Frugalista JapanMoney saving tips and ideas for foreigners in Japan!

This is my short entry for this months blog matsuri on what is strange in Japan. Thanks to Gakuranman for hosting this months matsuri and for thinking of such curious rules.

Before coming to Japan, I had pretty much given up on humanity. That would happen to you too if you lived in the wonderful multicultural steaming p#sspot called England. What shocked (and pleased) me about Japan was the low crime rate, especially considering how worthless the police here are – they spend most days attempting to give a good telling off to young high-school couples riding tandem – until you realise that policing and crime rate have very little to do with each other. Why does Japan have such a low crime rate then? Perhaps it’s a more fundamental social aspect of the culture here. In England, it’s almost as if being nice and considerate to someone is permanently uncool nowadays. But that isn’t a reason, it’s just another result. Some might say that it’s down to the education system, but having spent 6 years teaching in the public education system here, I’d be inclined to disagree. No, I’d reason it’s down to something a lot more fundamental than we all want to admit – vigilant monoculturalism. By which I mean, Japan has done an incredible job of making Japan a country for Japanese only (cue flames), and I have to say I really respect them for that. That’s what keeps this country safe.

If you’ve been living in Japan a long time now, chances are you’re still paying tax on interest you earn back home in the UK. Well, you needn’t be, if you’ve been out of the UK for more 90 days during each tax year – at which point you are classed as a non-resident.

Firstly, you’ll want to download and fill in this R105 form which says you shouldn’t pay tax from now on – and mail that to your bank or building society. Note that not all banks will allow you to not pay tax.

Next, find your financial records for all the years past that you’ve been living here in Japan and still paying tax back home. You can claim for up to 5 years of past tax deductions. You’ll need to fill out a separate R43 Tax Repayment Claim for each year, and the forms vary slightly by year. You can find them all here though. Send this to the inland revenue.

Easy 2 or 3 man in your pocket, and gross (no tax) interest on your savings in the UK from now on! What are you waiting for?

Oh, and if you’re wondering about the cheapest way to send money to the UK to earn that interest (with an infiinitely better rate than the 0.2% or whatever chump-change you’re offered here in Japan), then I suggest you check out GoLloyds. They charge a maximum of 2000 yen fee no matter how much you send back! And if you wouldn’t mind when you’re signing up please write “JAMES ANDREW BRUCE” in the referrer box, which will give me 2000 yen credit towards my next money transfer! Thanks!