while reading it, thinking, "Wow, this is me."
A heart frozen by a colleague's sudden death
Then one day, a shocking event occurred.
Section Chief Kinoshita, who was laughing last month about wanting to go to Europe with his family,
passed away suddenly from a heart attack. He was 46.
The next morning, a social media post from Kinoshita's wife caught Takano's eye.
"My husband has suddenly passed away. I have canceled our reservation for Europe next month."
Those five words, "I have canceled," pierced Takano's heart.
Mr. Kinoshita hadn't put it off. He had properly made the reservation for next month.
Even so, it wasn't in time.
While he was terrified that "if it decreases, it's over,"
the thought that "it might end even if I don't spend it" also flickered in his mind.
The vividness of this scene kept me from stopping as I turned the pages.
The warning from an old man with an 'ageless bankbook'
A mysterious old man met on a park bench.
A man in his late 70s, whose posture alone was strangely youthful.
He pulled a stack of "ageless bankbooks" from his pocket.
"My bankbook increased every year. I never knew what it was to decrease."
"A trip with my wife? I put it off saying 'later,' and then my knees went bad."
"Mountain climbing with my kids? I never took them once because of vanity and stinginess."
"A friend's business offer? I was too afraid of the risk and turned it down. He's still doing well, though."
And then, the core remark.
"Money has three faces: the face that grows, the face that protects, and the face that spends."
"If you are afraid to spend, your bankbook won't age, but your life will."
The moment this old man's back looked small, my tear ducts loosened involuntarily.
"It's fine for the bankbook to stay young. But there's no one to come see the plum blossoms with in the spring."
This is the first time I've seen a metaphor that so vividly digs into the loneliness of high earners.
"Because it's a living bankbook, it can decrease."
This conclusion is so beautiful. After reading it, I wanted to open my bank app.
Why high earners should read this
In an era where 93% of people feel anxious about their old age.
But the true fear for those with assets over 50 million yen isn't that they don't have enough.
The fear of a "life left unspent". The "I don't want to lose it" disease quietly freezes one's life.
This fable can be read in just 30 minutes, yet it offers insights that can change your life.
My wife's quiet resignation, the subtle distance from my children, a daily life ruled by numbers...
It is so realistic that I found myself relating to it over and over while reading.
Could you, perhaps, be under the spell of the curse of the never-depleting bank account?
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