Money Money Money Money...money

Interesting days for yen holders. The yen/dollar exchange rate has gone from 120 yen to the dollar down to 115 in the course of several days. I am not displeased at this turn of events as I send a lot of money back to the US to pay back debt and make investments. The Economist has a take on the currency situation here for anyone as boring as I am. One issue that any career teacher in Asia has is that of what to do with any extra money - assuming that there is any extra money. I wouldn't feel comfortable investing to much money in Thailand, nor do the almost non-existent interest rates offered by Japanese banks appeal to me. As for trying to invest money in securities in either country I would have to have much better language skills to piece through the offerings, but who would I be kidding - the US is rife with financial services and information... why would I invest through a foreign intermediary?

There are several ways to send money out of Japan. The cheapest way is through a postal money order. This only costs a thousand yen, but requires paperwork, standing in line and most dauntingly - dealing with postal bureaucrats. A less painful solution is to use Lloyd's banking services to transfer money simply using an ATM and bank card, although there is an initial application process. It costs an extra thousand yen, but it may well be the best use of a thousand yen I make in a month.

Of course, in addition to working, I also take donations and the countless hours I put into this blog come at the expense of my time and health so if you'd like to throw some mullah my way contact me about options for money transfer in the other direction ;)