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Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life
A Common-Sense Guide to Living Rich….Instead of Dying Rich
Imagine if by the time you died, you did everything you were told to. You worked hard, saved your money, and looked forward to financial freedom when you retired.
The only thing you wasted along the way was…your life.
Die with Zero presents a startling new and provocative philosophy as well as practical guide on how to get the most out of your money—and out of your life. It’s intended for those who place lifelong memorable experiences far ahead of simply making and accumulating money for one’s so-called Golden Years.
In short, Bill Perkins wants to rescue you from over-saving and under-living. Regardless of your age, Die with Zero will teach you Perkins’ plan for optimizing your life, stage by stage, so you’re fully engaged and enjoying what you’ve worked and saved for.
You’ll discover how to maximize your lifetime memorable moments with “experience bucketing,” how to convert your earnings into priceless memories by following your “net worth curve,” and find out how to navigate whether to invest in, or delay, a meaningful adventure based on your “spend curve” and “personal interest rate.”
Using his own life experiences as well as the inspiring stories and cautionary tales of others—and drawing on eye-opening insights about time, money, and happiness from psychological science and behavioral finance —Perkins makes a timely, convincing, and contrarian case for living large.
Imagine if by the time you died, you did everything you were told to. You worked hard, saved your money, and looked forward to financial freedom when you retired.
The only thing you wasted along the way was…your life.
Die with Zero presents a startling new and provocative philosophy as well as practical guide on how to get the most out of your money—and out of your life. It’s intended for those who place lifelong memorable experiences far ahead of simply making and accumulating money for one’s so-called Golden Years.
In short, Bill Perkins wants to rescue you from over-saving and under-living. Regardless of your age, Die with Zero will teach you Perkins’ plan for optimizing your life, stage by stage, so you’re fully engaged and enjoying what you’ve worked and saved for.
You’ll discover how to maximize your lifetime memorable moments with “experience bucketing,” how to convert your earnings into priceless memories by following your “net worth curve,” and find out how to navigate whether to invest in, or delay, a meaningful adventure based on your “spend curve” and “personal interest rate.”
Using his own life experiences as well as the inspiring stories and cautionary tales of others—and drawing on eye-opening insights about time, money, and happiness from psychological science and behavioral finance —Perkins makes a timely, convincing, and contrarian case for living large.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published July 28, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,886 reviews
July 31, 2023
I'll save you some time... just save some money and then spend it. Make a list of things you'd like to do across your lifetime; like travel to Mexico or learn an instrument. Once you have a list decide on a good time to do those activities based on your health and possible future events like when you're going to have kids - it might be hard to go parachuting when you're 90.
I can not believe someone made a whole book out of what should have been a 1 page article.
I can not believe someone made a whole book out of what should have been a 1 page article.
April 19, 2021
An alternative perspective on saving and spending – both of our financial resources and of the days of our lives.
I didn’t wholeheartedly agree with everything he said, but the overall guiding principles are logical. Certainly, this philosophy gave me pause to consider my own ideas about health and wealth during various stages of my life, and will help me to define my own limits, both financially and psychologically, rather than just instinctively following the earn, save, and maximize wealth model that has permeated American culture. A thought-provoking and discussion worthy read.
I didn’t wholeheartedly agree with everything he said, but the overall guiding principles are logical. Certainly, this philosophy gave me pause to consider my own ideas about health and wealth during various stages of my life, and will help me to define my own limits, both financially and psychologically, rather than just instinctively following the earn, save, and maximize wealth model that has permeated American culture. A thought-provoking and discussion worthy read.
July 29, 2020
WOW! Ok, as part of the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) Movement, I was eagerly awaiting to read this book.
I grew up in extreme poverty. I am a saver due to the circumstances in which I was raised. I have a VERY HARD time spending money. Its gotten a bit better and the author argues that I should spend money on experiences and end my life with ZERO money in the bank.
Its a great idea and made me think alot about aging, gift giving, and money in a new way.
I really liked that he had referenced Vicki Robin's book, Your Money or Your Life, which this book feels like a continuation of. With Ms. Robin's book, I felt that it was overly preachy, while this authors book was about the experiences, the memories that harvest interest, and doing what you love.
I thought the graphs were spot on, especially the health and diminishing returns.
I have to say that for the most part I agreed with everything that the author wrote.
Couple of things I did not agree with is not to save money in your early working life and to take on a "moderate' amount of debt early in life.
While I understand where the author was coming from, saying you will get more from the experiences then saving the money....I CRINGED INSIDE. People need to save money, especially Americans.
Further, don't get into debt. Save money for things you need, make debt the last thing you resort to and you will have a better, more optional life.
Overall a great financial book that doesn't necessarily tell you the numbers of retirement, but more the emotional response to get out and make memories.
I grew up in extreme poverty. I am a saver due to the circumstances in which I was raised. I have a VERY HARD time spending money. Its gotten a bit better and the author argues that I should spend money on experiences and end my life with ZERO money in the bank.
Its a great idea and made me think alot about aging, gift giving, and money in a new way.
I really liked that he had referenced Vicki Robin's book, Your Money or Your Life, which this book feels like a continuation of. With Ms. Robin's book, I felt that it was overly preachy, while this authors book was about the experiences, the memories that harvest interest, and doing what you love.
I thought the graphs were spot on, especially the health and diminishing returns.
I have to say that for the most part I agreed with everything that the author wrote.
Couple of things I did not agree with is not to save money in your early working life and to take on a "moderate' amount of debt early in life.
While I understand where the author was coming from, saying you will get more from the experiences then saving the money....I CRINGED INSIDE. People need to save money, especially Americans.
Further, don't get into debt. Save money for things you need, make debt the last thing you resort to and you will have a better, more optional life.
Overall a great financial book that doesn't necessarily tell you the numbers of retirement, but more the emotional response to get out and make memories.
February 15, 2021
This is a thought-provoking book about how to use your money during your lifetime. The book really changed the way I think about money.
The book is not about how to make money. It is not about how to run a business. And--it is very easy to get the wrong idea about the book; Dying with Zero does NOT mean that you shouldn't give money to your family, your heirs, or to your favorite charities. Instead the book IS about what to spend your money on, and when to spend it.
What is your most valuable possession? It is you memories! Your memories are your most treasured possession, the one thing that defines who and what you are. Consequently, spending money to build up memories is the best use of your money. One should spend your money acquiring experiences, not things. These experiences can be alone or with friends or with family. Whatever your preference. Your experiences will define who you are, so think about what experiences you will appreciate. Also, think about when it is best to acquire these experiences. A road trip--staying in hostels or other inexpensive places--might be best at a young age. Arduous treks are also best when you are young; you might enjoy hiking the Appalachian trail, but if you are out of shape it might not be best when you are 70 years old. Think about your "go-go", "slow-go", and "no-go" years. The author deeply regrets not going with his friend through Europe, staying at hostels, in his early 20's. At an later age, he would not have appreciated such a trip as much.
