What's up with the value of the YEN?

[ichigo partygirl]

Stupid joke time:

An Asian man was trying to exchange yen for dollars and asks the
American bank teller, "Why it change? Yestoday I get two hunat
dollar fo yen - today I get hunat eighty? The bank teller says,
"Fluctuations." The Asian man says, "Fluc you white guys too!"!"

ahahahahahahaha. that was a good one

[AssKissinger]

In case you're wondering where I got my personality from. When my Dad met my wife almost the first thing he says is

" Ok I got a joke. A Japanese guy goes to the eye doctor and the doc tells him 'I'm sorry but you got a cataract.' 'Dat not true! Me got Reecon Continental!'

[ichigo partygirl]

In case you're wondering where I got my personality from. When my Dad met my wife almost the first thing he says is

" Ok I got a joke. A Japanese guy goes to the eye doctor and the doc tells him 'I'm sorry but you got a cataract.' 'Dat not true! Me got Reecon Continental!'

this explains so much...............................

[Big Booger]

In case you're wondering where I got my personality from. When my Dad met my wife almost the first thing he says is

" Ok I got a joke. A Japanese guy goes to the eye doctor and the doc tells him 'I'm sorry but you got a cataract.' 'Dat not true! Me got Reecon Continental!'

hehehe.

[Buraku]

Anybody know who this bird is?

Amaterasu

[/quote]

nice birdy


shame about the Koizumi economy

QUADRILLION of Yen in Debt, Koizumi's agenda appeared defined ''more by negatives than positives'', Bush mess in Iraq is also costing the Japan economy
http://www.jref.com/forum/showpost.php?p=179&postcount=4
http://forum.japantoday.com/Down_the_squat_toilet%3F/m_64/tm.htm
http://www.globalaffairs.org/forum/showthread.php?mode=hybrid&t=3816

[AlbertSiegel]

It's at 111.17 at the moment. Been some time since I've seen it hit above 110.

[drpepper]

It's at 111.17 at the moment. Been some time since I've seen it hit above 110.

The only reason the yen is that weak is because I am planning a trip back to the U.S. in August. The yen always bottoms out on me before I go on these trips (last year it was 111 when I went and 107 when I got back... was 102 just a little while after that..).

[Mini_B]

I can't tell you how happy I am to see the YEN finally drop vs. the dollar. I love the weak YEN. I'd like to see it down to the 125 range like it was about 5 years ago. Ching ching!!!!!

[Buraku]

Japan's huge government debt, which totals more than 150% of GDP, and the ageing of the population are two major long-run problems.

debts stood at 1.08 quadrillion yen (1,080 trillion), according to the first financial statement

Loans accounted for the largest portion of the assets at 300 trln yen, of which lending to Japan Post accounted for 43 trln yen
Other loan recipients included governmentbacked financial organizations and the special corporation in charge of road construction

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/74882.asp
http://www.mabico.com/en/news/20050927/foreign_debt/articlep48131/
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/ja/Economy

[Greji]

[Buraku]

what's with the hentai & perverted smilie faces ?

Bush is a fucking idiot
even the bible bashing hick-states have started to turn sour at GW
61% of the US public can't put up with that bush dynasty no more

if Koizumi wants to be George's poodle and clock up bigger debts than the whitehouse - so be it
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1234387.cms
Once the Iranian ayatollah's get their Nukes it will be the last straw

[Greji]

what's with the hentai & perverted smilie faces ?

Bush is a fucking idiot
even the bible bashing hick-states have started to turn sour at GW
61% of the US public can't put up with that bush dynasty no more

if Koizumi wants to be George's poodle and clock up bigger debts than the whitehouse - so be it
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1234387.cms
Once the Iranian ayatollah's get their Nukes it will be the last straw

I will make one more attempt in the event you actual read these posts, not just look at the smilies. I asked for some support of your statement connecting the position Japanese economy to the US position in Iraq (or Bush's mess a you put it). The reply of "so be it" and India times coverage of the UN on Iranian nukes don't compute. To put it plainly, what the fuck are you talking about?

