My Finances

Minimally, at the moment I like to keep about 400 Euro in my Wise account and 20k Yen cash a week for daily expenses, any unexpected expenses and any planned next donations, gifts, offers and purchases which happen at least bi-weekly on Saturday afternoons/evenings for amounts less than about 400 Euro and at least monthly for any amounts over that.

The remaining amount in my Wise account is intended for the following;

  • Any courses or lessons that I am planning on being part of between now and our departure.

  • Any expenditures (likely learning materials, subscriptions, books, weather related clothing, garments, furnishings and/or appliances, car and/or home repairs) that would exceed the amount I have available in my Wise account before it could be replenished within a month back near to the around 400 Euro amount.

  • An emergency fund in case I suddenly lose access to any streams of income I have access to now and/or lose access to the ways in which I am meeting my material needs (physical needs for transportation, shelter, warmth, food, water, medicine, communication, care for physical items under my wing etc.) unexpectedly.

I have six bank accounts:

  • with Tangerine for daily banking in Canada (my birth country) and receiving tax returns
  • with Paypal for online purchases
  • with Koho for use when travelling to Asia
  • with Wise for use when travelling abroad anywhere and for transferring money for offerings from people living elsewhere than where I am
  • with Wealthsimple for taxes
  • with OFX for transferring money to Japan
  • and, a likely inactive by now Japan Post Bank account from my time studying abroad in Kyōto while in university

Most of these accounts have either nothing or one to about three Canadian dollars in them.

Financial Reviews

When do I do them and why?

Minimally, I do a financial review at least once a month in order to;

-Pay off my credit card before it accrues any interest.

-Check whether any unexpected expenditures have been made that I had not planned on making and ask myself what led me to make them.

-Review and write what each expenditure was as a note in the expenditure in the bank account itself and document that in a financial tracker in my personal Notion database.

-Reflect on why I made each expenditure and whether I would want to make it again; if I wouldn’t want to make an expenditure again, I’d do next steps to step out of making that expenditure again.

Maximally, I do financial reviews soon after I receive any income I’m expecting, which I have found makes them easier on me to do.

Some principles I make decisions based on now and habits to be more mindful of when and where I give money