What about giving money to your family--say, your children. For them, too, receiving an inheritance would be much more useful at an early age, such as when buying a first home, rather than at a retirement age. The idea is that if you die of old age with money in your bank account, you have lost it; you haven't used it to acquire experiences. And while you could will it to your heirs, they will not receive it at the best age to take advantage of it.
I highly recommend this book--it was quite an eye-opener for me.
The book is not about how to make money. It is not about how to run a business. And--it is very easy to get the wrong idea about the book; Dying with Zero does NOT mean that you shouldn't give money to your family, your heirs, or to your favorite charities. Instead the book IS about what to spend your money on, and when to spend it.
What is your most valuable possession? It is you memories! Your memories are your most treasured possession, the one thing that defines who and what you are. Consequently, spending money to build up memories is the best use of your money. One should spend your money acquiring experiences, not things. These experiences can be alone or with friends or with family. Whatever your preference. Your experiences will define who you are, so think about what experiences you will appreciate. Also, think about when it is best to acquire these experiences. A road trip--staying in hostels or other inexpensive places--might be best at a young age. Arduous treks are also best when you are young; you might enjoy hiking the Appalachian trail, but if you are out of shape it might not be best when you are 70 years old. Think about your "go-go", "slow-go", and "no-go" years. The author deeply regrets not going with his friend through Europe, staying at hostels, in his early 20's. At an later age, he would not have appreciated such a trip as much.
What about giving money to your family--say, your children. For them, too, receiving an inheritance would be much more useful at an early age, such as when buying a first home, rather than at a retirement age. The idea is that if you die of old age with money in your bank account, you have lost it; you haven't used it to acquire experiences. And while you could will it to your heirs, they will not receive it at the best age to take advantage of it.
I highly recommend this book--it was quite an eye-opener for me.
February 2, 2021
At only about 200 pages, this is simply too long. The ideas presented could’ve been a 15 minute TEDtalk (possibly where the idea originated). I could pick apart the different sections of this book, but I will simply say this: the only people this book is really written for is people in a certain income or net worth zone. The ideas kinda fall apart when applied to the very (not even ultra) wealthy and people without much chance of a retirement - the majority of this country. Aside from a narrow audience, the voice can be slightly boisterous and condescending. If you find yourself in a position where this thinking applies to you, a conversation about these topics would be more useful than reading this book.
January 21, 2021
*Blinkist*
I’m not sure what I think of this book based on reading the Blink. Some statements I agreed with, while others I did not (some statements to me seemed like irresponsible advice, that people could easily take as license to spend money they don’t have or not save enough, for example).
The numbers in one example scenario in the Blink didn’t add up:
“Meet Elizabeth, for example. She’s a 45-year-old woman without children, and her annual net income is $49,000. But Elizabeth only spends $33,000 of what she earns. She puts the remaining $16,000 into her pension and savings account. By the time she retires, at age 65, she will have a total net worth of $770,000. This sum will include all those savings as well as her home equity.”
This sum _includes_ home equity? What assumptions is the author making here? This $770k figure actually seems low. Based on my calculations, she should have $770k PLUS home equity and any other savings. This scenario also assumes she a) didn’t start saving for retirement or buy a house until age 45 (and had no other debt, i.e. she had a net worth of $0 at 45; not entirely unreasonable assumptions, but if you’re younger than 45, aim to do better than this) and b) she receives zero promotions or pay raises in these 20 years.
“After retirement, Elizabeth spends $32,000 a year, until, two decades later, she dies at the age of 85. At the time of her death, Elizabeth still has $130,000 in her savings account.”
This would only be true if she leaves the entire amount in cash, which based on the previous paragraph, also includes her home equity, meaning she would need to sell her house, and live, where...? The next example makes a point which contradicts this spending / balance figure, but again, my calculations indicate she should actually end up at age 85 with over $1.5 million...
“Suppose you need $12,000 a year to survive. You expect to live another 40 years. That means, in order to retire, you need a net worth of $480,000.”
So far so good, arithmetically, and the example continues:
“In fact, you can probably stop working with significantly less than this amount. This is because your money and assets will accrue interest over time, so your net worth would decrease slower than you expect. In reality, you only need around 70 percent of your estimate to quit working. Interest rates will take care of the rest.”
Not just decrease slower, but more than likely increase over time, and with less than 70% even (good news which actually supports the author’s point).
“If you want to get the most out of your time on Earth, you shouldn’t allow your net worth to climb much higher than your survival amount. And when it does, begin to reduce wealth, rather than building it up. You might, for example, decide to spend more on great experiences or reduce how much work you do.”
This is what we call a good problem to have. The solution is simple: adjust your spending and or gifts and or charitable giving accordingly.
“Don’t waste your life saving up for a rainy day. You might get wealthier as you get older, but your health and openness to new experiences will decline. It’s smart to spend your disposable income while you're young, pursuing risky dreams and taking up mind-expanding travel. Never forget that nothing lasts forever – and nor will you. So choose happiness over an ever-expanding bank balance.”
Yes and no, though. Risky dreams and mind-expanding travel (or whatever it is YOU personally value, if you don’t share the author’s bias towards these two particular values) don’t have to cost a fortune. It is also possible to balance both, since you don’t know what the future holds. (Health problems or disability are things that can happen, though I hope they don’t!)
This is also an argument FOR saving while you are young, when compound interest can work most in your favor. I hope the key message of this book, which was ambiguous to me from the Blink, is not to saddle your future self with debt to travel the world or whatever the author seems to think we should be doing with our money.
I have many, many more thoughts on this topic, but overall I don’t think I can agree that spending all of one’s money is the only measure of having lived fully.
I’m not sure what I think of this book based on reading the Blink. Some statements I agreed with, while others I did not (some statements to me seemed like irresponsible advice, that people could easily take as license to spend money they don’t have or not save enough, for example).
The numbers in one example scenario in the Blink didn’t add up:
“Meet Elizabeth, for example. She’s a 45-year-old woman without children, and her annual net income is $49,000. But Elizabeth only spends $33,000 of what she earns. She puts the remaining $16,000 into her pension and savings account. By the time she retires, at age 65, she will have a total net worth of $770,000. This sum will include all those savings as well as her home equity.”
This sum _includes_ home equity? What assumptions is the author making here? This $770k figure actually seems low. Based on my calculations, she should have $770k PLUS home equity and any other savings. This scenario also assumes she a) didn’t start saving for retirement or buy a house until age 45 (and had no other debt, i.e. she had a net worth of $0 at 45; not entirely unreasonable assumptions, but if you’re younger than 45, aim to do better than this) and b) she receives zero promotions or pay raises in these 20 years.
“After retirement, Elizabeth spends $32,000 a year, until, two decades later, she dies at the age of 85. At the time of her death, Elizabeth still has $130,000 in her savings account.”
This would only be true if she leaves the entire amount in cash, which based on the previous paragraph, also includes her home equity, meaning she would need to sell her house, and live, where...? The next example makes a point which contradicts this spending / balance figure, but again, my calculations indicate she should actually end up at age 85 with over $1.5 million...