No smilies for sake of confusion.

[IkemenTommy]

Holy shit. Has anyone seen the dollar to yen rate lately?
Time to buy up some yen.

[hodensaft]

Holy shit. Has anyone seen the dollar to yen rate lately?
Time to buy up some yen.

Yeah, I've seen the rate. I send about a grand home to the states every month. I've just started walking up to the ATM and bending over for the furikomi.

[FG Lurker]

It's AWESOME!!! I've got 6 grand Canadian to send over here... Not a lot of money, but the 20% bonus I'm getting on the dollar is certainly sweet.

[fatslug]

It's AWESOME!!! I've got 6 grand Canadian to send over here... Not a lot of money, but the 20% bonus I'm getting on the dollar is certainly sweet.

sounds like you will stay in japan the rest of your life .....

yeah? no ?

[FG Lurker]

It's AWESOME!!! I've got 6 grand Canadian to send over here... Not a lot of money, but the 20% bonus I'm getting on the dollar is certainly sweet.

sounds like you will stay in japan the rest of your life .....

yeah? no ?

I'll almost certainly be here until I "retire". I'm 33 now and from what I figure I have about 12 years to go. After that... Well, no reason to live in only one place anymore. I do enjoy life in Japan though, so even after I have more individual freedom I'll quite likely base myself here.

[IkemenTommy]

It's AWESOME!!! I've got 6 grand Canadian to send over here... Not a lot of money, but the 20% bonus I'm getting on the dollar is certainly sweet.

sounds like you will stay in japan the rest of your life .....

yeah? no ?

I'll almost certainly be here until I "retire". I'm 33 now and from what I figure I have about 12 years to go. After that... Well, no reason to live in only one place anymore. I do enjoy life in Japan though, so even after I have more individual freedom I'll quite likely base myself here.

You sure you got your math right? More like 32 years until retirement if you want to slave your soul to the japanese sarary-man lifestyle just so you can buy that tiny ass apartment in the suburbs, just to find out that you had tossed all of your valuable life-savings into a defunct apartment that will someday come crumbling down in a huge earthquake.
Welcome to Japan

[FG Lurker]

It's AWESOME!!! I've got 6 grand Canadian to send over here... Not a lot of money, but the 20% bonus I'm getting on the dollar is certainly sweet.

sounds like you will stay in japan the rest of your life .....

yeah? no ?

I'll almost certainly be here until I "retire". I'm 33 now and from what I figure I have about 12 years to go. After that... Well, no reason to live in only one place anymore. I do enjoy life in Japan though, so even after I have more individual freedom I'll quite likely base myself here.

You sure you got your math right?

My math is fine... I am going to retire and travel at about 45. Yeah, that is realistic.

More like 32 years until retirement if you want to slave your soul to the japanese sarary-man lifestyle just so you can buy that tiny ass apartment in the suburbs, just to find out that you had tossed all of your valuable life-savings into a defunct apartment that will someday come crumbling down in a huge earthquake.

Man, to live that sort of life would suck badly indeed.

[IkemenTommy]

Man, to live that sort of life would suck badly indeed.

Hey but there are all those millions of proud fools that live that life. Fuck that. Thank god I don't have kids and not obligated to live like that.

[Greji]

Man, to live that sort of life would suck badly indeed.

Hey but there are all those millions of proud fools that live that life. Fuck that. Thank god I don't have kids and not obligated to live like that.

Yup! That's the life I lead and I'm glad they didn't get my face in the photo. But, I don't feel bad about it, GJ was laying across the aisle.

[FG Lurker]

Man, to live that sort of life would suck badly indeed.

Hey but there are all those millions of proud fools that live that life. Fuck that. Thank god I don't have kids and not obligated to live like that.

Um, I am married and have a kid. What does that have to do with anything?

[maraboutslim]

Well, so am I (two kids). And what it means to me is that when I get sick of working, I can't just pack up my vintage campervan with my surfboards and live in it up and down the Pacific coast. It means I have to keep going to work and keep putting food on the table.

