Die with Zero

Die with Zero Plot Summary

Introduction

Most of us have been taught since childhood that saving for the future is virtuous. We diligently put away money for retirement, delay gratification, and pride ourselves on financial responsibility. But what if this conventional wisdom is actually preventing us from living our best lives? What if, in our quest to die with financial security, we're actually dying with unused life energy and missed experiences? This fundamental question challenges our deepest assumptions about money, time, and fulfillment. The truth is that money represents your life energy – the hours you've traded to earn it. When you die with unspent money, you've literally wasted irreplaceable hours of your life. Instead of focusing solely on accumulating wealth, we should aim to convert our resources into meaningful experiences at the optimal times in our lives. This approach isn't about reckless spending but about making deliberate choices to maximize your lifetime fulfillment before it's too late.

Chapter 1: Invest in Experiences, Not Just Possessions

Life is the sum of your experiences. When you look back on your life, the richness of your experiences will determine how full a life you've led. This means putting serious thought into planning the kinds of experiences you want, rather than coasting on autopilot through life's default path. Jason Ruffo, a friend of the author, decided in his early twenties to take three months off work to backpack through Europe. Despite earning only about $18,000 a year as a screen clerk, he borrowed money from a loan shark to fund his adventure. The author, his roommate at the time, thought Jason was crazy – risking his job security and going into debt seemed foolish. But when Jason returned, the transformation was evident. In Germany, he'd witnessed the horrors of Dachau. In the Czech Republic, he heard stories of life under Communist rule. In Paris, he spent afternoons in parks with new friends, enjoying simple pleasures. Throughout his journey, he formed connections with locals and travelers, expanding his worldview and understanding of himself. Years later, Jason has no regrets about his decision. "Whatever I paid, it was a bargain because of the life experiences I gained," he says. "You can't take those away, and I would never have them erased for any amount of money." The author, meanwhile, waited until he was 30 to visit Europe – by which time he was too old to enjoy youth hostels and the camaraderie of young travelers. He had missed his optimal window for that particular experience. This illustrates a crucial concept: experiences yield what the author calls a "memory dividend." When you have an experience, you get the in-the-moment enjoyment, but you also form memories that you relive later. Every time you remember the original experience, you get an additional experience from mentally and emotionally reliving it. These dividends compound over time, especially when shared with others. That's why it's so important to invest in experiences early – the earlier you start, the more time you have to reap these memory dividends. How do you quantify the value of experiences? Think of them in terms of "experience points," like in a video game. Different experiences bring different amounts of enjoyment, and by adding up these points over your lifetime, you create your fulfillment curve. The higher your total, the richer your life. And by investing in experiences early, you maximize the area under that curve. When planning your experiences, be deliberate rather than defaulting to autopilot. Many people fritter away money on daily indulgences like expensive coffee without considering what experiences they're missing. The key is awareness and intentional choice – would you rather have those daily lattes or a round-trip ticket somewhere new every few months? There's no right answer, but making conscious decisions about how you spend your money and time is essential to maximizing your life energy.

Chapter 2: Find Your Optimal Net Worth Peak

Most people believe they should keep accumulating wealth throughout their lives, saving diligently for retirement. But this approach often leads to dying with substantial unspent money – representing wasted life energy. Instead, you should identify your "net worth peak" – the point when your wealth should be highest before you begin spending it down. Elizabeth, a 45-year-old single woman earning $60,000 annually in Austin, Texas, exemplifies this common problem. She lives frugally, saving $16,000 each year for retirement. By age 65, she'll have saved $320,000 plus her $450,000 home equity. If she spends $32,000 annually in retirement and dies at 85, she'll leave behind $130,000. This represents over 6,600 hours – more than two and a half years of 50-hour workweeks – that Elizabeth worked for money she never enjoyed. What a tragic waste of life energy! Federal Reserve data confirms this pattern is widespread. The median net worth for Americans continues rising even into their mid-seventies, with those aged 75+ having the highest median net worth of all age groups. A 2018 study found that retirees with $500,000 or more at retirement had spent down only 11.8% of that money 20 years later. One-third of retirees actually increased their assets after retirement! Why does this happen? Partly because as people age, their spending naturally decreases. Retirement experts describe this as the "go-go years" (early retirement), "slow-go years" (70s), and "no-go years" (80s and beyond). Even as healthcare costs rise, overall spending on clothing, entertainment, and travel drops significantly. Many retirees also maintain excessive precautionary savings for potential medical expenses, despite the fact that no reasonable amount of savings could cover catastrophic healthcare costs. To avoid this fate, think of your net worth peak as a date, not a number. For most people, this optimal peak occurs between ages 45 and 60, depending on health and income growth. After reaching this peak, you should start spending more than you earn, drawing down your savings to enjoy experiences while you still can. This doesn't mean quitting work if you love your job – just spending more aggressively. Finding your peak requires calculating your "survival threshold" – the minimum needed to cover basic expenses until death. A simple formula is: survival threshold = 0.7 × (annual cost to live) × (years left to live). Once you've met this threshold, you can safely begin spending on meaningful experiences, knowing you won't run out of money before you die. The goal isn't to hit exactly zero when you die – that's impossible without knowing your death date. Rather, it's to get as close as possible, maximizing your lifetime experiences without running out of money. Tools like annuities can help manage longevity risk, ensuring you won't outlive your savings even as you spend more aggressively during your peak health years.