“Suppose you need $12,000 a year to survive. You expect to live another 40 years. That means, in order to retire, you need a net worth of $480,000.”
So far so good, arithmetically, and the example continues:
“In fact, you can probably stop working with significantly less than this amount. This is because your money and assets will accrue interest over time, so your net worth would decrease slower than you expect. In reality, you only need around 70 percent of your estimate to quit working. Interest rates will take care of the rest.”
Not just decrease slower, but more than likely increase over time, and with less than 70% even (good news which actually supports the author’s point).
“If you want to get the most out of your time on Earth, you shouldn’t allow your net worth to climb much higher than your survival amount. And when it does, begin to reduce wealth, rather than building it up. You might, for example, decide to spend more on great experiences or reduce how much work you do.”
This is what we call a good problem to have. The solution is simple: adjust your spending and or gifts and or charitable giving accordingly.
“Don’t waste your life saving up for a rainy day. You might get wealthier as you get older, but your health and openness to new experiences will decline. It’s smart to spend your disposable income while you're young, pursuing risky dreams and taking up mind-expanding travel. Never forget that nothing lasts forever – and nor will you. So choose happiness over an ever-expanding bank balance.”
Yes and no, though. Risky dreams and mind-expanding travel (or whatever it is YOU personally value, if you don’t share the author’s bias towards these two particular values) don’t have to cost a fortune. It is also possible to balance both, since you don’t know what the future holds. (Health problems or disability are things that can happen, though I hope they don’t!)
This is also an argument FOR saving while you are young, when compound interest can work most in your favor. I hope the key message of this book, which was ambiguous to me from the Blink, is not to saddle your future self with debt to travel the world or whatever the author seems to think we should be doing with our money.
I have many, many more thoughts on this topic, but overall I don’t think I can agree that spending all of one’s money is the only measure of having lived fully.
September 10, 2022
if you ever see that I finished a nonfiction book, specifically a self-help book, I need you to know that I skim-read half of it. it’s fine it’s whatever. I probably read it for a book club so the gaps were filled in.
anyways I had mixed feelings about this, as I usually do about self-help books. I love the overall idea! it’s made me think more intentionally about how I spend my money and my time, and it’s encouraged me to branch out in what a successful life is. I esp love the idea of memory dividends - that just like monetary investments can bring dividends in the future, when you spend your money on meaningful experiences for you and your loved ones, then you get memory dividends to enjoy the rest of your life. I like that it emphasizes there is NO point in having money for money’s sake.
however respectfully the man is kind of a psychopath. I trust him 0%. encourages broke 20-something’s taking out $10k from loan sharks to travel around Europe for two months (you’ll make it back!!!) instead of saving any money, considered “renting out a private island for his birthday party (twice)” a reasonable way to spend money, etc. I had a really hard time with the fact that he is so absurdly wealthy and telling people that they will certainly make more money in the future - that was true for him, but how many people is that actually true for? what about saving for the future????? what about emergencies - lost jobs and insane medical bills and recessions and car crashes??? what about people who have no one to fall back on if they can’t pay back the $10k and are destroyed by the crushing debt that ensued???? it brought up a lot of questions about the *personal* morality of spending so much money on experiences when so many people aren’t deciding between investing $10000 and spending it on a lavish Europe trip that they’ll remember forever - they’re deciding if they should pay rent or buy their kids school supplies, to buy groceries or utilities. it’s confusing to me, and I don’t think I have a good answer yet. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad to spend money on cool things like that, but it also made me uncomfortably aware of the privilege I have to be able to have such pleasant trade-offs when so many don’t. I think I need to maybe just apply the general principle in a way that feels more aligned with the kind of person I want to be and let go of his more audacious claims before I get more upset haha.
anyways, I could ramble forever about this. end opinion: it made me realize experiences > money (to a reasonable extent) and it made me angry.
anyways I had mixed feelings about this, as I usually do about self-help books. I love the overall idea! it’s made me think more intentionally about how I spend my money and my time, and it’s encouraged me to branch out in what a successful life is. I esp love the idea of memory dividends - that just like monetary investments can bring dividends in the future, when you spend your money on meaningful experiences for you and your loved ones, then you get memory dividends to enjoy the rest of your life. I like that it emphasizes there is NO point in having money for money’s sake.
however respectfully the man is kind of a psychopath. I trust him 0%. encourages broke 20-something’s taking out $10k from loan sharks to travel around Europe for two months (you’ll make it back!!!) instead of saving any money, considered “renting out a private island for his birthday party (twice)” a reasonable way to spend money, etc. I had a really hard time with the fact that he is so absurdly wealthy and telling people that they will certainly make more money in the future - that was true for him, but how many people is that actually true for? what about saving for the future????? what about emergencies - lost jobs and insane medical bills and recessions and car crashes??? what about people who have no one to fall back on if they can’t pay back the $10k and are destroyed by the crushing debt that ensued???? it brought up a lot of questions about the *personal* morality of spending so much money on experiences when so many people aren’t deciding between investing $10000 and spending it on a lavish Europe trip that they’ll remember forever - they’re deciding if they should pay rent or buy their kids school supplies, to buy groceries or utilities. it’s confusing to me, and I don’t think I have a good answer yet. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad to spend money on cool things like that, but it also made me uncomfortably aware of the privilege I have to be able to have such pleasant trade-offs when so many don’t. I think I need to maybe just apply the general principle in a way that feels more aligned with the kind of person I want to be and let go of his more audacious claims before I get more upset haha.
anyways, I could ramble forever about this. end opinion: it made me realize experiences > money (to a reasonable extent) and it made me angry.
August 11, 2020
Like many books of this genre, it could stand to be more concise, but it does offer a provocative reassessment of typical thinking around saving, spending, retirement, inheritance, etc. For most, it will not be simple to put the thinking here into practice. Nonetheless, the book will ask you some challenging questions about how you want your life to unfold, and encourage you to live each year you have deliberately.
October 14, 2023
So... I don't usually write long reviews, or reviews at all, but I'm about to get on a soap box here.
I'm not big on self help books in general for two main reasons:
1) They usually could be a fantastic essay or blog post, or even just a list with bullet points of main ideas. But a whole book? This usually just means chapter after chapter of explaining why they wrote the book and then a few chapters of self aggrandizement and repeating two or three main points over and over.
2) 90% of self help books that I've read, the writer is completely out of touch with most of the population.
But I continue to read, because I'm a glutton for punishment and I keep thinking, "this book will be the one that changes my life."
I usually give a couple of stars anyway because I at least I gleaned a couple of bullet points to add to my life. This book especially rubbed me wrong though. I agree with the idea that it's not a good idea to hoard everything and sit on it like Smaug, we should be enjoying life the best we can with the means we have. Which is why he gets a star.
But his suggestions are down right terrible and irresponsible for most of the population. For example he talks about taking out loans in your 20s for fun things, because you'll be able to pay them back later. Umm, excuse me? I'm sure most of us 30 somethings still living paycheck to paycheck trying to pay off our student loans would argue that this is a terrible idea. And for the record, I do not have student loans anymore, but I've been there.