Having the kids was basically what prompted me to leave Japan in the first place. I thought maybe it was time to have a steady income and some sort of job security (gee, that worked out great) and couldn't see myself putting up with the bullshit that would be required to do that in Japan! So I came home to California. (another reason was that we didn't want our kids being "educated" in the Japanese school system. what a nightmare that would be).

[FG Lurker]

Having kids has nothing to do with a persons ability to generate enough money to retire early.

Money doesn't buy happiness, but it can certainly buy time.

[Mulboyne]

Having kids has nothing to do with a persons ability to generate enough money to retire early.

The evidence suggests otherwise across a wide range of societies and economies. The usual explanation is that having children reduces an individual's willingness to accept the kind of risks that can result in high returns which, in turn, generate higher income or asset levels.

[FG Lurker]

Having kids has nothing to do with a persons ability to generate enough money to retire early.

The evidence suggests otherwise across a wide range of societies and economies. The usual explanation is that having children reduces an individual's willingness to accept the kind of risks that can result in high returns which, in turn, generate higher income or asset levels.

I suppose that is true in many cases.

My views on investing, building assets, and using those assets to generate income are rather different that most people's. In my experience people view such activities as risky. Personally I say that not doing those sorts of things is risky. I have a good job in a very old and very stable company. However, in the current world economy that means nothing. I could literally turn up here tomorrow and have no job. It happens all the time. I fail to see how relying on a job for income is a safe way to live life. Yet many people do so, and many people are utterly terrified at the idea of doing anything worthwhile with the money they earn. Boggles my mind.

[maraboutslim]

Having kids has nothing to do with a persons ability to generate enough money to retire early.

That's hilarious. If I was single, my housing costs would be at least $1500 a month less than now. Add in the food budget, the added insurance, clothing, blah blah blah and we're looking at....well, a lot less money each month that I can invest. Instead, I have chosen to invest in a family. And it's all good: brings me more pleasure than retiring single and childless at 45 ever would.

As for working for a living vs. investing, well, I suspect we'd disagree about which is a more satisfying way to live one's life.

[FG Lurker]

I think the issue here is that we see money in fundamentally different ways. If I am not mistaken, you see money as a finite resource that you work to earn, and then use to live. Correct?

If I was single, my housing costs would be at least $1500 a month less than now. Add in the food budget, the added insurance, clothing, blah blah blah and we're looking at....well, a lot less money each month that I can invest.

I spend a lot of money on the same sorts of things.

Instead, I have chosen to invest in a family. And it's all good: brings me more pleasure than retiring single and childless at 45 ever would.

I think you missed the post where I stated I am married and have one child. We might have another one, but not right now. That choice has nothing to do with money though.

As for working for a living vs. investing, well, I suspect we'd disagree about which is a more satisfying way to live one's life.

I enjoy my job right now, but I don't want to be working every day until I'm 60, 65, or 70. Retiring at 45 will give me 20 years of extra time (in the prime of my life!) to enjoy my family, travel, and generally do things that I wouldn't be able to do if I was still going to work 5 days a week. You'll also notice that in my original post I put retire in quotes. I don't plan to totally stop working -- managing investments and planning new ones takes time, and is rewarding in its own right. But I can do it on my schedule, not the company's.

I don't expect to change your mind about this. I've had this conversation with many people before, and most people react in similar ways. To each their own.

[Greji]

Money doesn't buy happiness

Exactly: however, it can sure rent a lot of it and anyway, whatever money can't buy, I don't need!

[FG Lurker]

Money doesn't buy happiness

Exactly: however, it can sure rent a lot of it and anyway, whatever money can't buy, I don't need!

I would say that money works very well as an amplifier.

If you have money problems, more money tends to give you bigger problems. If you are good at managing money, more money makes you better -- and richer.

If you are a fundamentally happy person, money tends to make you happier. Likewise, fundamentally unhappy people tend to become unhappier with money.

It's weird, but it does seem to be true.