MY KAKEIBO 家計 簿 JOURNAL PART 1

  

How The Kakeibo Way Of Budgeting Can Help You Save More

By BankBazaar | January 24, 2020

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://blog.bankbazaar.com/how-the-kakeibo-way-of-budgeting-can-help-you-save-more/]

 A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. - Dave Ramsey

 

Money grows on the tree of persistence – Japanese Proverbs

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://resilientblog.co/inspirational/quotes-about-money-and-wealth/]

 Money is only a tool, not a goal. – Amish Proverb

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://suzannewoodsfisher.com/amish/too-much-money/]

 

            The above quote has reminded me to budget my income as often as I can. For more than a year, I had been using a Japanese budget known as Kakeibo (家計 簿) and the envelope budgeting method (save 30% of what you earn and divide the money into envelopes). After several months, I was able to save lots of money and I am now able to spend money in a wise way. I recommend these two budgeting methods to other people, as they both work very well. 

 

It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for. - Robert Kiyosaki

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/527418]

https://thesamuraiseven7.blogspot.com/2023/04/robert-kiyosaki-on-budgeting-your-income.html

            I will explain what is Kakeibo (家計 簿) all about and I will present an article by Sarah Harvey, that I strongly recommend as her tactics on budgeting are brilliant and a video on the method.

What is Kakeibo (家計 簿)?

Kakeibo (Japanese: 家計 簿, Hepburn: kakei-bo), is a Japanese saving method. The word "kakeibo" can be translated as Household ledger and is literally meant for household financial management. Kakeibos vary in structure, but the basic idea is the same. At the beginning of the month, the kakeibo writes down the income and necessary expenses for the beginning month and decides some kind of savings target. The user then records their own expenses on a daily basis, which are added together first at the end of the week and later at the end of the month. At the end of the month, a summary of the month's spending is written in kakeibo. In addition to expenses and income, thoughts and observations are written in kakeibo with the aim of raising awareness of one's own consumption. Kakeibo can be a finished book or self-made.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakeibo

History

Kakeibo was developed by the Japanese journalist Motoko Hani who published the first Kakeibo in a women's magazine in 1904.

Basic concepts

The whole method revolves around four main questions being:

• How much income?
• How much to save?
• How much is spent?
• How to improve?

  

Kakeibo specifies four “pillars” or categories of spending:

·          Needs: the essentials like housing, groceries, car payments, or student loans.

·          Wants: enjoyable but not totally necessary purchases (takeout food, hobbies, entertainment).

·          Culture: any spending on cultural activities — books, museum fees, concert tickets, TV streaming services, etc.

·          Unexpected: other expenses that crop up, like medical bills or home repairs.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://medium.com/shelterme/kakeibo-the-japanese-method-of-saving-money-4f90918b951]

Furthermore, the expenses can be grouped into four categories:

• Essentials (e.g. food, clothes, rent)
• Non-essentials needs (e.g. takeout meals)
• Cultural (e.g. museum, books)
• Non-anticipated (e.g. health appointment)

  

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. – Proverbs 13:11 (ESV)

 Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it. – Proverbs 21:20 (ESV)

 “Financial discipline demands that you have a budget. Control your money. Do not let money control you. Discipline yourself to make sure that the flow of your money is going in the right direction at all times.” — Noel Jones

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.dreamstime.com/japanese-yen-notes-money-concept-image204496275]

I tried ‘Kakeibo’: The Japanese art of saving money—and it completely changed how I spend my money

Published Wed, Jan 8 202012:38 PM EST Updated Thu, Dec 24 202011:38 AM EST

Sarah Harvey, Contributor@sazzaharvs

In 2017, I decided to quit my job working for a London publisher and move to Japan. I enjoyed my work and had a great social life, but was craving something new and different.

After living in Tokyo for six months, I became fascinated by how small details, mindfulness, and incremental changes were given more emphasis in Japanese daily life.

It was unlike anything I had ever experienced, and it encouraged me to slow down and make some lifestyle improvements — specifically, in my frivolous and impulsive spending habits. So when I heard about a Japanese budgeting method called kakeibo, I was intrigued and decided to give it a try.

 

Businessman counting money, japanese yen banknotes, in front of laptop computer at working desk

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.freepik.com/premium-photo/businessman-counting-money-japanese-yen-banknotes-front-laptop-computer-working-desk_5887107.htm]

It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for. - Robert Kiyosaki

https://thesamuraiseven7.blogspot.com/2023/04/robert-kiyosaki-on-budgeting-your-income.html

 This is everyone’s money. Money is an expression of our own hearts. In the world today, there are many misfortunes involving money. Here, people live supporting each other. If people’s hearts become one, it is natural that money also become one and is shared by everyone. Everyone can live happily with less money than if they owned it individually. This is one wallet economy.   

https://thesamuraiseven7.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-one-wallet-economy-of-konohana.html

‘Kakeibo’: The Japanese method of saving money

Kakeibo, pronounced “kah-keh-boh,” translates as “household financial ledger.” Invented in 1904 by a woman named Hani Motoko (notable for being Japan’s first female journalist), kakeibo is a simple, no-frills approach to managing your finances.