He also is completely out of touch. He talks about renting out an entire hotel in Saint Bards for his 45th birthday party and flying in all of his friends, and even having Natalie Merchant do a private concert for everyone. And what a good use of his money this was. What!?! I'm happy for him that he could do that (remember that self aggrandizing I mentioned earlier?), but how is this a valid example of anything for 95% of anyone on this planet?
Anyway, I'll save you the 200 pages. Don't save everything until you die. Enjoy things now.
I'm not big on self help books in general for two main reasons:
1) They usually could be a fantastic essay or blog post, or even just a list with bullet points of main ideas. But a whole book? This usually just means chapter after chapter of explaining why they wrote the book and then a few chapters of self aggrandizement and repeating two or three main points over and over.
2) 90% of self help books that I've read, the writer is completely out of touch with most of the population.
But I continue to read, because I'm a glutton for punishment and I keep thinking, "this book will be the one that changes my life."
I usually give a couple of stars anyway because I at least I gleaned a couple of bullet points to add to my life. This book especially rubbed me wrong though. I agree with the idea that it's not a good idea to hoard everything and sit on it like Smaug, we should be enjoying life the best we can with the means we have. Which is why he gets a star.
But his suggestions are down right terrible and irresponsible for most of the population. For example he talks about taking out loans in your 20s for fun things, because you'll be able to pay them back later. Umm, excuse me? I'm sure most of us 30 somethings still living paycheck to paycheck trying to pay off our student loans would argue that this is a terrible idea. And for the record, I do not have student loans anymore, but I've been there.
He also is completely out of touch. He talks about renting out an entire hotel in Saint Bards for his 45th birthday party and flying in all of his friends, and even having Natalie Merchant do a private concert for everyone. And what a good use of his money this was. What!?! I'm happy for him that he could do that (remember that self aggrandizing I mentioned earlier?), but how is this a valid example of anything for 95% of anyone on this planet?
Anyway, I'll save you the 200 pages. Don't save everything until you die. Enjoy things now.
March 6, 2021
Received this book from the author. Thank you!
In many nowadays cultures saving is a norm. Want something? Work and save. Save every cent, every penny. Prohibit yourself from certain indulgences. Don't overspend on crazy things! They make you happy? Well, you will have to do without. Eat buckwheat. Walk. Squeeze the most out of every tube, carton and package. Finally, have enough saved for what you wanted? Have it, and well, there is more you should start saving for right now! Star immediately! Yeah, I might be overreacting with that, but a job-home-family way of thinking penetrates even the modern people.
What I loved the most about Die With Zero was a laid-back, but facts-based approach. Yes, save, but don't forget to enjoy! Don't slowly kill yourself over dreams that others believe to be worth reaching for. Make money, but invest them smartly. Do it while you can, since you never know which day will be your last. It's a nice proof that some things we want are closer than we imagine and we don't need to wait for ages to achieve it. There is a nice little chapter about finding balance - I think it's very important for a person. This need is sprouting many practices and beliefs, but don't look that far - listen to your heart, follow what you truly want and answer one question - do you need all things you currently have in your life? So, don't forget to look around - there is always more to enjoy than your work and money!
In many nowadays cultures saving is a norm. Want something? Work and save. Save every cent, every penny. Prohibit yourself from certain indulgences. Don't overspend on crazy things! They make you happy? Well, you will have to do without. Eat buckwheat. Walk. Squeeze the most out of every tube, carton and package. Finally, have enough saved for what you wanted? Have it, and well, there is more you should start saving for right now! Star immediately! Yeah, I might be overreacting with that, but a job-home-family way of thinking penetrates even the modern people.
What I loved the most about Die With Zero was a laid-back, but facts-based approach. Yes, save, but don't forget to enjoy! Don't slowly kill yourself over dreams that others believe to be worth reaching for. Make money, but invest them smartly. Do it while you can, since you never know which day will be your last. It's a nice proof that some things we want are closer than we imagine and we don't need to wait for ages to achieve it. There is a nice little chapter about finding balance - I think it's very important for a person. This need is sprouting many practices and beliefs, but don't look that far - listen to your heart, follow what you truly want and answer one question - do you need all things you currently have in your life? So, don't forget to look around - there is always more to enjoy than your work and money!
October 23, 2022
“We all have the potential to make more money in the future, but we can never go back and recapture time that is now gone. It makes no sense to let opportunities pass us by for fear of squandering our money. Squandering our lives should be a much greater worry.”
This book was okay. I thought the concept was interesting. It basically talks about spending your money on experiences - instead of accumulating a bigger bank account.
Honestly, this book could’ve been a blog post. But if you don’t know much about personal finance, it’s worth reading.
Three stars.
This book was okay. I thought the concept was interesting. It basically talks about spending your money on experiences - instead of accumulating a bigger bank account.
Honestly, this book could’ve been a blog post. But if you don’t know much about personal finance, it’s worth reading.
Three stars.
February 6, 2021
Thank you to the author for providing me with this novel, in exchange for an honest review.
Bill Perkins is a CEO and former Wall Street trader who made his money in energy stocks. His novel, “Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life” is a financial self-help book of sorts, but not entirely. Perkins suggests tips to “live a full life” and “be your true self” by focusing more of your attention on experiences, and less on money.
This concept is hard to grasp for most of us. Since childhood, we are told to “understand the value of a dollar” and to “work hard to earn what you want”. Perkins turns these tenets on their heads and forces us to look at money in a new way- use it to experience life now, because the older you get, the less chances you will have to use it in the best ways possible.
The novel itself is very well written, and each chapter covers a different aspect of Perkins’ theory. Not every chapter will relate to everyone but there is something for everyone somewhere in this book.
It was very difficult for me to relate to Perkins. Although I can appreciate his values and his belief system, it is hard to accept financial and life advice from someone who flew his entire family (and all of his friends) to the British Islands for his 45th birthday (and has a laissez-faire attitude about it) , and is a millionaire at the age of 50. It is extreme examples like this that make it hard for me to find a connection with him. He does gives example in this book of “normal” people (i.e. non-millionaires) and how they can use his theories as well, but they don’t relate with me. Not everyone starts at one job and then advances (and continues to make wage increases with those advances) . The possibility of staying at the same job until retirement is high in these risky times, and the likelihood that we will go from “rags to riches” is next to impossible, for the working class of the world (you know, the majority of us).
I appreciated Perkins’ life advice, and it does make a lot of sense. To spend money while we are young on experiences that would be both foolish and irresponsible when we get older, for example. There are definitely a lot of experiences I missed out on as a youth because I was too focused on making money. It also connects that we need to focus on the memories we leave behind, and not on the financial windfalls we leave our relatives.
Perkins does state often that he is “not” a financial advisor, and it is best to leave our financial decisions into the hands of those who are (he definitely touts the benefits of annuities and insurance, though, for someone who isn’t a “financial advisor!”).
