About a man who keeps bragging about how frugal he is.

Cutting out waste and avoiding investing in things you don’t see value in— That’s something you can only really do after gaining a certain amount of age and life experience. It’s not something poor people pretend to do. I imagine this may still be difficult for the young person asking the question to understand. If it irritates you, just leave quietly— before you become something your papa (a male supporter) decides to cut back on. Akari

I came up from nothing, so I’ve developed a habit of saving money... I don’t spend money on myself at all. I’m extremely frugal. Instead, I put a big chunk of it toward allowances. I spend roughly 30 times my living expenses on papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan). So, in that sense, maybe I’m not really saving money after all, haha. —A loser of a man

It’s Joe. I understand how you feel. But old guys—including me—tend to impose their own values on others. Please try to be patient with us. At the same time, you’ll need to learn how to let things go without making us old guys sulk too much. Joe isn’t good at saving money either. Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been spending 80% of each month living alone about 500 km from my main home for work. I wanted to live simply and save money, but I haven’t been able to. My biggest waste of money was buying an apartment despite this being only a temporary transfer. Things kept piling up, and eventually even a princess invaded the place. It’s my own fault, but I really wanted to live quietly by myself. Today, I woke up before 4 a.m. and took a walk along the Kamogawa River. I’ll make breakfast when I get back. Walking, cooking, and sharpening knives are my current ways of relaxing.