Some people don’t struggle with overspending and can live a satisfying life with just essentials. I was never one of those people. Instead, I had a habit of shopping when I felt bored, stressed, or unhappy about something. I also shopped when I was in a good or celebratory mood, with a tendency to go beyond my means.

As many people would agree, changing bad financial habits isn’t easy to do — partly because our spending habits are deeply cemented into our daily routine, and the act of spending also includes an emotional aspect that is difficult to detach from.

Luckily, for the past 116 years, kakeibo has been effective in helping people make smarter financial decisions.

 

Making more money will not solve your problems if cash flow management is your problem. - Robert Kiyosaki

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.quotenova.net/authors/robert-kiyosaki/qgz9ma]

https://thesamuraiseven7.blogspot.com/2023/04/robert-kiyosaki-on-budgeting-your-income.html

No technology—just a notebook and pen

Like all budgeting systems, the idea behind kakeibo is to help you understand your relationship with money by keep a ledger of everything that is incoming and outgoing.

What sets kakeibo apart, however, is that it doesn’t involve any budgeting software, apps or Excel sheets. Similar to bullet journaling, it emphasizes the importance of physically writing things down — as a meditative way to process and observe your spending habits.

...our spending habits are deeply cemented into our daily routine, and the act of spending also includes an emotional aspect that is difficult to detach from.

Research has proven again and again the numerous benefits of writing by hand: It can help you make positive changes by encouraging you to be more present and aware, while also acknowledging the triggers behind your bad habits.

  

“When you have money, think of the time when you had none.” - Japanese Proverb

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/pesosenseph/photos/when-you-have-money-think-of-the-time-when-you-had-none-japanese-proverbpesosens/312216225629801/]

According to the kakeibo method, you must ask yourself the following questions before purchasing any non-essential items — or the things you buy on impulse, but might not necessarily need:

• Can I live without this item?
• Based on my financial situation, can I afford it?
• Will I actually use it?
• Do I have the space for it?
• How did I come across it in the first place? (Did I see it in a magazine? Did I come across it after wandering into a gift shop out of boredom?)
• What is my emotional state in general today? (Calm? Stressed? Celebratory? Feeling bad about myself?)
• How do I feel about buying it? (Happy? Excited? Indifferent? And how long will this feeling last?)

While kakeibo was effective in helping me stay on top on my finances, what it really did — that other systems I’ve tried in the past didn’t — was force me to think about my purchases and what motivated me to buy them.

In other words, I was finally able to conquer my fear of being completely honest about my “needs” and “wants.” As a result, I got better at making faster, smarter and more logical decisions about whether to spend money on a particular item.

The acts of mindful spending and saving are very much interlinked, and the small changes I’ve made using kakeibo have had a cumulative effect on my bank account.

It’s important to note that kakeibo isn’t designed to cut all joy out of your life. If you’re feeling glum about something, then flowers are a fairly inexpensive way to cheer yourself up. Rather than requiring you to do anything drastic, the goal is to change your bad habits through mindfulness and incremental changes.

  

Money is only a tool, not a goal. – Amish Proverb

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://suzannewoodsfisher.com/amish/too-much-money/]

How to spend more mindfully

In order to see significant results in your savings, it’s important to stay committed in asking the right questions before making any non-essential purchases.

Here are some simple kakeibo-themed strategies to ensure that you spend more mindfully:

1. Leave the item for 24 hours. This highlights whether you genuinely want or need it. If you’re still thinking about the item the next day and can afford it, then make the purchase. You’ll feel a greater sense of satisfaction about your decision.
2. Don’t let “blowout sales” tempt you. I used to be a sucker for big sales. But that often meant spending money on items I knew I wouldn’t use. So for each item that you have in your basket during a sale, ask yourself whether you would buy it if it were full price.
3. Check your bank balance regularly. Checking your balance will help you feel more in control of your finances because it brings into focus how much money you have to spend. Now, the first thing I do every morning is check my balance. It’s a scary habit to try at first, but does wonders for worry levels.
4. Spend in cash. Physically handing over cash rather than just mindlessly swiping your card makes you more conscious of what you’re spending, and you will find it easier to budget. Try taking out a set amount of cash to use for the week and only spending what you have.
5. Put reminders in your wallet. My friend came up with the brilliant idea of attaching a sticker to her credit card that bluntly says, “Do you REALLY need this?!” Anything that prompts you to take a step back before making a purchase will help you make smarter decisions.
6. Change the environments that cause you to spend. If you notice that you often spend money after clicking on a marketing email or seeing pictures of an Instagram influencer wearing a particular brand, for example, then unsubscribe or unfollow. Or, if you buy clothes or makeup when you have time to kill, try using that time to do another activity instead, such as taking a walk in the park.

