Money Disappears in the Blink of an Eye: The Causes of and Cures for the 'Not Enough' Syndrome

On YouTube, Satomai-san herself is announcing the release of her book, 'Money Disappears in the Blink of an Eye'.

Satomai-san's description of the book is as follows.

True financial independence is 'a state where, even if your financial capital—money—were to disappear, you could use other forms of capital to regain those assets.'

I really liked this definition, so I bought it and read it right away.

The 'ability to regain assets' is true independence

In the FIRE community, when people talk about financial independence, they speak in terms of numbers like the 4% rule (having assets 25 times your annual expenses) or the FI ratio (reference article → Don't talk about FIRE based only on asset amount. True financial independence seen through the 'FI ratio').

'If you have X amount of yen in assets, you've reached the goal'
'If you can live on dividends alone, you've made it'

Of course, that is not wrong. However, that is merely static stability based on the premise that 'current financial capital will be maintained.' What Satomai-san advocates is a more dynamic independence that is closer to survival ability.

There is a framework of 'three capitals (financial capital, human capital, and social capital)' advocated by author Akira Tachibana. In Satomai-san's book, she further breaks down and expands upon this, aiming for a state where you can bounce back no matter how many times you fall by utilizing a total of 10 capitals (8+1+1), such as 'physical capital,' 'health capital,' 'psychological capital,' and 'human capital.'

'Even if the money is gone, I can just earn it again.' Being able to think that from the bottom of your heart is likely the ultimate security.

Realizing 'money is surprisingly easy to earn' after early retirement

I retired early and graduated from the position of being a company employee. Currently, I have no salary income and am not yet receiving a pension, so I am living on what is called 'asset drawdown' and 'returns from financial capital.'

When I was a company employee, I was convinced that I couldn't live without a salary from the company. However, while living a 'time-rich' life, I made a surprising discovery.

That is, 'money is easier to earn than I thought.'

The human capital of skills and experience I cultivated during my time as a company employee does not disappear when I leave the organization. In fact, by being freed from the constraints of an organization, I realized that there are countless paths to directly monetize my skills, such as consulting activities, book publishing, affiliate marketing, and writing on note.

The fact that I could continue to generate small amounts of money on my own, without relying on the reputation of a company, gave me more psychological capital—that is, confidence and peace of mind—than earning a large sum of money ever did.

I consider myself a very positive thinker (laughs). This psychological capital of believing that 'things will work out' might actually be the most important asset of all.

The technique of the micro-corporation

Here, I will write a little about something realistic and slightly edgy that I am doing. Currently, I have established a corporation as a solo CEO. This has a meaning that goes beyond simple tax-saving measures.

Since my personal salary is low, I am exempt from resident tax. On the other hand, the profits earned from business can be accumulated in the owner-company (corporation). By using this scheme, I am securing a receptacle for business revenue, such as advisory fees and investment returns, while legally minimizing social insurance premiums and taxes.

In society, politicians 'dodging national health insurance' has become a hot topic and a target of criticism. What I am doing might also be called 'dodging national health insurance' depending on how you look at it. In fact, I have been told it's sneaky.

However, those who call it sneaky simply don't know the rules or laws, or they just haven't taken the action to utilize them. I am not breaking the law. I am merely exercising the rights recognized under the current Japanese system and choosing the optimal solution.

This is one of the strategies for advancing through the game of life to your advantage, using the capital of 'knowledge' that Satomai-san talks about. Setting aside the debate over whether it is appropriate for a politician's morals, I believe that facing reality and making full use of available systems to protect one's assets is also a part of the survival skills needed to live in modern society.

The modern darkness exposed by the M-1 Grand Prix's 'Don de Corte'

While people say, 'If you look at reality squarely, a path will open up,' it also seems that many Japanese people live their lives turning their eyes away from reality. I saw a symbolic scene of this at the end of last year's M-1 Grand Prix 2025.

It was the routine by M-1's 'Don de Corte'.

When written as text on note, it's just self-deprecation, but the destructive power when seen on video was tremendous. The audience burst into laughter, but I think that reaction was not just simple laughter, but because it dug into the 'anxiety' that many people feel deep in their hearts.

Especially brilliant was the routine about the 'illumination man.' It utilized the phenomenon where your eyes are drawn to the brilliance of Christmas lights, making the tree itself underneath invisible, to argue with madness that 'if I cover my whole body in light, I will become invisible.'

I take my hat off to this word sense. This is a scathing satire of modern society. We, too, are full of people who desperately try to hide their own small existence or the reality they don't want to face by wearing illuminations (decorations) like company titles, luxury brand clothes and jewelry, the places where they live, and their social media follower counts.

However, when the plug for the illuminations is pulled—that is, when you get fired from your company or run out of money—what will be left? If only a miserable, withered tree of a person remains, that is a state far from independence.

To cast off the neon lights and stand as your naked self

The reason the Don de Collet routine became a joke is likely because people are aware that they are either turning a blind eye to reality or arming themselves with superficial neon lights.

The 'true economic independence' advocated by Sato-Mai is, in a sense, 'a state where even if all the neon lights are stripped away, the tree itself is thick, deeply rooted, and capable of growing new leaves again.'

Even if you cover yourself with the numbers (neon lights) of having tens of millions in assets, it is meaningless if the person inside is a withered tree. The independence Sato-Mai speaks of is being a self that can shine even when the neon lights are turned off.

Financial capital (money) is just one thing. Human capital (skills), social capital (connections), and psychological capital (mental state). Cultivating these in a balanced way is the only path to conquering the unpredictable 'ultra-long-term game.'

This book will become the ultimate strategy guide for life. It is scary to take off the neon lights, but true freedom lies beyond that.

Book review part 2 ↓

Book review part 3 ↓