“Die with Zero” is an interesting take on how we, as a society, look at money, and the skewed importance we give to it. Since it completely went against everything I have ever been taught (and even against a lot of my current practices with the money I have now) , it definitely took a lot of open-mindedness to get through this book, but Perkins definitely has some good ideas.
Bill Perkins is a CEO and former Wall Street trader who made his money in energy stocks. His novel, “Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life” is a financial self-help book of sorts, but not entirely. Perkins suggests tips to “live a full life” and “be your true self” by focusing more of your attention on experiences, and less on money.
This concept is hard to grasp for most of us. Since childhood, we are told to “understand the value of a dollar” and to “work hard to earn what you want”. Perkins turns these tenets on their heads and forces us to look at money in a new way- use it to experience life now, because the older you get, the less chances you will have to use it in the best ways possible.
The novel itself is very well written, and each chapter covers a different aspect of Perkins’ theory. Not every chapter will relate to everyone but there is something for everyone somewhere in this book.
It was very difficult for me to relate to Perkins. Although I can appreciate his values and his belief system, it is hard to accept financial and life advice from someone who flew his entire family (and all of his friends) to the British Islands for his 45th birthday (and has a laissez-faire attitude about it) , and is a millionaire at the age of 50. It is extreme examples like this that make it hard for me to find a connection with him. He does gives example in this book of “normal” people (i.e. non-millionaires) and how they can use his theories as well, but they don’t relate with me. Not everyone starts at one job and then advances (and continues to make wage increases with those advances) . The possibility of staying at the same job until retirement is high in these risky times, and the likelihood that we will go from “rags to riches” is next to impossible, for the working class of the world (you know, the majority of us).
I appreciated Perkins’ life advice, and it does make a lot of sense. To spend money while we are young on experiences that would be both foolish and irresponsible when we get older, for example. There are definitely a lot of experiences I missed out on as a youth because I was too focused on making money. It also connects that we need to focus on the memories we leave behind, and not on the financial windfalls we leave our relatives.
Perkins does state often that he is “not” a financial advisor, and it is best to leave our financial decisions into the hands of those who are (he definitely touts the benefits of annuities and insurance, though, for someone who isn’t a “financial advisor!”).
“Die with Zero” is an interesting take on how we, as a society, look at money, and the skewed importance we give to it. Since it completely went against everything I have ever been taught (and even against a lot of my current practices with the money I have now) , it definitely took a lot of open-mindedness to get through this book, but Perkins definitely has some good ideas.
December 26, 2021
This book has some interesting ideas about spending your money during your lifetime to die with zero, instead of being afraid to spend all your money. It also goes through some of the objections people would have about the financial concept.
However, I have a few main concerns:
1) This could have been a Youtube video or single article. I found the chapters very repetitive. Each chapter could be a paragraph or two, honestly.
2) This book only applies to a very specific margin of people - mainly upper middle class. It does not apply to the ultra wealthy or the many people who live paycheck to paycheck to get by.
3) Suggesting to everyone multiple times that they should go into debt to go on vacation is irresponsible in my opinion. Not everyone has the financial experiences that the author did of increasing their income tremendously over their lifetime and being able to easily pay off such debts in the future.
4) Waving away people's concerns over wanting to save extra money in order to pay for healthcare when they're older seems insensitive given the author is American. I'm not American (Canadian here), but from what I've heard of the American health care system, I can understand people's concerns about saving for medical expenses. Plus, not every medical expense can be solved by keeping healthy and getting medical insurance (which are the author's two suggestions for this).
5) Suggesting that people don't need to really start thinking about saving for retirement until their 40's/a bit later in life (and use their earlier years to enjoy experiences) is irresponsible again. It takes away the decades that their retirement savings could compound, meaning they could have saved less earlier to get the same result. But also, many people aren't able to put off saving for retirement because their financial situations simply don't allow for it.
All in all, I have mixed feelings.
However, I have a few main concerns:
1) This could have been a Youtube video or single article. I found the chapters very repetitive. Each chapter could be a paragraph or two, honestly.
2) This book only applies to a very specific margin of people - mainly upper middle class. It does not apply to the ultra wealthy or the many people who live paycheck to paycheck to get by.
3) Suggesting to everyone multiple times that they should go into debt to go on vacation is irresponsible in my opinion. Not everyone has the financial experiences that the author did of increasing their income tremendously over their lifetime and being able to easily pay off such debts in the future.
4) Waving away people's concerns over wanting to save extra money in order to pay for healthcare when they're older seems insensitive given the author is American. I'm not American (Canadian here), but from what I've heard of the American health care system, I can understand people's concerns about saving for medical expenses. Plus, not every medical expense can be solved by keeping healthy and getting medical insurance (which are the author's two suggestions for this).
5) Suggesting that people don't need to really start thinking about saving for retirement until their 40's/a bit later in life (and use their earlier years to enjoy experiences) is irresponsible again. It takes away the decades that their retirement savings could compound, meaning they could have saved less earlier to get the same result. But also, many people aren't able to put off saving for retirement because their financial situations simply don't allow for it.
All in all, I have mixed feelings.
March 18, 2021
Dying with no money left, having spent it all on living. It sounds like an interesting concept – if money, a proxy for time, is a resource, can you optimize its use down to the last cent? The engineer in me was curious. I believed before reading this book that the only way to do that was to know for certain the date of your own death. After reading this book, I’m still of the same opinion. Perkins suggests that a person buy insurance and/or annuities to spend that last dollar, while doing any planned legacy giving while still alive, and while living life to the fullest. I don’t believe the insurance products he suggests all exist except in a theoretician’s mind, so practicality is a problem. As is risk. The author doesn’t always discuss additional risks taken while trying to limit a risk, like for instance your insurance company fails after you’ve paid for your annuity or insurance product. I found this disheartening in this book, as the author is an engineer who made his fortune in financial trading. I thought I found a kindred spirit.
And I did, in a way. The author begins the book describing his thinking being influenced by the book “Your Money or Your Life”, which explained how your time, or life energy, is traded for money, and you can think of your purchases as really being a chunk of your limited time on earth. He takes the concept to the conclusion that to be optimal, you should not waste time on making money that you won’t spend, hence the title of the book. But it ends up that the author isn’t done there. He continues down the optimization path by suggesting that life experiences and the memories they provide are what is really important in life, and to maximize these memories, you should spend on experiences while you can. For example, if you want to say you climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, it’s best to do that when you are younger and abler than risk not being able to do it later in life when you may not be able to physically. This seemed to be the main thrust of the book, not quite what the title leads you to believe.
There were two things I didn’t like about the book. One was the bragging. The author is wealthy and enjoys spending his money. He threw himself a birthday party right out of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, flying friends to a Caribbean island and having a private concert. He is not psychologically opposed to spending. I tend to be, so I found this over-the-top example a bit too much. He used these examples to make his point, and he did.