I still occasionally treat myself with non-essentials. This is fine and even encouraged! Remember, kakeibo is about using mindfulness to cut out purchases that might only give you a temporary boost of happiness.

The acts of mindful spending and saving are very much interlinked, and the small changes I’ve made using kakeibo have had a cumulative effect on my bank account.

My savings are growing at a faster rate than I ever imagined possible. More importantly, I’m making wiser decisions about how to invest that money for things that really matter.

Sarah Harvey is the author of “Kaizen: The Japanese Secret to Lasting Change.” Previously, she worked as a publishing consultant in Tokyo, where she fell in love with the Japanese culture. Sarah now lives in London and works as a literary agency. Follow her on Twitter.

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/08/how-this-japanese-method-of-saving-money-changed-my-lifeand-made-me-richer.html

  

A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. - Dave Ramsey

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://wellquo.com/dave-ramsey-quotes-on-money-and-debt/]

YOUTUBE VIDEO: A Simple Japanese Money Trick to Become 35% Richer

BRIGHT SIDE

 Jun 26, 2019

We all know how money has a magical ability to disappear overnight, right after payday. But it looks like the Japanese know the secret to make it stay in your wallet longer, and even multiply there. Today, their method of budgeting is growing popular all over the world.

A hundred years ago, Japan was a traditional agricultural country – nothing like how we know it now. How did it manage to become the most technology-savvy country, with a developed economy and one of the highest living standards? One of the reasons is the high financial competence of the Japanese themselves. They’re experts in personal finance. They use Kakeibo. So what is it?

TIMESTAMPS:

Why listen to the Japanese? 0:29

What is Kakeibo? 1:05

Questions Kakeibo is based on 2:28

How to draw up a Kakeibo style budget 2:42

How can you spend less? 5:05

How to save even more 5:49 ❗️

Why it's important to write by hand 7:44 ❗️

SUMMARY:

- Japanese are experts in personal finance. They use Kakeibo. Which means they don’t buy that third handbag in 2 months and manage to save up to 35% of their income.

- “Kakeibo” translates to “household account book.” It’s a notebook where you write down your income and expenses. Long before any financial apps or digital tables appeared, the Japanese had this system of writing up a budget.

- No apps, no technology, no tricky calculations. That’s the point: you rule out everything that’s not necessary and focus on your habits and decisions.

- Kakeibo appeared in 1904 and grew popular thanks to the first woman journalist in Japan

– Hani Motoko, who sold it to a wide audience.

- To draw up a Kakeibo style budget, you’ll need 2 notebooks - a big and a small one. You’ll use the big one to write down your income, and plan expenses and savings.

- You’ll need to record all the money you get as income: advance payment, salary, debt return, money you get from selling a secondhand laptop, etc.

- You write down how much money you’d like to put in a money-box or a savings account. It’s important to decide this amount before you start planning your expenses.

- A monthly expenses plan. Here, you write down your common expenses: utility bills, apartment rent, mobile and internet bills.

- At the end of each month you’ll analyze if you’ve managed to follow the plan and save or spend extra money.

- Put all the returned debts to the money-box. In fact, it’s not an income. You just get back money that was taken away from you before. After all, you’ve managed to live without it all this time.

- Every time you buy something, round the sum up. Say, if you have a $74 bill, round it to a $100 and put the other $26 into the money-box. It's a great tool that'll allow you to save daily.

- Work out a system of penalties for yourself. You can “punish” yourself financially for bad habits like skipping the gym or having an argument with a partner or friend.

- Always make a shopping list before you go to the supermarket. This piece of advice is as old as the hills, but who actually follows it? Kakeibo fans do, and it works for them.

- The writing process activates the part of the brain that lets the information pass directly into memory.

- Writing makes the process personal. We internalize everything we write by hand; it becomes more important to us.

VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re4sv-vIGIY

  

 

 

RELATED LINKS:

10 Benefits of Kakeibo: A Guide to Money Management

By Christopher Isak

Thursday, December 16, 2021

https://techacute.com/10-benefits-of-kakeibo-a-guide-to-money-management/

Kakeibo: The Japanese Budget Method Explained

Written by Amy Bergen

https://www.moneyunder30.com/no-more-budgets

How to Use the Envelope Budgeting Method By Shelley Elmblad

https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-is-envelope-budgeting-1293682

How To Make The Envelope Method The Best Budgeting Method

Written by Choncé Maddox |

https://www.moneyunder30.com/envelope-method

Nine money secrets of the Amish

The Amish are known for their off-the-grid lifestyles and communities. To be self-reliant, they also have to be good with money. These are nine money tips to learn from the Amish.

https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Saving-Money/2015/0928/Nine-money-secrets-of-the-Amish

OTHER LINKS:

https://www.richdad.com/giving-back

https://thesamuraiseven7.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-one-wallet-economy-of-konohana.html

https://thesamuraiseven7.blogspot.com/2023/04/robert-kiyosaki-on-budgeting-your-income.html