Newlywed Diary

What kind of game is it?

Newlywed Diary is a simulation game where you run a newly married couple's household finances one year at a time until retirement at 65. First you set your gender and your partner's, your age at marriage (22–45), your savings (¥0–10M), each of your annual incomes, and how you'll work. The incomes start at the median for that age, and if you just want to jump in, press "Randomize all and start".

The years go by on their own. At the end of each year, your income and spending are added up and your savings go up or down. When a life event comes along, such as a wedding, children, a car, a home, or your kids moving on to the next school, the game pauses and you choose: buy or skip, and High, Mid or Low. At 65, your savings plus the value of your home and car, minus what's left on the mortgage, is your net worth, and that decides your rank (S to D) and your ending.

Features

False economy, or smart saving?

Cheap choices cost less up front, but the bills come later. A "Used car" (¥1M) has a 30% chance of breaking down every year, with repairs of ¥200K–800K, and has to be replaced after 7 years. Buy a "Used + renovation" home (¥25M) and you'll be doing lots of repairs, with a ¥6M major renovation waiting 15 years later. Expensive choices, on the other hand, cost more but give some of it back. A "New Japanese car" (¥3M) sells for ¥600K after 10 years, an "Imported car" (¥6M) sells for ¥1.5M, and a "Custom-built house" (¥60M) is still worth a lot when you retire.

12 life events, plus surprises every year

There are 12 events: Wedding, Honeymoon, Children (whether you want them), Rethinking work, Car, Childcare, Elementary school, Junior high, High school, University, Our own home, and Anniversary trip. You can have up to 3 children, and university can be 4 or 6 years. A home is bought with 20% down and the rest on a 35-year mortgage at 1.5%. On top of that, each year there's a 30% chance of something happening: a promotion, a job offer, an illness, a parent needing care, a bonus cut, or a windfall (the lottery or an inheritance). So even the same choices lead to a different life every time.

How you work and how you educate your kids pay off later

When a baby is born, and when your youngest starts elementary school and junior high, you can rethink how your partner works: full-time, shorter hours or part-time, or leaving work. Shorter hours or part-time halves their income, and if they leave and come back later, their income drops for each year they were away. The more you put into education, the more likely your kids are to send money home after they move out, and the less likely you'll end up taking over a student loan your child took out because tuition was tight.

Titles, achievements and an endings collection

Besides your rank and ending, the results screen shows a title based on how you tended to choose (9 in all, such as "Steady Family", "Show-off" and "Master of Thrift"), 12 achievements, a breakdown of your lifetime spending, and a life timeline. It also shows the difference compared with picking "Mid" for everything from the same starting point, so you can see whether your choices paid off. You can turn your results into an image to save or share.

An example of the first 10 years

Here's one example: married at 28 with ¥2M in savings, both partners working and earning ¥3.5M each, and "Mid" picked for every choice.

In this example, net worth at retirement at 65 was about ¥26M, for rank B "Secure Retirement" and the title "Steady Family". Because of the random events, results change every time you play, even with the same choices. When the game played itself 1,000 times with these settings and "Mid" for everything, the median net worth was about ¥24M, and just under 10% of the runs went bankrupt along the way.

Tips

• Going cheap on everything doesn't always win. In automatic play with the same settings, picking "Low" for everything had a median of about ¥23M, a little below "Mid" for everything, because used-car breakdowns and the used house's repairs and falling value add up
• Picking "High" for everything went bankrupt 60% of the time. Save the expensive choices for things that really pay off over the long run. Staying a full-time dual-income couple and picking "Mid" for everything else raised the median to about ¥34M
• Education costs peak while your kids are at university. If your children are close in age, their tuition overlaps, so build up your savings before then
• Negative savings are charged 10% interest a year, and dropping below −¥10M brings the "Bankrupt Ending". Check the savings after each choice ("→ Savings") shown on the buttons before you decide

For full instructions, see "How to play" on the game's site. It also lists the cost of every event and explains how each year's money is calculated.

FAQ

Does it cost anything?

No, it's free. There's no sign-up and nothing to install.

How long does a game take?

About 10 minutes from marriage to retirement. You can make the years go by twice as fast, and if you stop partway through, you can pick up where you left off next time you open it.

Can I use it to plan my real finances or life?

The game uses estimates based on public statistics and typical prices, such as median incomes, child-rearing costs, rent, and property tax on homes, but it's simplified for the game. It doesn't include pensions, rising prices, or detailed tax calculations. For real household budgets, mortgages, or saving for your kids' education, talk to a financial planner or other professional.

Which languages can I play in?

You can play in Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, and Korean. In every language the game is set in Japan, and all amounts are in Japanese yen.

Can I share my results?

Yes. The results screen makes an image with your rank, title, and net worth that you can share or save.

Is my data sent anywhere?

No. Your save in progress, your endings collection and achievements, and your settings are stored only in your browser.

Play Newlywed Diary