A belated Happy New Year! I hope you’ll continue to follow along this year.

I started this blog in June 2017, which means it’ll celebrate its seventh anniversary this June. It feels strange—like the years have flown by, yet somehow it’s hard to believe it’s been seven years already.

To mark the start of the year, I’d like to look back at the journey from the beginning of the blog to now, and share my goals for the year ahead. (I know, I know—who’s interested in that? lol)

The Road to Buying a Porsche With My Own Money

When I started this blog in 2017, I knew next to nothing about cars. I didn’t even know what PDK meant, and I understood almost nothing about how cars worked.

Looking back, it’s amazing that I started a Porsche blog with so little knowledge.

It’s scary how much you don’t know… though maybe that can be a strength, too. lol

I wanted to create something people would actually read, even as a newcomer to the blogging scene. But with so much great content already out there—from professional automotive journalists and well-known car bloggers to major automotive media outlets—who was going to pay attention to a blog written by an ordinary mom who knew next to nothing about cars?

I decided to keep writing for at least three months, and posted every day. I tried to improve my headlines and writing in my own way, but my traffic just wouldn’t budge.

Then, after about three months, I hit on an idea.

After trying all sorts of things, I decided to make the blog a story about an ordinary mom working toward buying a Porsche with her own money.

I might not know much about cars yet, I thought, but if I shared my day-to-day efforts to reach that goal—and learned about cars from my husband along the way—maybe more people would take an interest.

So I changed the blog’s title to “Until the Day I Buy a Porsche With My Own Money.” (The current title, “Welcome Home, PORSCHE,” came along in April 2018.) After that, traffic grew and more people started cheering me on. My husband and I began working toward the goal together, and the blog eventually became one of Japan’s most-read independent car blogs.

Maybe it was a case of finding a strategy that worked for the underdog—or maybe I was simply lucky. Either way, learning firsthand that a newcomer’s blog can succeed with the right approach was a huge takeaway for me.

Opportunity Doesn’t Wait Until You’re Ready

Still, the road to buying a Porsche with my own money was far from smooth, and there was no easy shortcut.

My husband would say things like, “If you really wanted a Porsche, you’d take a serious look at how to earn the money for one.” That made me reflect: “Maybe I’m not committed enough yet.”

At other times, I’d feel frustrated and think, “Once the kids are a little older, I’ll be able to devote more time to work, too!” That feeling lingered for a long time.

Looking back on how I was able to reach my goal and buy a Porsche with my own money in May 2023, I think two things made the difference:

“Build confidence by achieving smaller goals first.”
“When an opportunity finally comes along, take it—even if you’re not perfectly prepared.”

In my case, buying a Porsche right away simply wasn’t realistic. So I started with a used BMW 320i with a manual transmission, which cost ¥2.3 million. Even that took the kind of courage it would take to leap from the stage at Kiyomizu Temple—a Japanese expression for making a daunting decision.

After I had a child, I sold the 320i. About a year later, I bought a brand-new Suzuki Swift Sport for ¥2.2 million.

At the time, a new car felt like something far beyond my reach, so that took courage, too.

Once I’d paid off the Swift Sport, I started thinking, “Maybe a Porsche could be next.” I decided to spend the next few years saving for a down payment—and announced it on X at the time:

In October 2022, I’m pleased to report that I’ve finally paid off the loan on my beloved Swift Sport. With that chapter behind me, I hereby declare that I’m starting to make concrete plans to buy a Porsche 911. (What am I even saying? lol) pic.twitter.com/FpI847aUFx

— Mina-ポルシェがわが家にやってきた (@Mina_Panamera) October 26, 2022

I told H, my contact at the dealership, “Please get in touch when the facelifted 992 is announced.” About a month later, H called and asked, “It would be a pre-facelift 992, and we can’t say whether you’d get an allocation, but would you like to put your name down for a Carrera T?”

At the time, I didn’t have a large amount of savings, and I didn’t want to cash out the investment funds I’d been steadily building up. Honestly, I felt that it was still too soon for me.

But the offer came just as I’d finished paying off the Swift Sport.

I felt as if something unseen was giving me a nudge. They say opportunity only knocks once—and in real life, it often arrives before you feel ready. That was how I talked myself into it, and the next day I called to say I wanted to reserve a Carrera T.

Of course, there was no guarantee I’d get an allocation, and I didn’t know whether I’d be approved for a loan.

I figured that if either part didn’t work out, it was a sign I wasn’t meant to buy the car, so I waited patiently. As luck would have it, I got a production slot and my loan was approved. In the end, I cashed out my investment funds after all (lol), put down the deposit, and bought the Carrera T.

Then, in May 2023, my very first Porsche—the Carrera T—was delivered.

Life With the Carrera T—and What Comes Next

With three young children, a 911 might have been a little too much car for my life right now. By conventional standards, it may even have seemed like a reckless choice.

And yet, from the bottom of my heart, I’m glad I bought it.

Because buying one for myself opened up a world I’d never seen before.

I’d watched my husband buy Porsches and been there for his deliveries, but experiencing it as the buyer was completely different.

I started noticing every little thing, like dirt on the car. Just seeing my own car waiting in the parking lot lifted my spirits. In so many ways, I’m genuinely glad buying the Carrera T opened the door to a whole new world for me.

I also feel as if my luck has improved. In particular, my work life changed noticeably.

After buying the Carrera T, I thought, “I need to earn more to keep up with the loan payments,” and threw myself into work more than ever. I’m not exaggerating when I say 2023 was the hardest-working year of my career as a self-confessed workaholic.

That meant less time for lunch with friends and less time to unwind at home. I also struggled more than ever to balance work and raising the kids. (But little by little, I’ve started to find my own way.)

Even so, I’ve become better at taking all the ups and downs in stride and thinking, “Well, life happens. lol” I think buying the Carrera T was what set that change in motion.

Life is probably a series of challenges right up until the end.

In 2024, I want to take on plenty of challenges, work hard, and make the most of the kind of driving life that fits my circumstances at each stage. (Somehow, I’ve also ended up becoming chair of the elementary school PTA this April…) I’ll give it everything I’ve got and make this a year I can look back on without regrets.

Thank you for continuing to follow “Welcome Home, PORSCHE” this year!