Chapter 3: Give to Others While You're Still Alive

Whenever the concept of dying with zero is discussed, the inevitable question arises: "What about the kids?" Many people assume this philosophy is selfish, neglecting the well-being of children and loved ones. However, the opposite is true – dying with zero actually means being more thoughtful about giving to others. Virginia Colin struggled financially for years after her divorce, raising four children "mostly at the edge of poverty" with little child support. Meanwhile, her parents had substantial wealth but waited until they died to share it. When Virginia was 49, her mother passed away at 76, leaving her $130,000. While grateful, Virginia reflects, "It just would have been a lot more valuable a lot earlier." By then, she was living a comfortable lower-middle-class life. The money was a nice bonus rather than the lifeline it would have been decades earlier when she was struggling to feed her children. This story illustrates the fundamental problem with inheritances: they leave too much to chance. Federal Reserve data shows the most common age to receive an inheritance is around 60. This means many people get money when they're past the age of maximum utility, while others who needed it earlier never receive it at all. The author calls this the "three Rs" – giving random amounts at random times to random people (since you don't know which heirs will outlive you). Instead of waiting until death, give money to your children when it will have the greatest impact. A Twitter poll conducted by the author found that most people consider ages 26-35 the ideal time to receive a windfall. This range combines financial maturity with maximum opportunity – young enough to make life-changing investments like buying a home, yet old enough to handle money responsibly. The same principle applies to charitable giving. When Sylvia Bloom, a legal secretary, died at 96, she surprised everyone by leaving $8.2 million to charity. While impressive, this approach is inefficient. The suffering her money could have alleviated continued for decades while she lived frugally, taking the subway into her 90s. By contrast, billionaire Chuck Feeney exemplifies "giving while living" – he anonymously donated over $8 billion during his lifetime, deliberately reducing his net worth to about $2 million by his 80s. Your real legacy isn't just money – it's the experiences you've shared, especially with your children. Research shows that adults who recall receiving more parental affection during childhood enjoy better health and lower depression rates later in life. These experiences have lasting effects that far outweigh any financial inheritance. When deciding between working more hours to earn money versus spending time with your children, consider which will truly maximize their lifetime fulfillment. Remember: You can only be generous while you're alive. Once you're dead, the transfer of your assets is legally enforced – there's no generosity in that. By giving thoughtfully during your lifetime, you ensure your resources have maximum impact when they're needed most.

