Half Way There
Guess who will be turning 40 this year? Yes, this October my day will arrive. These days are pretty good and not much I can complain about except for having to get up in the mornings and waste so many hours at jobs that I don't have a passion for, but that's my fault. Remember if you wouldn't do your job for free then you don't have a passion for your work either. Musicians and athletes would still sing and play sports even if there was no paycheck. Some bands in Osaka PAY bars to let them play. The great news is that I haven't been poor since 2002 and I do make my students happy. But yes, half my life is over and that's if I'm lucky to live another 40 years. Accidents happen that we have very little control over and we can die any minute. One student told me about how a friend of hers was hit by a car and killed while he was waiting at a bus stop. Last week there were earthquakes in west Japan that took out around 50 people. It made world news and I know this because my cousin from Greece emailed me and asked if things were all right. Thank you Tria! Luckily I'm still alive and kicking. I do have many gray hairs and hair coming out of my nose and ears. Still I'm happy that I have a full head of hair. My father lived to be 81 years of age and if I could do the same or better that would be great. A person's 40's and 50's is a really good time I believe. Well for men anyway ( I hear many women get depressed when they start to lose their pulchritude ). Having experience and resources is a great thing. James Bond could never be played by a thespien in his 20's or 30's. Jason Bourne is pretty cool, but Bond has way more class. Having more money and life experience makes me happier today compared to 20 years ago.I was always freakin broke before 2002. Always had a job, but would run out of cash before payday.
What's the plan for the next 40 years? It is very important that I not depend on the government to support me in my golden age so I must find a way to obtain passive incolme. Real estate is always on my mind. In Osaka you can buy a decent 2 bedroom apartment for $100 000 US and rent it out for $600 a month. Now if I had 4 of those I could retire and live a comfortable life. The good news being that it is possible to live in different countries as long as the rent goes into my bank every month. Could live very comfortably in Vietnam, Cambodia or the Philippines etc... I love it when everything is new including the local language. When I first came to Japan I learned something new everyday. These days are not so exciting. Would be great to live in another country. I'm not interested at all going back to Canada. If I did move back to North America it would have to be Mexico. In a year or a year and a half I would be able to speak Spanish then move on to another country and learn another language. Would be so wonderful to live a life not needing a time piece. Now... How do I get $400 000 US?
Monthly I bring in $4500. $1800 of that goes to expenses. 2 rents, 2 sets of bills and daycare. If it was only me the expenses would be just under $700. Having a child is one of the worst financial decisions a person can make, oh but I love my daughter soooooooooo much. So $1800 gone from the start and that doesn't include food. $2700 is left over and I try to live off $1000 a month for food, drinks and entertainment, but always go over budget. Most people can live very comfortably with $1000 a month of pure spending cash. Problem is I overspend when I drink. Will give money to homeless people and play poker and do other stupid things etc. Happy to say I haven't played poker at that no win psuedo-casino mentioned in book 1 for many months now. So let's say I spend $1400 a month and save $1300. That's roughly $15 000 a year in savings. Now it would take a really long time to bank $400 000 that way so forget that plan.
Now I'm really considering taking a short cut. It's risky, but not over the top risky. It is possible to turn $11 000 into $396 000 in a very short period of time. The odds of you doing so are 1/38. Yes, the game is called Roulette. I've won on Roulette many times. I like betting on the number that hit before ( repeat ). Don't know why, but many repeat numbers come up in the lotto and Roulette often. One time in Canada in about 10 or so mins of playing I was playing and betting ( only 50 cent chips ) on repeats and 5 times I hit. I was betting on repeats and half on the neighboring numbers which pays out 18 times your bet. The repeat number as you know ( when hit ) multiplies your bet by 36. I would throw 2 bucks on there and a couple of chips between the repeat and neighboring number. That was a good freakin day. The manager of the casino lady who was spinning came over and relieved her of her duty and she gave me a look I will never forget. would have been nice if I was betting $5 chips. That roughly $400 in winnings would have been $4000.
Anyways... $11 000 on a single spin. A 1/38 chance of never having to work an unenjoyable job ever again. I have won on Roulette many times. Dozens of times, but yes, I have lost many more times. Need to win 1 more time with the right bet. A couple of months ago I matched 4 numbers out of 6 in the Japanese Lotto 6. You choose 6 numbers out of 43 and if you match all of them ( which is almost impossible ) you win around $2 million. The odds matching 4 out of 6 are up there. They are over 1/1000 easily. The numbers picked during that draw were all high. I believe the lowest number was 25. I matched 4 out of 6 once before and they payed me less than 9 000 yen. The most recent payout was almost 18 000 yen because the numbers were all grouped up. It was a good day. So 1/38 aren't bad odds considering that the outcome can be life changing.
Worst case scenerio would be a loss of $13 000 and only $2000 saved for the whole year. Oh there are many people in North America that would love to have $2000 of spending money in their account. I can't make the bet in Japan because they don't have real casinos here. I can't go to Vegas because I believe they tax you if you win over $2500. Last time I was there around 6 or 7 years ago I saw a sign that said that. Macau is the Vegas of Asia so that might be the place to go. $11 000 for a single bet and $2000 for a 1 week vacation. Not just gonna fly over make the bet ( probably lose ) the first day and feel like crap for the remaining days. Will hang out for a week and on the last day go all in. 1/38 chance of lifetime financial freedom. The odds of someone giving me $400 000 as a present in my lifetime, I can not imagine.