I have a confession. After nearly twenty-six years of marriage, I have never once kept a household budget. Not a single month. How we never fell into serious financial trouble, I honestly have no idea — but we didn't, and somehow that made it easy to keep going without ever looking too closely at the numbers.

That changed recently. The trigger was an online community called LibreCity — and a YouTube channel that I had almost forgotten about.

Twenty-six years without a budget

For most of our married life, I managed our household finances the way many people do: money came in, money went out, and as long as we weren't in the red at the end of the month, I didn't ask too many questions. There's a saying in Japan about a leaky bucket — the money bucket full of holes — and that described our finances perfectly.

It wasn't until I lost my job and our income dropped that I finally thought seriously about it. If money wasn't coming in, I had to at least stop it leaking out unnecessarily. That's when I remembered a YouTube channel I had discovered years before and drifted away from.

Rediscovering Ryo's University

In late 2019, I came across a Japanese YouTube channel called Ryo's Liberal Arts University (両学長 リベラルアーツ大学). Its message was simple but powerful: learn about money, build financial stability, and live freely. I watched enthusiastically for a while — back then, the channel had around 300,000 subscribers — and then, as life got busy, I quietly stopped watching.

In February 2026, newly unemployed and with time on my hands, I searched for it again. I was astonished. In the six years I had been away, the channel had grown to 7 million subscribers. The archive of videos was vast — almost overwhelming.

A new morning routine

As I started watching again, I discovered that the channel hosts a live stream almost every morning, starting around 6:40 a.m. and sometimes running past 9 o'clock. I began watching every day.

Those mornings made a real difference. I was unemployed, low in confidence, uncertain about the future — and somehow, listening to calm, practical talk about money and life every morning helped me feel less adrift. I genuinely regretted the six years I had missed.

What is LibreCity?

LibreCity is an online community that grew out of the YouTube channel. Its concept: learn about money, build wealth, and gain the freedom to live as you choose. Members share their progress, ask questions, and support each other — online and in person.

There is a 30-day free trial, after which members choose a paid tier. The entry-level "supporter" membership costs ¥2,200 in the first year, then ¥3,300 annually — roughly the price of a couple of coffee shop visits per month.

When I first entered the community, the sheer volume of content was overwhelming. But the design is welcoming: there's an AI to answer basic questions, daily orientation seminars, and plenty of ways to ask for help. Members are active and enthusiastic. Some people joke that the energy inside feels almost cult-like — and I understand what they mean. It really does have a remarkable warmth and momentum to it.

Why I joined, despite my doubts

I'll be honest — I was sceptical at first. Some thoughts that crossed my mind:

• If I'm trying to build savings, won't paying a monthly fee just make things worse?
• Isn't this just a clever way for the organisers to make money?
• Can't I get the same content for free on YouTube?

The answer to that last question is: mostly, yes. The free content is genuinely valuable. But about two weeks into my free trial, I decided to become a paying member — and three months later, I feel I have received far more value than I have paid for.

If any of this resonates with you, I'd suggest starting with the book Money University (お金の大学) by the channel's host — it has sold over 2 million copies in Japan. If you're curious after that, the 30-day free trial is a low-risk way to look inside.

Breaking down spending into four categories

Inside LibreCity, members work through a homework list — a set of practical financial tasks to tackle at their own pace. Household budgeting was one of them. The approach recommended is to divide all spending into four categories:

• Fixed regular costs — roughly the same every month: phone bill, insurance premiums, subscription services
• Fixed irregular costs — predictable but not monthly: car maintenance, weddings, large appliance replacements
• Variable monthly costs — spending that changes but recurs: groceries, daily necessities, transport
• Variable special costs — occasional outlays: travel, holidays

Writing it all out made our spending visible in a way that vague awareness never had. My relationship with money changed from that moment.

How reviewing fixed costs saved us ¥172,440 a year

Fixed regular costs are the easiest place to start, because any savings you make continue automatically. When I went through ours carefully, I found a few surprises.

A double Netflix subscription I hadn't noticed

It turned out we had been paying for Netflix twice — once directly and once through another channel — for years without realising. We cancelled one immediately.

Switching phone plans: ¥9,360 saved per year

I moved to a more economical mobile plan, saving ¥9,360 annually. I've written about this in more detail in a separate article (Japanese only).

Cancelling a medical insurance policy: ¥12,000 saved per month

After learning about Japan's NISA investment system, I reconsidered whether expensive insurance was really the best way to protect my family's finances. I cancelled a policy costing ¥12,000 a month — and covered this reasoning in another post (Japanese only).

Together, these changes save us ¥172,440 per year — roughly what I used to earn in two months of part-time work. I had been so focused on earning more that it had never seriously occurred to me to look at what was going out. Reducing outgoings can achieve the same result as increasing income, often with far less effort.

In summary

Twenty-six years of marriage, zero budgets — and then, in the space of a few months, a complete change of perspective. It might be a late start, but I believe the right time to begin is whenever you realise you need to.

Household budgeting doesn't need to be complicated. Writing your spending under four simple categories is enough to get started. The numbers become real, and decisions that once felt vague become clear.