A simple question: Is the allowance usually handed over in cash? Also, do people generally keep that cash at home or somewhere else?

I’m Taro, a male member. When I was a kid, I kept a chipmunk. Sunflower seeds were its staple food. Whenever I fed it by hand, it would neatly crack open the shells right there, stuff the kernels into its cheek pouches, and, once they were full, run back to its nest to stash them somewhere. Then it would come right back and beg for more sunflower seeds. It just repeated the process over and over. After it died and I took apart the nest, I found a huge stash of sunflower seed kernels under the straw in its nesting box. Whenever I give money to a woman I’m seeing, that chipmunk comes to mind. She probably goes home, hides it somewhere, and then comes back for another date. My guess is that she keeps it under her bed. For men of the Showa era, that was where they hid their porn magazines. No doubt about it. These days, companies like Iris Ohyama or Japanet Takata might even sell beds with built-in storage compartments online. That’s probably the kind of thing tax investigators find during an audit, right? Like in *A Taxing Woman*—very Showa. Since the authorities also have to consider cost-effectiveness, they might start by targeting women who proudly write things in some online Q&A box like, “I get a lot of allowance.”

Even if it’s over one million yen, it’s still cash. If you feel uneasy about putting it in your bank account, why not keep it on hand? The interest you’d earn at a bank is minimal anyway. This might be a good time to set up a secret savings box. Also, if someone tells you they’ll pay you all at once later, end the date immediately and go home. You’ll definitely get scammed. Anything that happens after the date is arranged has nothing to do with Universe, so please protect yourself. I don’t think Universe has any such petty, stingy people, but some members may have come over from an app, so please be extra careful.

I hand over the allowance in cash too. The woman I’m seeing said that she basically spends everything she receives on beauty treatments, clothes, and investments, so it’s all gone. When I asked, “Are you sure it’s okay to spend that much?” she replied, “I want to become rich.” Haha. Cash is probably best since it doesn’t cause any problems for either the person giving it or the person receiving it.

> Is the allowance usually handed over in cash? Normally, it’s handed over in cash. If someone says they’ll pay you later, you should be cautious. Some people may come up with one excuse after another and never actually pay you. For a regular amount of allowance, I think it’s fine to deposit the cash in your bank account. Gifts of up to ¥1.1 million per year are covered by the basic deduction for gift tax, so no tax is charged. Even if you receive more than that, you can simply declare it properly. Once you start receiving around ¥12 million a year, the gift tax does become substantial. If that seems likely, I think it’s worth looking into legal tax savings. Tax savings means legally reducing your taxes—it’s completely different from tax evasion. For example, you could register as a sole proprietor and apply for approval to file a blue-form tax return. It won’t be quite as advantageous as incorporating, but you can still have expenses recognized in much the same way. If an expense is recognized, anything necessary for the business doesn’t have to be counted as income, which ultimately reduces your taxes. For example, even if you buy a 1TB iPhone 13 Pro Max for papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan), it can be claimed as a business expense as long as it’s separate from the phone you use personally. There are also issues such as whether the amount falls below the threshold for immediate depreciation, but a quick search should tell you how much is allowed. Your monthly phone bill can also be claimed if you pay for it separately from your personal phone. If you use the same phone personally as well, only the business-use percentage can be claimed, which makes things more complicated. Information about how to calculate the business-use portion of electricity bills when working from home may be useful here. I believe the government has published guidelines on what percentage of household electricity costs can be claimed as expenses. You may also be able to claim expenses for clothes you wear for papa-katsu, transportation to meeting places, and makeup, since you need to wear makeup when meeting a papa (a male supporter). There are probably various other expenses you can claim as well. The important thing is that you have to separate personal use from business use. There are also generally accepted standards for things like these, so even if you say 100% of your makeup expenses are business expenses, they’re more likely than not to be rejected. The key is how clearly you can separate them from your personal use. It may seem like a hassle, but if you think of it as saving on taxes, it probably won’t feel quite so burdensome. If it’s too much trouble, you could look for a tax accountant who specializes in tax savings. The difficult part is figuring out whether they’re actually good at it. Most tax accountants will say they can help you save on taxes. Basically, I think it’s best to pay your taxes properly while also reducing them as much as legally possible.

I pay the allowance in cash.