How to play

Newlywed Diary is a life simulation that follows a married couple's household finances one year at a time, from the wedding to retirement at 65. The only decisions you make are whether to buy something or skip it, and whether to go High, Mid or Low. This page explains everything from the first setup to how each year plays out, the life events and random events, how the money is calculated, and the results at retirement. The game is set in Japan, and all amounts are in Japanese yen.

What you decide at the start

• Your gender and your partner's gender: choose "Female" or "Male" for each. Your partner is the one whose work style can change.
• Age at marriage: 22 to 45. The younger you start, the more years you work.
• Savings: ¥0 to ¥10M, in steps of ¥100K.
• Your incomes: the gross annual income for you and for your partner (if working full-time). The defaults are the median income for your age at marriage. If you change the age, any income you haven't edited by hand is updated to the median for the new age.
• Work style: choose "Dual income (full-time)", "Dual income (part-time)" or "Single income". Part-time halves your partner's income, and single income sets it to 0.

Every item has a "Random" button, and "Randomize all and start" picks everything at random and starts the game right away.

How a year goes by

Once the game starts, it moves forward one year at a time on its own. You can switch the pace with "1x", "2x" and "Pause". When a life event or an event with a choice comes up, the game stops and opens a choice screen. After you choose, the years start moving again.

At the end of each year, that year's income and spending are calculated, your savings go up or down, and a "Year end" line is written in the diary. A breakdown of the year-end finances appears at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds (you can turn it off with "Show year-end finances" in Settings).

The status bar at the top of the screen shows your age, how many years you've been married, savings, work style, your kids' ages, car and home. Savings are shown in red when they are negative.

How choices work

Most events are decided in two steps. First you choose whether to buy (or do) it or skip it, and only if you buy do you choose High, Mid or Low. Each button shows the cost and what your savings will be after you choose it ("→ Savings ¥…").

• Not now: for a car, a home and children, you'll be asked again in 3 years.
• Never: for a car ("Never own one"), a home ("Rent for life") and children ("Never"), choosing this means you'll never be asked again.

Life events

For a home, you pay 20% of the price as a down payment (or as much as your savings allow if they fall short), and repay the rest each year on a 35-year mortgage at 1.5% interest. Owning a home adds property tax and a repair reserve every year (plus management fees for a condo). Until you buy a home, rent for a family-size place costs ¥1.2M a year.

How the money is calculated each year

Income is your annual income plus your partner's (multiplied by the share for their work style), multiplied by an age-based growth factor and by the take-home rate (78%). The growth factor compares the median income for your current age with the median for your age at marriage, and it drops from age 60 as you move to re-employment. On top of this come the child allowance (¥180K a year for ages 0 to 2, ¥120K a year for ages 3 to 17) and any money sent home by children who have moved out.

Example: if you marry at 28 and both work full-time earning ¥3.5M each, your take-home income in year 1 is (¥3.5M + ¥3.5M) × 78% = ¥5.46M.

Spending is the total of the following:

• The couple's basic living costs: starting at ¥2.2M a year and rising 1.25% every year
• Kids' living costs: ¥400K a year for ages 0 to 5, ¥500K for elementary school, ¥700K for junior high, ¥900K for high school, and ¥900K a year while attending university from home
• Education: the yearly cost of the childcare and schools you chose, through university
• Housing: rent until you own a home (¥800K a year as newlyweds, ¥1.2M a year for a family-size rental), then the fixed costs and mortgage payments once you own one
• Car: upkeep and repair bills for breakdowns. Without a car, taxis and the like cost ¥150K a year while you have children at home
• Parent care, a child's student loan you've taken over, and card loan interest (if any)

Random events

Each year there's a 30% chance that one of the following happens. This is why the same choices can lead to a different life every time you play.

• Promotion: your or your partner's income rises 10%
• Job offer: if you choose "Switch jobs", your income changes by anywhere from −20% to +20%. If you "Decline", it stays the same
• Illness or injury: medical bills of ¥300K–¥1M
• Parent care (from age 40, up to twice): for 3 to 5 years, a "Care facility" costs ¥600K a year. "Care at home" costs only ¥200K a year, but your partner switches to part-time (half the income) while caregiving
• Bonus cut: take-home pay is down 10% that year
• Windfall: ¥500K–¥5M from the lottery or an inheritance

Separately, the car and home you own carry their own risks. A used car breaks down with a 30% chance each year (5% for a new or imported car), and repairs cost ¥200K–¥800K. Home repairs come up each year with a 35% chance for a used house (5% for a new condo, 3% for a custom-built house), and you choose how to fix it: "Full renovation", "Partial repair" or "Quick fix". The more expensive the fix, the longer it lasts until the next repair (15, 8 or 3 years). Repairs on a used house cost twice as much, and 15 years after you buy it, a major renovation costs ¥6M.

Work style and kids moving out

If your partner left work under single income and then goes back, their income is 4% lower for each year they were away (up to 40%).

When a child moves out, they may send money home. Your education points (0 to 10) count your choices from childcare through university: 2 points for "High", 1 for "Mid" and 0 for "Low". The higher the points, the higher the chance of getting money (20% plus 5% per point, and another +20% for a child who got a job after high school) and the larger the amount (¥120K–¥600K a year). In years when the household can't fully cover university tuition, the child may take out a student loan, and when they move out, you as parents may take it over and repay it over 10 years (this is less likely with more education points).

If your savings go negative

When your savings fall below 0, the shortfall is treated as a card loan and charged 10% interest every year. If your savings drop below −¥10M, you get the "Bankrupt Ending" and the game ends there.

Retirement and results

When you retire at 65, your rank is decided by your net worth (savings + the value of your home and car − the mortgage left).

The results screen shows a title based on how you tended to choose (9 kinds), the achievements you earned (12 in all), a breakdown of your lifetime spending, and a life timeline. It also shows the difference compared with picking "Mid" for everything under the same starting conditions. You can turn your result into an image to save or share, or "Post to X (Twitter)". The endings, titles and achievements you've seen can be checked anytime under "Endings" on the title screen.

Saving your progress

Your progress is saved automatically in your browser every time a year passes and every time you make a choice. Even if you close the page partway through, you can pick up where you left off with "Continue" on the title screen the next time you open it. You can also keep playing after switching languages. Saves are kept per browser, so they don't carry over to other devices or browsers. "Delete data" in Settings erases your save in progress, endings, achievements and settings.

Tips for doing well

• Choosing "Low" for everything isn't always best. When used-car breakdowns and used-house repairs pile up, cheap choices can end up costing more
• Save the "High" choices for things that pay off over the long run. Simply keeping both partners working full-time makes a big difference to your income
• The most expensive stretch is when your kids are at university. If your children are close in age, tuition bills overlap, so build up your savings before then
• Watch the "→ Savings" amount on each button, and look for choices that keep your savings from going negative

The amounts in the game are simplified estimates for gameplay, based on public statistics and typical market prices. They don't include pensions, inflation or detailed tax calculations. For real household budgets, mortgages or education savings plans, please consult a professional such as a financial planner.