Looks like both the market and the Yen have made a pretty good recovery this month! USDJPY is now down to about 134, so about 9% strengthening in the Yen compared to last month. Similarly, the US market went up about 5% in the same period, so a nice boost all around for me.
Since it’s getting towards the end of the year, it means it’s time once again to start thinking about tax optimization. I estimate how much of my traditional IRA balance I can convert to Roth IRA without paying too much in tax. In addition, I need to look over my Japanese bank balance history to prepare for FBAR reporting as well. I will most likely use Turbotax once again this year for my US tax prep, but I’ll probably buy it just after Christmas since they usually have a one-day sale with a pretty good discount.
I’ll be traveling back to the US again this month to visit family, so looking forward to that. I’m thankful that I was able to book my travel a few months ago using miles (89,100 United + $56.57 in taxes) before Japan’s announcement that they were re-opening for international tourism and all the price increases and lack of flight availability that come along with that. At the time I booked, the cash price for my itinerary was about $2,000, but today it is about $2,600. Using miles for travel saves the day once again.
Here’s a summary of my financial position at this point:
| Description | 11/22 |
|---|---|
| Total Expenses | $2,912.54 |
| Gross Income | $7,046.32 |
| Taxes | $859.71 |
| Net Income | $6,186.61 |
| Savings | $3,274.07 |
| Savings Rate | 52.9% |
| Net Worth | $ 415,348.78 |
Projected time to FI (assuming 6% growth and 4% withdrawal rate): 5 years, 7 months.