Disclaimer
The information discussed in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be considered financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. The views expressed by the host and guest are their own and do not constitute recommendations. Always conduct your own research and consult a qualified financial professional before making any decisions.
Do you remember any college professors who made their subjects come alive by connecting theory and practice? Today, Real Gaijin was pleased to introduce someone who excels at doing just that, particularly in the areas of financial literacy and personal finance. These are two subjects in which everyone should be interested and have at least a basic level of competence.
We were fortunate to be speaking with Daniel J. Mills, Ed.D., a professor in the Faculty of Economics at Ritsumeikan University, today. He shared his insights on financial literacy education, paying particular attention to the challenges faced by foreign residents — especially Americans — living in Japan.
Who is he?
Meet Professor Daniel J. Mills, whom we referred to as “Daniel” during the AMA “live video” podcast.
Originally from California, Daniel has lived and worked in Japan for more than two decades. This bilingual resident foreigner graduated from California State University, Northridge, where he majored in comparative religion with a focus on Asian religions. He also has a TESOL degree from Shenandoah University and an Ed.D. from the University of Wyoming. He is a certified financial educator and has taught at Ritsumeikan University for 15 years. You may have read some of his work on The FI Professor website, which provides a wealth of resources for US expats in Japan. Daniel is also the editor-in-chief of the Computer-Assisted Language Learning Electronic Journal. He co-authored the Think Big for Business textbook series and is currently working on new projects to provide accessible, practical financial guidance. In short, Daniel is an expert on personal finance and is especially talented at teaching others the ins and outs of personal finance from the perspective of a fellow American expat based in Japan.
Today, in addition to delving deeper into Daniel’s path to Japan, Real Gaijin asked him to share some of what he teaches his students, whether they are young or young at heart.
Key Takeaways
Today’s discussion was very much a “survey class,” covering a variety of subjects at a high level. However, it was clear that Daniel had more information to share and could have provided more detail on several topics. The main takeaways from today’s talk are as follows:
* Top Priority 3 Core Practices: Within the first 30 days of settling into a new job and home in Japan, Daniel recommends doing these three things first:
* Track and analyze your cash inflows and outflows in real time to create a personal balance sheet and net worth statement. Drill down to a fairly granular level to see exactly how much is coming in and going out.
* Develop a method for “forced savings” (e.g., open two bank accounts: one for day-to-day expenses and another for future investments).
* Begin making investments, but only after paying off any high-interest credit card debt.
* The Coming Use of AI to Clamp Down on Tax Noncompliance: Daniel predicts that, in the future, tax authorities around the world—including the National Tax Authority (NTA) in Japan and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the U.S.—will proactively identify errors. Stay tuned, and get compliant sooner rather than later.
* The Big Picture: Don’t Become Overwhelmed Take it one step at a time. As Daniel counsels, “It’s easy to make progress, and that’s all you need to do.”
Timeline
Substack does not yet have the functionality to allow you to use a link to jump to a specific section like YouTube’s “chapters.” Please refer to the times listed below to navigate through our hour-long conversation. Thank you for your understanding.
Coming up
* Grant from the Japanese Government: Daniel will be studying the intersection of personal finance, financial literacy education, and AI. He is the recipient of a prestigious Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research or Kagaku Kenkyūhi Josei Jigyō (科学研究費助成事業) in Japanese. Daniel will be taking this research on the road next year as a visiting professor at California Lutheran University. Expect great things! (He’ll still be keeping up The FI Professor with the new perspective of being “on the road.”)
* Think Big for Personal Finance textbook series: Scheduled to be published in 2026.
* Dedicated personal finance course at Ritsumeikan University: In the works…Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement.
* Expansion of The FI Professor website: Daniel has plans to launch a “Survival Guide for American Finances in Japan” and update the blog post “What’s in The FI Professor’s Portfolio?”
* Pet project: Daniel may create a step-by-step guide with screenshots that shows how to navigate the Interactive Brokers platforms (“asking for a friend”).
* Immediate short-term: If you’re planning to be in Osaka on Sunday, November 30, 2025, you can see Daniel present here:
The registration form is on @intogether2022 (Instagram) profile page.
Key Contacts
* Website: https://www.thefiprof.com/
* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-j-mills-ed-d-037b351a/
* Substack: https://thefiprof.substack.com/
* Ritsumeikan University (立命館大学): https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/
* Computer-Assisted Language Learning Electronic Journal: https://callej.org/index.php/journal
* Think Big for Business textbook series: https://www.akebonopress.com/think-big-landing
#TheFIProfessor #DanielMills #RitsumeikanUniversity #PersonalFinance #FinancialLiteracyEducation #FinancialIndependence #WorkingInJapanAsAForeigner #ThinkBigForBusiness #ダニエルミルズ #立命館大学 #パーソナルファイナンス #金融リテラシー教育 #経済的自立 #外国人として日本で働く #RealGaijin #リアル外人
Please note that you can subscribe to Real Gaijin for free. If you are so inclined, you can also purchase an annual subscription for a relatively small fee.
However, I understand that even the lowest level of annual subscription allowed by Substack may seem too high for many. If you just want to buy a coffee (or maybe a matcha latte) for Real Gaijin, you can also make a small donation here:
https://buymeacoffee.com/realgaijin
In addition to offering a way to make a one-time, small donation equivalent to the price of a cup of coffee, Buy Me Coffee now supports recurring donations. Real Gaijin has three levels, including the following:
Pine or sho (松) in Japanese (gold level) for US$10/month
Bamboo or chiku (竹) in Japanese (silver level) for $5/month (same as a regular subscription via Substack)
Plum or bai (梅) in Japanese (bronze level) for only US $1/month
In Japanese, shō-chiku-bai (松竹梅) literally means “pine–bamboo–plum.” As is often the case for course meals in certain restaurants, on sake menus, or box lunch bento sets, shō-chiku-bai is often used instead of “gold–silver–bronze.”
For readers with some knowledge of Japanese, yes, the word for “pine” is “matsu.” In this case, however, the on-yomi (音読み) is used. Similarly, the word for bamboo is “take,” but the on-yomi is “chiku.” Similarly, the word for plum is “ume,” but the on-yomi is “bai.”
No Need to Pay Me: All levels of support - including just liking a particular article and/or leaving a comment - are very welcome. Thanks again for reading.
While Real Gaijin lives in Substack, you can also find Real Gaijin on a few other platforms (listed in alphabetical order).
https://www.instagram.com/real_gaijin_on_substack/
https://www.threads.net/@real_gaijin_on_substack
https://www.tiktok.com/@real.gaijin
https://x.com/Real_Gaijin_
https://www.youtube.com/@RealGaijin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-kennedy-5b50b71/
Get full access to Real Gaijin at realgaijin.substack.com/subscribe
