Is Passive Income Unfair? A Free Lifestyle Earned Through Effort

Talking about money is considered a taboo in Japan.
I feel that one should be quite cautious about disclosing salaries or asset amounts at work or in the community.

FIRE Gathering

Since retiring from my company, I have been attending a community called FIRE CAFE. FIRE is an acronym for "Financial Independence, Retire Early," and it has also started to gain attention in Japan.

FIRE CAFE is joined by those who have achieved FIRE and those who are aiming for it. In this space, no one has any resistance to talking about money.

"How much do you have?"
"What about real estate?"
"How much are your dividends?"
"What is your annual income?"
"What are the stocks to watch?"

After the initial greetings and small talk, once people warm up, these are the kinds of conversations that take place. Many people disclose their asset amounts and investment performance on YouTube or blogs, so the atmosphere is quite different from general society.

"How old are you?"
"Where do you live?"

It is a conversation at the same level as.

Opinions on investment methods and asset formation are exchanged very actively. While asset disclosure varies from person to person, the important point is whether one can have conversations about asset management that extend from that.

Japan has entered an era of inflation.

There are assets that are resistant to inflation and assets that are vulnerable to it. The money of those who can talk about inflation-resistant assets continues to grow. They are becoming wealthy rapidly.

Ordinary people who only hold assets vulnerable to inflation will find their lives becoming increasingly difficult. It is predicted that the gap between the rich and the poor in Japan will undoubtedly widen from here on out.

Moms' hourly wages

My wife's hourly wage is 2,500 yen. As a part-time job, that is quite high. When our sons were in elementary school, they belonged to a youth baseball club. The moms were very busy making rice balls, preparing ice, and carrying drinks.

Thinking they were coming to the field to cheer for the children on hot days, cold days, and windy days, they were actually busy chatting away.

"Hey, what's your hourly wage for your part-time job?"
"Mine is 950 yen, it's cheap~"
"My supermarket cashier job is 1,100 yen~"

They have conversations like this.
How does 2,500 yen appear to such mom friends?

It's not that they are envious, but rather,
unfair,
unequal,
doing something bad,

It seems that negative impressions take precedence over positive ones.
Therefore, it is probably for your own good not to tell the truth in such conversations on the ground. It is understandable to avoid talking about money in the first place.

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In the FIRE community, there is no hierarchy, no jealousy, and no envy. There is no one-upping, and it is a community that respects each individual. That is likely why people absorb the information they take in and become more active.

Money is money, no matter how you obtain it.

I have been living on passive income for two years now. By passive income, I mean dividends, interest, and distributions from financial products, not income earned from working.

For some reason, some people describe passive income as unfair or dirty. It is the same sentiment as the one held toward an hourly wage of 2,500 yen.

Because unfair things are bad, money will not accumulate. Since no one wants to collect dirty things, money naturally will not accumulate either.

Are you an idiot!

Although I do not work now, I studied hard and struggled in the past. It is because of that knowledge that I now earn passive income. My wife spent a huge amount of time and money on tuition and obtaining qualifications before she could earn a high hourly wage.

Working hard and sweating every day is not the only way to earn money. There is no such thing as clean or dirty money.There is a misunderstanding that over-romanticizes struggling and working hard.After you have put in the effort for several years and acquired skills, taking it easy is also one way to earn a living.

Related article → Money has no color. Do not label money!

I think it is a change in perspective, but current earning skills are the result of past efforts.

Instead of envying the present, if you ask, "What kind of effort did you make in the past?", you might find a way to become the person you want to be by imitating them.

I do not compare myself to others, so I no longer feel anything even if people think my passive income is unfair. People are people. I am me. After all, I am enjoying my life every day with the free FIRE lifestyle I earned through my efforts.

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