Foreigner's Finances

I’m an Exhausted Consumer: The Difficulty of Big Purchases

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My girlfriend and I have been busy with some big purchases. These are the types of purchases that if we play our cards right, can provide a load of savings and allow us to avoid worrying about the pointless savings of <$5 at the grocery store.

I’ve quickly learned why so many people struggle with the big purchases like a house or car: they’re incredibly stressful and time-consuming.

The amount of information consumed during research mixed with the language barrier has made it an exhausting experience, and I can definitely see why people get tricked into a mortgage or car loan they can’t handle. Information overload to the max.

I was talking to my dad on Skype this weekend and he said it best:

“Welcome to being an adult. When it rains it pours.”

I’ll dive into these big purchases in more depth in future posts, but for now I just want to get them out of my mind.

Car

I bought/inherited a car from my predecessor and it’s been nothing but a hassle and a money pit since getting here almost three months ago. I agreed to take on the car because I knew Corinne (the girlfriend) would be coming and looking for a job so I didn’t want to limit her job search to places she could only access by public transportation. Turned out, I was right. The office she’s working at it is only ten to fifteen minutes away by car, but there is no bus or train available. She’s been a saint and taking the local train for ten minutes into the major city, and then walking for forty minutes to her office.

Currently, it’s really her only option because the car is shot with radiator issues that are worth more than the car itself. I’m not going to elaborate on the situation because it’s still being handled and money has yet to exchange hands, but it’s been a huge headache. We’re currently looking for a used car because every day is another two hours of commute when it could be twenty minutes of driving. There’s a lot that goes into buying a car in Japan and not knowing the language doesn’t make any of it easier. There are around one hundred foreigners in the prefecture, so sending out feelers to those people will probably bring the best results. Hopefully, we catch a break soon because I hate seeing her go so far out of her way to get to work.

Conclusions: Car’s are confusing and I love public transportation. Make sure to ask questions and know what you’re getting into before you purchase a car. Also, pay attention to more than the sticker price. Hidden fees are notrious for cars and too many people ignore them when looking for a car.
Laptop(s)

I brought a 4+ year old Gateway laptop with me to Japan in July. It’s been my baby. She got me through college and she’s held her own ever since. Corinne has a desktop at home and since she was unsure about a job in Japan, and consequently how long she’d be staying, she decided against shelling out $700+ for a laptop she wouldn’t use if she had to go home.

Thankfully, she’s established a job, and although the visa isn’t guaranteed by any means, it looks like she’ll be staying. Since her work schedule will be more afternoons/evenings and Saturdays, while I’m more 8 A.M -4 P.M., it creates a laptop sharing problem. Also, my trusty laptop is on it’s last leg and probably won’t last more than five to six months.

The problem lies in the fact that it’s 100x more difficult to get an American laptop in Japan that I initially thought. There are all sorts of taxes and liability issues which makes it nearly impossible to order one in America and ship it over. Most stores in Japan don’t have any demand for American laptops so they don’t carry them. This isn’t a huge deal, but the keyboard is a little different in places which will take some getting used to. Apple supposedly ships anywhere, but I’m more of a PC guy. On top of this, Windows 7 comes out in a week which throws another log on the fire.

Our current plan of attack is to wait until the 22nd for Windows 7 and then either get a ride to an electronics store or order a Japanese laptop online with the help of one of my teachers at school. We’d love an American model, but it’s looking like that just can’t be an option. Two laptops should bring some stability to our lives. This will also allow me to write more as I feel bad when Corinne has to stare at a wall while I work on an FF post.

Conclusions: Preemptive strikes can work wonders. I should’ve bought a new laptop before I came and I was flirting with disaster by bringing one that is 4+ years old. Also, many electronics stores and computer companies do not ship internationally. Hopefully, this helps some people avoid headaches in the future.
Couch

The Japanese are notorius for sitting on the ground and being fairly comfortable. Before Corinne was here, I sat at a desk with a chair. However, since she’s been here we’ve been sitting behind our kotatsu on a floor chair and a pillow. After three weeks, it’s time for a change. I want to come home, throw my bag down, and plop somewhere.

We’ve been in the market for a couch for a while. Without a car, it’s been difficult getting around to the local stores to find one. This weekend, we decided enough was enough and headed into the major city on train to get a couch at the big furitunre store. However, after getting off the bus too soon and having to walk for a little longer than we thought, a one hour trip turned into a seven hour day. Another reminder that we desparately need a car.

Luckily, we found the perfect black, leather couch at an IKEA-like store for around $200. The best part – they’re shipping it to us next Thursday for free! I’m not leaving that couch for four days.

Conclusions: Don’t short yourself on comfort. It plagues other parts of your life and is money well spent.
Bike

We got a bike for free from a friend who said there was a problem with the back tire, but she didn’t know what it was. We currently don’t know what that is and it’s sitting outside after we tried to dig out the tube and failed. Japanese bikes are built a little differently and although it’s something I’d love to have to ride to work, it’s on the back burner right now. The local shopping area has an area that looks like bike repair. I went there today and after ten minutes of not understanding the cashier, found out I can bring the bike in Sunday at 10 A.M. to get fixed. Who will be there? I have no idea, but I hope it’s a bike guru who can get me riding soon.

Conclusions: No conclusions here, yet. Hopefully on Sunday I’ll have one.
Cell Phone

We’ve been sharing a cell phone since Corinne arrived three weeks ago. After I accidentally took the cell phone to work last week, leaving Corinne without an alarm or clock in the house (oops) I decided it was time to get her one.

Our seventy-five year old friend who runs the local English club tagged along as our translator as we visited the local phone store. We decided on an iPhone for GPS (if I’m five minutes outside the apartment, I have no idea where I am) and they have a great deal on the old 8gb 3G making it cheaper than any of the Japanese phones.

We figured out all of the details, but despite having huge signs on the windows advertising the iPhone deal, they claimed they didn’t have one in the store. Supposedly, they will have one tomorrow so we’re heading back and should return with a second cell phone which will help our journey to normalcy.

Conclusions: Friends who can translate are worth more than gold. Sharing a cell phone is a hassle and should be avoided at all cost.

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Despite all of these big purchase hassles, life in Japan’s great. Hopefully, we’ll check some of these huge tasks off our to-do list so we can settle in. I’m make sure to keep you up-to-date on these purchases as they come in. We’ve been fortunate that we have the funds to purchase these items, but this experience shows me why people struggle with big purchases and how the stores and companies have the upper-hand over the exhausted consumer.

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In other Foreigner’s Finances news, Corinne is a wiz in the kitchen and I’m going to be putting together a series on the price of her gourmet American meals in Japan. She somehow created a Mexican night, along with delicious Italian dishes, so it should be interesting to see how much these cost compared to going out. I might even put together a video post for one of the meals so FF will be going food blog for a bit.

Also, make sure to also check out The Carnival of Personal Finance over at All Financial Matters. JLP is celebrating five years blogging with some great articles spanning the personal finance genre. My post about finding your net worth can be found under the “Financial Planning” subtitle.

Finally, I leave you with a video my good friend Erik pointed me towards. China recently celebrated its 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in style. This video highlights all of its greatness in 3 minutes. You can also check out some unbelievable pictures of the event over at Boston.com. Enjoy!

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