A Scotsman living in Japan
It goes against conventional wisdom to want to move to a smaller house or apartment. However this is exactly what I have done. Initally I made the decision on purely financial grounds. Reducing my rent by 1/3 made me feel it was worthwhile. For my own personal development I felt this was a step worth taking.
In Japan, small really is small! I've traded in my 2 bedroom, living room and large kitchen apartment for a 1 room with a corridor kitchen affair.
The nearer it got to the moving date the more I realised that I had to drastically reduce my possessions if I wanted to be able to move in my new apartment. This gave me the opportunity for a major lifestyle change.
I gave away my piano, sofa and a bookcase to homes where they would be well cared for. The rest of the things I wanted rid of, e.g. bedding, carpet, car tyres, broken plates and so on were disposed of in a less environmentally friendly fashion. I simply paid 4,000 yen for a man to come round and put everything I didn't want into his truck and drive them away.
Freeing up space is allowing me to free my mind. Just the same as having a de-cluttered desk makes you feel relaxed, I'm finding de-cluttering my entire home is bringing an even more peaceful calm. Even though my new apartment is half the size of my old one, it feels more spacious. I'm going to continue this process of posession rationalisation.
Spiritual wellbeing as well as improving my financial development and health tell me that my decision to change my living environment is the right one.
I am improving my finance considerably through this change of living space. There are a variety of savings that I am making that increase my disposable income considerably each month. These include:
27,000 yen/month saved in rent.
1,000+ yen/month because water charge is included in my new rent figure.
2,000+ yen/month as my gas bill has shrunk for some reason.
I always thought my previous provider was expensive! Now I know it was.
This works out at about $300 more disposable income per month. This definitely helps with my financial development.
12.03.2009. 22:25
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