I have four papas through Universe and make ¥1 million a month working eight times a month. But I’m constantly struggling with payments and only have ¥1 million in savings. My payments will be finished in August. How can I start saving?

Thank you for your question! Kida, the representative, will be answering. First of all, I’d like to praise the staff member who gave you a “black” rating. I can say with certainty that you’re a charismatic papa-katsu woman—one of the chosen few. You must be the reincarnation of Janis Joplin, so don’t bother saving money. Just smoke marijuana and sunbathe every day—you’ll be fine. The people around you will somehow take care of everything. Since you’re Janis, forget about your generous (well-paying) papas, too. It’s all about love and peace. Things will work themselves out. I understand why you feel like you want to die. Charisma is lonely, after all. First, you’re taking home one million yen a month—probably without declaring it for tax purposes—so your net income is roughly equivalent to that of someone earning 20 million yen a year. And you’re making that income in just eight days a month. Of course you’d have no energy left to go out on the other days. You’re near the top of Japan’s papa-katsu world, but you don’t understand your own worth. Those four papas pay you because you’re worth it. The papa-katsu world is ruthless. Young competitors enter every day, so the advantage of youth disappears quickly, and you’re expected to remain a top athlete at all times. You naturally understand what makes papas happy, how to comfort them, and what they’re looking for at any given moment. You have value. You could probably succeed at anything you tried. Whether it’s a job or something else, people are rewarded for satisfying other people, so even if you quit papa-katsu, you could probably earn the same amount of money. So how about quitting papa-katsu—at least for a while—of your own accord? You could get married, move back in with your family, or become a shut-in. Any of those would be fine. You may simply be too kind, giving too much of your value to your papas. Gold and black ratings are meaningless. So, the answer to “How can I save money?” is: “You spend just under 300,000 yen, earn one million yen, stay home, and don’t spend money on anything else. How could you possibly not save money?” I hope that helps.

I’m columnist Fuu. Like Maezawa-san, I also feel something is off. Isn’t this fiction rather than a real story? It sounds less like something written by a man and more like a woman who wrote a long piece about being rated Gold class, went out of her way to bash the Black and Platinum classes, and criticize the club staff for having no eye for people. There seem to be contradictions here and there, too. If it’s true, she should start working a regular daytime job, even little by little, while she still has four papa-katsu arrangements going. If this article reflects her true feelings, it’s only a matter of time before her other papas drop her. Still, if this really is how she feels and she’s managing to keep four papas and receive a million yen, then either she’s an incredibly good actress or she has looks that make up for her personality. If it’s true, that’s pretty impressive.

I’m Ayase Nana ♡ So you’re feeling depressed, huh? Then go to a psychiatrist and describe it a little more dramatically so you can get diagnosed with depression. After that, apply for public assistance. Also, your rent is ¥190,000, right? That’s expensive. Do you really need a place that costly? You meet your papa 8 days a month, and you go out 8 days a month. How many days do you go to the hair salon? You should cancel one of your phones, too. Cut back wherever you can—thoroughly. And why do you think you’re in the Black class? Who told you that? Or is it just a feeling? And you actually had the nerve to write here that the staff have no eye for talent. Staff~ please drop this woman down to Standard. Get a job—even at a convenience store—and broaden your horizons.

Maezawa from the CEO’s office here, answering as well. Judging by the wording, it kind of sounds like a man pretending to be a woman wrote this, but… Some people manage to live on around ¥200,000 a month. If you look at it that way, by living the same way, you should be able to put everything left over into savings. If you don’t have any debt, you could save ¥800,000 a month. That means you could save ¥4.8 million. > If I can maintain an income of ¥1 million, I want to save ¥300,000 every month and have ¥3 million saved by December. There are only six months until December, so saving ¥300,000 a month would only amount to ¥1.8 million. Are you planning to increase it through investments or something? > Fixed expenses > Rent: ¥190,000 → You should move somewhere with rent of around ¥50,000–¥60,000. > Utilities: ¥15,000 That’s way too high. In summer, you should be able to get by comfortably on half that. > Smartphone bills: ¥40,000 (two phones) You should be able to use a regular plan for around ¥3,000 per phone, so I think you could reduce the total to ¥6,000 for two. If you’re trying to save money, don’t keep upgrading to the latest devices. > Hair salon: ¥30,000 I don’t think there’d be that much difference even if you cut it down to ¥10,000, though… So, it looks like you could reduce your fixed expenses from the current ¥275,000 to around ¥80,000.

If you want to survive, ditch your petty pride and live somewhere within your means. Instead of wasting time on your phone asking stupid questions, stop being so picky and get to work. Before trashing the staff, you should be saying: “Thank you for giving even a piece of trash like me somewhere I could earn money.” Akari

I’m in Seattle. Financially, even if I lost one papa, I’d still be doing okay. Maybe the real issue is your day-to-day mental state. Personally, I watch movies on Amazon Prime—and still do. Do you not like movies? Manga is an easy way to pass the time, too. How about trying marriage-oriented dating to fill your free time?

I’m Hikōki, a male member. I think you’ve been able to keep working until now because circumstances forced you to. Maybe it’s time to shift toward a more comfortable form of papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan). Even by Tokyo standards, your rent seems fairly reasonable. It may be time to reconsider your papa-katsu as well—whether you’ll continue working or focus on living your life without putting too much strain on yourself.