  • I write down any gifts, offers, donations, expenditures, bills I want to/have to make in a weekly repeating calendar event that happens on Saturday afternoons and only give money during that time slot on Saturdays.
  • I wait at least 2 weeks before giving money for anything under $400 Euro total. For anything over $400 Euro total I will wait at least a month. This includes bookings for any trips/adventures/experiences (which are done in a separate weekly recurring time-slot on Thursday afternoons).
    • Three exceptions are;
      • When money for shelter or an offering I want to enter is asked for at another time, then I will give the money only after 7pm my eod by the day it is asked for.
      • When there is something for which I am absolutely certain I will give money to and there is a need for it now or, if it’s a physical item, and I have a sense it won’t be available if I wait. If this happens more than once every three months I take a pause and reflect on what’s going on.
      • And, if there’s an emergency and someone needs financial support asap.
  • I welcome at most 3 new physical items into my home a month other than food, cleaning products, compost bags, medicine, herbs, emergency medical items (iodine, band-aids, Polysporin etc), ingredients for body cream, face cream, deodorant, clothing repairs & replacements, car parts, books, any learning materials for courses I am in, notebooks and sketchbooks to be able to fully welcome them and enjoy them! 🙂 The idea with the top three points is to introduce spaciousness in my decision-making to make more conscious decisions. Many a time, after waiting, I have released the desire to give money for a physical item or a one-too-many course just by giving myself some time and space to think about whether I’m actually able to take whatever it is on (physical item or capacity-wise).
  • Since starting this two-yearlong working holiday visa Experiment with Truth in Ayabe, I have introduced purpose-based and impact-based decision making into my financial decisions. I will ask myself whether something I want to give money for is directly aligned with one of my purposes for being here and what the impact of flowing money towards something means for whatever else I had previously planned.
    • I also have a self-agreement that I will flow resources towards three prior things I had planned if those things are still on purpose for me (they may not be anymore) before flowing resources to anything new.
  • I don’t get manicures anymore (as delightful as I found this back in the day – and I am not against it in general, I consider it an art form, but it helps my eczema and piano playing to have short nails and also creates less waste in the form of bottles of nail polish remover and cotton swabs thrown out. I know there are re-usable bottles and cotton pads now).
  • My partner used to cut my hair with hair dressing scissors purchased once for about $30 total Cad. Now I go to a salon twice a year because of the low cost.
  • I don’t wear makeup.
  • I don’t purchase jewelry and only wear the jewelry that’s been handed down to me from my family (of which there is more jewelry than I would every habitually wear and is also more meaningful for me).
  • I give money for full leg and underarm waxing maximum 4x a year.
  • I don’t shave my genital area, I trim it with an electric razor (less waste from used razors).
  • I make my own body and face cream using organic hemp seed oil infused with arctium lappa (burdock) seeds for 6 months and then mixed with equal parts melted beeswax.
  • Deodorant is purchased in bar form.
  • Dish and hand soap is purchased in bar form. Brushes purchased are also re-usable and compostable.
  • I only use liquid shampoo in a refillable bottle and no body soap. I have found just water is sufficient to wash my body.
  • I don’t use toilet paper and instead use a mechanical bidet and small towels dedicated to drying off.
  • I don’t use paper towel anymore but towels which are then washed. Saran wrap is also no longer purchased but re-used from veggies wrapped in it from the grocery store.
  • I use a re-usable moon cup and period underwear for menstruation.
  • I take clothing to be repaired when it is torn.
  • If/when I am able, I will give what I’ve noticed is generally considered more money than average to purchase higher quality garments the first time and choose what I would consider classical timeless designs in order to be able to then wear them for many years.
  • I have recently begun integrating the habit of purchasing clothing in the season opposite the one it’s for (for example: purchasing winter clothing in spring).
  • I use screen protectors, plastic cases, fabric cases, pouches, bands etc. to cover and carry electronics so that they hopefully last several decades.
  • When I eat I will start with what others might consider a smaller than average portion of food and eat slowly before going back for seconds and adding a little bit more food and then going back a third time to add a little more food until I am satiated. In this way I don’t usually overeat, and generally eat less than what I’ve noticed others eat while still being fully satiated and having leftovers for the next day’s lunch.
  • I only cook 2 new meals a day (mostly vegan, local and organic when/where possible), for breakfast and dinner; lunch is usually leftovers. My breakfasts are full meals of soup, a grain with veggies, pickled veggies and either egg or fish with fermented beans.
  • Café excursions are kept to one-two times a week, if that. There’s no restaurants where I live now but if there were, I’ve found once a month keeps it a treat.

How I am sustaining myself materially now

I was invited to make a request for money to be able to continue contributing to the mostly online community called NGL mentioned in my What I’m Doing Now page for a prediction of my next four month’s needs (May-Aug 2026). I requested 7348 Euro which was accepted and allocated to me.

My previous partner contributes to our shared food, medicine, shelter, water, electricity, unlimited internet, and gas costs through freelance graphic design work he does and part-time work at a local hot spring.

Ways I’m Wanting to be of Service

(Even though I may not be anywhere near being able to provide these services and/or offerings yet.)

-Through holding workshops (in person and/or online) aligned with one or more of my purposes.

-Through teaching (in person and/or online courses) and/or facilitation offerings (for either individuals, groups, communities and/or organizations) aligned with one or more of my purposes.

-Through co-translating works from Japanese to English and/or from French to English (with at least one co-translator) that we both believe in and with the original works’ authors’ blessing.

-Through holding a seasonal in-person language learning offering that provides housing and locally grown organic food in which participants practise small-scale organic farming, collaborative group-decision making and conflict resolution in the language they want to learn while attending.

-Through holding a seasonal farm-stay with locally grown breakfast and dinner included.

-Through providing organic plant produce and/or products from locally grown organic plant produce and/or locally and regeneratively foraged local plants.

-Through an atelier, local markets, festivals and/or online store offering items I’ve chosen from other makers and/or items I’ve made myself.

-Through photography, videography and/or writing that’s aligned with one or more of my purposes.

-Through offering guided walks on pilgrimages either in Japan or locally.

-Through offering group powder ski tours in winter either in Japan or locally.

-Providing support and contributing (learning, guidance, insight, collaboration, and/or administrative etc.) to individuals, groups and/or organizations whose work aligns with one or more of my purposes.

If you are holding or would like to receive one or more of such offerings or are looking to collaborate, you can contact me using the below form:

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