Tl;dr: Is 2.3 million yen savings at 30, after paying off student debt, dire? What are the average savings for a 30 yr old in Tokyo?
30 years old, living alone in Tokyo. Currently have 2.3 million yen saved. Would have had more (around 4-5 million), but chose to fully pay off my student loan in my home country (NZ). Also took a hit during a 2.5 months of no income after leaving previous job, leading to 2.3mil. Now I'm debt free, but I have no additional assets and I worry a lot about how my 30s will go.
I also recently jumped industries so my current income took a hit and isn't great (¥235,000 before tax, entry level), so at the moment I'm just breaking even (savings have stayed the same since starting my new job).
I have found a bit of mixed information on average/median savings for people my age in Japan, so I'm unsure how to put my situation into perspective.
I want to start NISA, but I find investing confusing and am wondering if I should have better savings first. Also have been debating returning to home country to reskill or enter job market there (though both NZ and AU are ridiculously expensive and job markets bleak)
Any general advice, or thoughts on my situation would be appreciated.
by meowmeowthrowaway67
6 comments
IMO that’s not bad. Especially with no debt. Are you investing? I’d keep at least 6 months to a year’s worth of an emergency fund and then invest the rest and you’re good.
I’ve hit hardships in my mid 30s where for a full year I only had about ¥100,000 in my account after the family was fed and bills were paid.
Being debt free is a win. Id keep 1m as emergency fund and the rest to dca into NISA. I had ZERO savings and investments at 30, lost my job and ran through my savings durng the 2008 financial crisis. It was tough paying loans on a 160k gross salary which was the only job i could get. You are in far better situation, you are doing well. Not bad i believe.
It depends on what your long term goals are. Are you looking to live comfortably and eventually depend on the pension system? FIRE? Have enough money to live a wealthy lifestyle? Start a family? Being debt free is already a huge milestone. Regardless, I would get experience and then try to up-skill and find a job that pays better, especially since you live in Tokyo.
when you say average, are you talking about Japanese average or expat/immigrant average? A It also depends on the type of migrant. if you are an economic migrant, your savings will probably be lower than a cultural migrant. Also generally mean is a better number to look for than average for stuff like this.
[https://www.keiyobank.co.jp/individual/column/asset/202212001.html](https://www.keiyobank.co.jp/individual/column/asset/202212001.html)
For japanese, you can see for your age, the median is 56万円 but average is 606万円 (skewed by wealthier people).
Foreign numbers are going to be harder to come by as there aren’t any stats but i would assume that it could be higher for cultural expats/migrants and lower for economic migrants
The rule of thumb is to have emergency savings in cash equivalent to at least 6 to 12 month of salary…
We asians born usually saves even more just for our peace of mind.
beyond that, not too shabby but remember to invent and grow your wealth.
You’re fine. No need to compare to peers whether you’re ahead or behind. People all have their own situations and comparing is usually more destructive than constructive. Just do your best to achieve your economic goals.
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