Another thing I felt while reading this is what I would call “go-getter privilege”. There are risks that people who have generated wealth will take that other people will not. It is like there is a built-in insurance in the mind of a wealth generator, where they believe they can rebuild their wealth should any risk reduce their financial situation. I felt this strongly about the author, a multi-millionaire energy trader, as I read this book. It would be interesting to see if the author would have the same perspective if he was, say 20 years older and considering his wealth-making capabilities, facing age discrimination and no longer having his industry contacts, having followed his own advice and given away or spent most of his fortune. I think it would be quite a different book.
In summary, if you find yourself wealthy and want some logic behind upping your spending, this book is for you. For others, it is still a very interesting book, more a personal philosophy book than a finance book, making you think about your physical and financial capabilities at different times in your life and trying to make the best use of each.
And I did, in a way. The author begins the book describing his thinking being influenced by the book “Your Money or Your Life”, which explained how your time, or life energy, is traded for money, and you can think of your purchases as really being a chunk of your limited time on earth. He takes the concept to the conclusion that to be optimal, you should not waste time on making money that you won’t spend, hence the title of the book. But it ends up that the author isn’t done there. He continues down the optimization path by suggesting that life experiences and the memories they provide are what is really important in life, and to maximize these memories, you should spend on experiences while you can. For example, if you want to say you climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, it’s best to do that when you are younger and abler than risk not being able to do it later in life when you may not be able to physically. This seemed to be the main thrust of the book, not quite what the title leads you to believe.
There were two things I didn’t like about the book. One was the bragging. The author is wealthy and enjoys spending his money. He threw himself a birthday party right out of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, flying friends to a Caribbean island and having a private concert. He is not psychologically opposed to spending. I tend to be, so I found this over-the-top example a bit too much. He used these examples to make his point, and he did.
Another thing I felt while reading this is what I would call “go-getter privilege”. There are risks that people who have generated wealth will take that other people will not. It is like there is a built-in insurance in the mind of a wealth generator, where they believe they can rebuild their wealth should any risk reduce their financial situation. I felt this strongly about the author, a multi-millionaire energy trader, as I read this book. It would be interesting to see if the author would have the same perspective if he was, say 20 years older and considering his wealth-making capabilities, facing age discrimination and no longer having his industry contacts, having followed his own advice and given away or spent most of his fortune. I think it would be quite a different book.
In summary, if you find yourself wealthy and want some logic behind upping your spending, this book is for you. For others, it is still a very interesting book, more a personal philosophy book than a finance book, making you think about your physical and financial capabilities at different times in your life and trying to make the best use of each.
December 13, 2022
This was so eye-opening! Bart and I have been talking about it non-stop.
April 24, 2021
Our culture’s focus on work is like a seductive drug. It takes all of your yearning for discovery and wonder and experience, promising to give you the means (money) to get all those things—but the focus on the work and the money becomes so single-minded and automatic that you forget what you were yearning for in the first place.
Well, this book blew my mind.
In a nutshell, author Bill Perkins argues that we think about saving and retirement all wrong. Many of us, myself included, dutifully save our pennies, squirreling away every extra cent so that we can have enough in retirement to go on a couple vacations and then pay for our inevitable health problems as we age. But we’ve got our priorities reversed. We forget that health is a commodity, too, and we don’t have it forever.
We live in a culture that overemphasizes hard work and delayed gratification. (Did your insides clinch up like a fist when you first read that? Yeah, mine, too.) But what about experience? What about spending time and creating memories with the people you love? Life is a balance between money, health, and time. When we’re young, we have good health and lots of time, but less money. As we get older, we usually have more money, but also more constraints on our time and health.
So there’s a sweet spot, an optimization point, where you have money and time, as well as enough good health to enjoy it. (For most of us, this will occur when we’re 30 to 60 years old.) We should capitalize on this time, not squander it to work more than we need to. Of course, most of us still have to work—we need an emergency fund and the right amount saved for retirement. But the trick is to work just enough to pay for what we need and for the experiences we want to have…but not a minute more. (Don’t worry, he helps you figure out how to find your peak optimization point.) Whatever money you don’t spend at the end of your life is waste. It means you worked that extra time but never got to enjoy the fruits of your labor. How depressing.
I’m sure you’ll have the same objections to some of these arguments as I did. What about the kids’ inheritance? What about end-of-life donations to charity? What if I love my job and don’t want to quit? He has answers for these objections and more. The one I found most compelling: why let death determine how and when you spend your money? Why not be intentional with your money while you’re alive? Consider giving your son $20,000 when he’s 30-years old and needs help with a downpayment for a house, rather than wait until you die (when he’s 60) and he no longer really needs the money. Again, it’s about optimization.
The most life-changing concept in this book, though, concerns time buckets. Instead of having a bucket list, where you list things you want to accomplish before you die, be more specific and intentional. Divide your life into five-year increments (20-25, 25-30, 30-35, etc.), and decide what you want to accomplish and when, keeping in mind the levels of health, money, and time you need to accomplish each item. For example, I’d like to visit Niagara Falls at some point. I’d also like to see the tulip farms in Holland, earn a paycheck again, throw myself a big birthday party, see the redwoods, run a real 5K (not a DIY 5K, like I did during covid), visit the Louvre, leave a server a $100 tip, learn self-defense, and hold one of my grandchildren. Each of these things requires different levels of money, health, and time. Maybe I can visit Niagara Falls this summer since it’s closer and cheaper (40-45), but I’d rather take a trip to Holland when my kids are older and we have more money in the bank (45-50). I’d want to learn self-defense when I’m healthy enough to do it easily (40-45), and it probably goes without saying that I’m not looking to be a grandmother anytime soon (55-60 please, kids!). But I love this concept of being more intentional with your life, your time, and the experiences you want to share with the people you love.
So yeah, I enjoyed this book. It really made me rethink the way I want to live my life. It also helped me feel less guilty about spending money to experience, you know, fun. I know not everyone is a curmudgeonly scrooge, but I can be, for sure… Five stars all day.
Well, this book blew my mind.
In a nutshell, author Bill Perkins argues that we think about saving and retirement all wrong. Many of us, myself included, dutifully save our pennies, squirreling away every extra cent so that we can have enough in retirement to go on a couple vacations and then pay for our inevitable health problems as we age. But we’ve got our priorities reversed. We forget that health is a commodity, too, and we don’t have it forever.
We live in a culture that overemphasizes hard work and delayed gratification. (Did your insides clinch up like a fist when you first read that? Yeah, mine, too.) But what about experience? What about spending time and creating memories with the people you love? Life is a balance between money, health, and time. When we’re young, we have good health and lots of time, but less money. As we get older, we usually have more money, but also more constraints on our time and health.
So there’s a sweet spot, an optimization point, where you have money and time, as well as enough good health to enjoy it. (For most of us, this will occur when we’re 30 to 60 years old.) We should capitalize on this time, not squander it to work more than we need to. Of course, most of us still have to work—we need an emergency fund and the right amount saved for retirement. But the trick is to work just enough to pay for what we need and for the experiences we want to have…but not a minute more. (Don’t worry, he helps you figure out how to find your peak optimization point.) Whatever money you don’t spend at the end of your life is waste. It means you worked that extra time but never got to enjoy the fruits of your labor. How depressing.
