The Japansese Post Office – Savings and Mail?
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Transitioning my life to Japan has been something I didn’t have to do in 2007. I was a student and only here for two months so I was more of a temporary visitor. However, now that I w
ork here I need everything a normal citizen would have, minus the jet black hair. Bank account, insurance, identification, and taxes are some of the items I’ve had to sort out since arriving. I’ve also signed up for a Japanese Post Office account. Yes, a post office account.
This was suggested before I arrived because the post office in Japan is a little different than in America. Where in America you mostly find grumpy workers telling you that stamp prices have once again gone up; in Japan the post office acts as a place to send letters, and as a bank. Since the post office is run by the government, I can find any one of the 2,560 post offices across the country and access my money, whereas my local bank account only allows me access to my money in my hometown.
I find my post office account to be a good thing. I’m treating it as untouchable and forced savings. Forced savings might not sound good to everyone, but I have certain savings goals in mind that I’d like to accomplish in the next two to five years and having an untouchable savings account will allow me to accomplish these goals. The post office is the physical barrier that I need to separate my checking account – my discretionary spending – and my savings account – money for future goals.
It should be a pretty painless act. A day or two after I get paid I will trek over to my bank, withdraw the amount I want to save, walk across the street, and place that money into my post office account. It’s an easy way to separate checking and savings and avoid tempting myself by leaving extra money in my checking account that would probably be spent on candy or convenience store sushi (incredibly delicious).
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Hi, I'm Austin Morgan. I live in Japan, teach English, and write about personal finance. I hope you enjoy FF and feel free to 
[...] I receive my first paycheck, I will take 35% out and place it in my savings account at the Japanese Post Office. The amount left in my checking account should be more than plenty for my bills and expenses for [...]