- The Good: Short chapters with simple take-aways about living your life now
- The Bad: Only applicable to a narrow range of people; advice too generalized; too long for its subject matter
- The Literary: Some references to other resources—see the Notes section at the back
Die with Zero is a lesson in living life over saving forever. On average, adults well into their 70s continue to accumulate wealth, but Bill Perkins argues that in this case, your life is not optimized because you’ll never be able to spend all the money you’ve worked so hard for and have probably lost out on lots of life experiences.
There’s a lot of interesting lessons in this book, but they can be quickly summarized. The ones that struck me include:
- Think about life like a game. You want experience points, because in the end, memories are all you have. Remember that you can’t take money with you.
- In order to attempt die with zero (i.e. spend all the money you make) you’ll need to roughly know your net worth, how much money you need to live, and when you’ll die.
- Do some online quizzes and work with your doctor to understand about what age you think you’ll die.
- Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the elderly do not spend near as much money as you think, even with healthcare costs.
- Research annuities if you are risk averse and really fear running out of money.
- Most people should typically aim to start spending their savings between the ages of 45 and 60, based on the anticipated death date.
- Separate your life into buckets by age, based on health and energy. Fill each bucket with a list of what you want to do while you still have the energy to do it. For example, if you like to travel, you will probably only want to sleep in hostels and backpack while you are young. In middle age, you’ll likely want to opt for higher tier accommodations but can still handle full days of touristing. As your energy wanes, you might transition to cruises or other low impact activities.
- If you want to leave money to your kids, family, or charity, why not do it while you’re still alive?
I like that Perkins knows and readily admits his limitations up front. He admits that he’s not a financial planner or investment advisor, and that you should go talk to professionals if you want to follow his advice. He also caveats the book with the fact that there are plenty of people who don’t have near enough money, and he includes charity as one of the many ways to spend money that is very satisfying. But unless you fall within a specific net worth, this book is insufferable.
The advice is quite simple, and it certainly could have been an article, so don’t worry about reading the full book after this review. Mostly, be mindful about living your life to the fullest. Don’t let irrational fears get in the way of accomplishing all you want to do. If you need an emotional boost to spend some of your money on experiences now, remember that memories are your most precious assets. If you’re looking for specific financial advice, this book isn’t for you.