I’m sure you’ll have the same objections to some of these arguments as I did. What about the kids’ inheritance? What about end-of-life donations to charity? What if I love my job and don’t want to quit? He has answers for these objections and more. The one I found most compelling: why let death determine how and when you spend your money? Why not be intentional with your money while you’re alive? Consider giving your son $20,000 when he’s 30-years old and needs help with a downpayment for a house, rather than wait until you die (when he’s 60) and he no longer really needs the money. Again, it’s about optimization.
The most life-changing concept in this book, though, concerns time buckets. Instead of having a bucket list, where you list things you want to accomplish before you die, be more specific and intentional. Divide your life into five-year increments (20-25, 25-30, 30-35, etc.), and decide what you want to accomplish and when, keeping in mind the levels of health, money, and time you need to accomplish each item. For example, I’d like to visit Niagara Falls at some point. I’d also like to see the tulip farms in Holland, earn a paycheck again, throw myself a big birthday party, see the redwoods, run a real 5K (not a DIY 5K, like I did during covid), visit the Louvre, leave a server a $100 tip, learn self-defense, and hold one of my grandchildren. Each of these things requires different levels of money, health, and time. Maybe I can visit Niagara Falls this summer since it’s closer and cheaper (40-45), but I’d rather take a trip to Holland when my kids are older and we have more money in the bank (45-50). I’d want to learn self-defense when I’m healthy enough to do it easily (40-45), and it probably goes without saying that I’m not looking to be a grandmother anytime soon (55-60 please, kids!). But I love this concept of being more intentional with your life, your time, and the experiences you want to share with the people you love.
So yeah, I enjoyed this book. It really made me rethink the way I want to live my life. It also helped me feel less guilty about spending money to experience, you know, fun. I know not everyone is a curmudgeonly scrooge, but I can be, for sure… Five stars all day.
May 6, 2021
This book is written by a millionaire for millionaire. If you are in the middle class category don’t bother reading this because it’s depressing. This guy repeats himself throughout the entire book and talks about making the most of your life by traveling and enjoying life experiences, which is great...if you are a millionaire!! He says spend that money, but also make sure you save a million for retirement 🤔 great book if you are a millionaire, if not pass!
November 25, 2022
Ironic for a book that focuses on maximising your time before you die to waste my time.
Some mildly interesting points, but it's basically a blog post that got out of control.
I'll summarise so you don't have to read it:
- buy experiences, not things, because apparently you won't remember things when you're older.
- you're already too old to do everything you want.
- the author is rich.
- don't save money if all you're planning to do with it is die and give it to someone.
- learn basic finance.
Some mildly interesting points, but it's basically a blog post that got out of control.
I'll summarise so you don't have to read it:
- buy experiences, not things, because apparently you won't remember things when you're older.
- you're already too old to do everything you want.
- the author is rich.
- don't save money if all you're planning to do with it is die and give it to someone.
- learn basic finance.
February 23, 2023
Wow. This has me totally rethinking how I spend and save. It contains steps to help readers become more deliberate in how we spend our time, money, and life energy.
Perkins’ emphasis on experiences over things and “return on enjoyment” resonated with what I’ve learned, but he framed them in a way that gave more urgency to the concept and suggested tools to actually make that happen.
He perfectly puts into words the dilemma of health, money, and time and how we rarely have all three—and what to do about that. Much of what we want to do is best done while we are young or in the middle of our life, not the end! As Perkins says, “You retire on your memories.”
I appreciate such a different perspective that has been a catalyst for reevaluating how I save, spend, and what I want to accomplish in my life.
Perkins’ emphasis on experiences over things and “return on enjoyment” resonated with what I’ve learned, but he framed them in a way that gave more urgency to the concept and suggested tools to actually make that happen.
He perfectly puts into words the dilemma of health, money, and time and how we rarely have all three—and what to do about that. Much of what we want to do is best done while we are young or in the middle of our life, not the end! As Perkins says, “You retire on your memories.”
I appreciate such a different perspective that has been a catalyst for reevaluating how I save, spend, and what I want to accomplish in my life.
January 21, 2021
This book gave me a new perspective. Instilled the importance of spending more time on experiences than making money. Your life is measured by your experiences. Though most of his tips are meant for people who are already wealthy and have extra money to spend the general ideas he mentions can apply to anyone. Take more chances when you’re younger because you can. Spend more money when you’re younger because as you grow older the amount of money you make will generally increase. Don’t let work stop you from spending time with friends and family and from preventing you from doing the things you’ve always wanted to do that you’ve probably put off several times already. A nice reminder of what’s important. :)
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June 12, 2023TLDR: I am enraged. Too long. Stupid. Irresponsible. Out of touch.
1. Way too long. This could have been a quick article. The premise is... don't horde your money and spend your time working. Use it on things you like to do before you're either too old to do it or... dead. That's it.
2. Who the heck was this written for? Because it wasn't me. I think this book maybe makes sense if you are wildly wealthy. He writes about his friend who said he was going to stop working when he made $115 million, but he didn't stop until he was 38 and had a net worth of $711million. And now he has regrets because he wasn't around for his kids like elementary school years. What??? Not gonna be me.
Apparently when he was 45 he rented out a resort in the Caribbean, flew out 50 of his friends, booked Natalie Merchant. And then he says, "Be like me. Enjoy your money when you're young enough to enjoy it." What the HECK are these examples?!?!
3. What the the heck is this financial advice?? He tells story about his roommate quitting his job and borrowing money from a loanshark to go to Europe in his early 20's. And he says he regrets not doing the same because his roommate had this really romantic eat love pray experience and now that the author has a bagillion dollars, a Europe trip just isn't as rewarding. WHATT??? Don't go borrow money from a loanshark???
When he talks about his own wealth he says he worked hard and was extremely lucky. But then he talks about being bold and taking risks and gives the example of how MARK CUBAN FROM SHARK TANK took a risk by moving to Dallas at 23 to sell software?!? I'm glad some risks turn out for some people but these are crazy lucky people. Not everyone is gonna just take a risk and be Mark Cuban.
When talking about having enough wealth built up for retirement and end of life care he says, "What I'm saying is that you can't pay your way out of high-priced end-of-life medical care; since uninsured medical care is so expensive, it won't make any real difference for the vast majority of us whether we save for it or not. Either the government will pay for it or you will die." ????????
I'm peeved. lol.
1. Way too long. This could have been a quick article. The premise is... don't horde your money and spend your time working. Use it on things you like to do before you're either too old to do it or... dead. That's it.
2. Who the heck was this written for? Because it wasn't me. I think this book maybe makes sense if you are wildly wealthy. He writes about his friend who said he was going to stop working when he made $115 million, but he didn't stop until he was 38 and had a net worth of $711million. And now he has regrets because he wasn't around for his kids like elementary school years. What??? Not gonna be me.
Apparently when he was 45 he rented out a resort in the Caribbean, flew out 50 of his friends, booked Natalie Merchant. And then he says, "Be like me. Enjoy your money when you're young enough to enjoy it." What the HECK are these examples?!?!
3. What the the heck is this financial advice?? He tells story about his roommate quitting his job and borrowing money from a loanshark to go to Europe in his early 20's. And he says he regrets not doing the same because his roommate had this really romantic eat love pray experience and now that the author has a bagillion dollars, a Europe trip just isn't as rewarding. WHATT??? Don't go borrow money from a loanshark???
When he talks about his own wealth he says he worked hard and was extremely lucky. But then he talks about being bold and taking risks and gives the example of how MARK CUBAN FROM SHARK TANK took a risk by moving to Dallas at 23 to sell software?!? I'm glad some risks turn out for some people but these are crazy lucky people. Not everyone is gonna just take a risk and be Mark Cuban.
When talking about having enough wealth built up for retirement and end of life care he says, "What I'm saying is that you can't pay your way out of high-priced end-of-life medical care; since uninsured medical care is so expensive, it won't make any real difference for the vast majority of us whether we save for it or not. Either the government will pay for it or you will die." ????????
I'm peeved. lol.
February 24, 2022
Oh I absolutely loved this book, I think it's one of if not the favorite non-fiction book
May 8, 2021
This book presents a good "other-side" argument to the prevalent FIRE culture, where you save as much as possible in your younger years so that you can retire earlier and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Bill argues that your time on earth and health diminish as you age, so you actually may not want to save every-single-penny, and spend more on experiences early on.
This is a good book overall, but with a fundamental flaw. The premise of the whole book is that the goal of life is to collect memories / experience points. I am not sure I agree with it. I would have liked this book even more if Bill had spend more time discussing the philosophy of this "goal". Why is creating more memories a better goal than having an impact? Why not leave a legacy instead? Why not be happy? There are a lot more possibilities as the "goal of life", and Bill could have made this book much better had he addressed this issue.
This is a good book overall, but with a fundamental flaw. The premise of the whole book is that the goal of life is to collect memories / experience points. I am not sure I agree with it. I would have liked this book even more if Bill had spend more time discussing the philosophy of this "goal". Why is creating more memories a better goal than having an impact? Why not leave a legacy instead? Why not be happy? There are a lot more possibilities as the "goal of life", and Bill could have made this book much better had he addressed this issue.
August 16, 2021
This book is for a very select group of people. If you are a money hoarder who feels guilty spending money and finds comfort in saving endlessly for a rainy day this book is for you. I struggled deciding what to rate this book because there are great tidbits of information but also some cringe worthy advice. I highly disagree with a young adult quitting their job, taking a loan out for more than half their annual income to travel Europe with the intent they will make more money when they are older and pay if off later.
On the bright side, I am guilty of being an over-saver and this book gave me a new perspective on living in the now while healthy and new ideas on planning for the future. I loved the suggestion of separating your life into three stages, the go-go years, the slow-go years and the no-go years and setting different retirement goals and financial budgets for the various time periods.
On the bright side, I am guilty of being an over-saver and this book gave me a new perspective on living in the now while healthy and new ideas on planning for the future. I loved the suggestion of separating your life into three stages, the go-go years, the slow-go years and the no-go years and setting different retirement goals and financial budgets for the various time periods.
December 29, 2020
Fairly quick read with a casual tone. Perkins talks about the side of things that most finance books ignore: actually spending money.
Good book for anyone who is or grew up frugal. I would start elsewhere for someone who is already careless with money.
Good book for anyone who is or grew up frugal. I would start elsewhere for someone who is already careless with money.
February 26, 2024
Every now and then I read a book that completely changes my perspective on a topic. This is extremely rare, but when it happens, I’m in heaven. This is exactly what Die with Zero did for me, and I couldn’t put it down. In short, Bill Perkins argues that the idea of saving for our retirement is completely wrong, and we should be spending while we’re younger and can enjoy it. He also argues that you shouldn’t just leave your inheritance for when you die and you should start giving your beneficiaries the money sooner rather than later, and this includes charities.
Right before I started this book, I had an epiphany that I needed to start spending on experiences and treat myself. I love to travel, but I haven’t been in the financial position to do so for years. Then, I picked this book up, and it sold me even more on the idea. Now, I have a new plan for saving and investing that allows me to travel while my body is still somewhat young and I can enjoy it.
And so you know, this book doesn’t argue for reckless spending. Bill Perkins is a man who is smart with his money and has great advice of how to be responsible. But the overall goal is to die with as little as money as possible. I’m so glad I came across this book.
Right before I started this book, I had an epiphany that I needed to start spending on experiences and treat myself. I love to travel, but I haven’t been in the financial position to do so for years. Then, I picked this book up, and it sold me even more on the idea. Now, I have a new plan for saving and investing that allows me to travel while my body is still somewhat young and I can enjoy it.
And so you know, this book doesn’t argue for reckless spending. Bill Perkins is a man who is smart with his money and has great advice of how to be responsible. But the overall goal is to die with as little as money as possible. I’m so glad I came across this book.
April 14, 2024
Great reminder to live in the now and enjoy your money/experiences while you can. Especially once you start making decent money and feel like you should be saving more for retirement. It did feel a bit repetitive and dry in parts, but overall loved the message. Already planning our next vacation/experience!
January 15, 2024
Doesn’t contribute anything new to the discussion of dying broke, but it was nice to have this literary affirmation that our current retirement strategy is valid ;)
December 22, 2022
This is definitely a book for privileged people - with enough disposable income to be able to worry about what to do it. With that said, this was actually a very interesting read. It goes against a lot of the financial advice out there as it sees money as a means to an end rather than the end itself. I didn’t wholeheartedly agree with everything the author said and some topics could have been explored a bit more thoroughly but overall the author makes a compelling and logical argument.
"The premise of this book is that you should be focusing on maximising your life enjoyment rather than on maximising your wealth. Those are two very different goals. Money is just a means to an end: Having money helps you to achieve the more important goal of enjoying your life. But trying to maximise money actually gets in the way of achieving the more important goal."
"The premise of this book is that you should be focusing on maximising your life enjoyment rather than on maximising your wealth. Those are two very different goals. Money is just a means to an end: Having money helps you to achieve the more important goal of enjoying your life. But trying to maximise money actually gets in the way of achieving the more important goal."
April 17, 2021
This is the most life changing book I have ever read.
I usually don't say that about self development books, but this one hits different. Everything Bill Perkins writes to us makes sense, and he uses logic to prove it to us.
His thoughts have always came across my mind, but he explores it in a grander scheme. I got many insights out of this book, and I highly recommend everyone to read it.
I usually don't say that about self development books, but this one hits different. Everything Bill Perkins writes to us makes sense, and he uses logic to prove it to us.
His thoughts have always came across my mind, but he explores it in a grander scheme. I got many insights out of this book, and I highly recommend everyone to read it.
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