Chapter 4: Balance Health, Time, and Money

Throughout your life, the optimal balance between spending and saving constantly shifts. Simple formulas like "save 20% of your income" fail to account for this dynamic reality. To truly maximize your lifetime fulfillment, you must understand how three critical resources – health, time, and money – interact at different life stages. When Bill's boss Joe Farrell discovered that Bill was proudly saving money on his meager $18,000 salary, Joe called him an idiot. "You came here to make millions," he said. "Your earning power is going to happen! Do you think you'll only make 18 thousand a year for the rest of your life?" This advice mirrors what economist Steven Levitt received from colleagues: young people with rising income potential should spend more and save less, even borrowing to maintain a lifestyle similar to what they'll eventually afford. The reason this makes sense becomes clear when you understand how our ability to extract enjoyment from money changes with age. Starting in our twenties, our health begins a subtle decline that accelerates over time. This decline directly impacts our ability to enjoy experiences, regardless of how much money we have. Consider travel – a study of travel constraints found that people under 60 are most limited by time and money, while those 75 and older are primarily constrained by health problems. This reality was dramatically illustrated when the author's girlfriend's 69-year-old grandfather, a former swim coach, nearly suffered a medical emergency attempting to swim just 30 yards to a beach bar. Like many older adults, he remembered his physical capabilities from younger days without recognizing how his body had changed. Similarly, the author's friend Greg, an excellent skier, recently discovered that skiing seven consecutive days – something he could easily do at 22 – now causes significant pain. Given this inevitable decline, your spending should follow a different pattern than your wealth accumulation. Instead of saving consistently throughout your working years, you might save almost nothing in your early twenties, gradually increase your savings rate through your thirties and forties, then begin spending down your wealth while your health still allows you to enjoy experiences. To implement this approach, consider three strategies for balancing your resources: First, invest in your health at all ages. Even small improvements compound over time, dramatically increasing your lifetime fulfillment. The author loves making "prop bets" tied to health goals, like wagering that friends won't complete a marathon or lose weight. These bets motivate life-changing health improvements whose value far exceeds the money at stake. Second, exchange money for time, especially in your middle years when time becomes your scarcest resource. Research shows that people who spend money on time-saving services experience greater life satisfaction regardless of income level. This isn't just about reducing time pressure – it's about simultaneously decreasing negative experiences and increasing positive ones. Third, use the concept of "personal interest rate" to make spending decisions. The older you are, the more someone should have to pay you to delay an experience. At 20, you might accept a 10% premium to postpone a trip by a year. At 80, even a 100% premium might not be worth the delay, given your declining health and limited remaining time. By consciously balancing these three resources throughout your life, you'll maximize your total fulfillment in ways that simple savings formulas never could.

Chapter 5: Time-Bucket Your Life for Maximum Fulfillment

When the author's younger daughter turned ten, she suddenly declared herself too old to watch Pooh's Heffalump Movie, which had been a family favorite. This abrupt transition illustrates a profound truth: we all die many "mini-deaths" throughout our lives as we pass from one stage to the next. Once each stage ends, there's no going back – and most of these transitions happen without clear warning or ceremony. This reality means you can delay some experiences for only so long before the window of opportunity closes forever. To maximize fulfillment, you need a system for planning experiences across your lifetime. The author suggests "time-bucketing" – a simple but powerful tool for ensuring you don't miss critical life experiences. Start by drawing a timeline from now until your expected death, divided into intervals of five or ten years. Each interval becomes a "time bucket." Then list key experiences you definitely want to have during your lifetime – everything from running a marathon to seeing autumn in Vermont to attending your child's graduation. Don't worry about money at this stage; focus solely on what would make your life feel complete. Next, assign each experience to the specific bucket when you'd ideally have it. Some decisions will be obvious – physically demanding activities belong in earlier buckets, while experiences requiring financial resources might fit better in middle-age buckets. As you complete this exercise, you'll notice that experiences naturally cluster during certain periods, creating a curve that resembles the right side of a bell. This process reveals something crucial: without financial constraints, most of your desired experiences would optimally occur in your twenties and thirties, when your health is highest. Yet in reality, most people's spending peaks around midlife instead. This misalignment explains why so many people miss their optimal windows for key experiences. The time-bucketing approach differs fundamentally from a traditional "bucket list," which is typically created reactively by older individuals suddenly confronting mortality. Time-bucketing is proactive, helping you plan decades ahead to ensure you don't postpone important experiences until it's too late. Consider the author's 45th birthday celebration as an example of time-bucketing in action. Rather than waiting for his 50th birthday, he recognized that his mother was already elderly and many friends weren't getting any younger. He decided to host an extravagant gathering at a Caribbean resort, flying in loved ones from every stage of his life. Though expensive, the celebration created memories that continue to yield dividends years later. By his actual 50th birthday, his father had died and his mother's health had declined substantially – confirming the wisdom of not delaying this meaningful experience. As you move through life, revisit your time buckets every five to ten years. Your interests will evolve, and new people will enter your life, requiring adjustments to your plan. This is especially important as you approach your net worth peak, when you should be actively planning how to spend your newfound free time rather than drifting aimlessly into retirement. Remember: there's a season for everything. By time-bucketing your life, you ensure you're experiencing each season at its optimal moment, rather than postponing joy until it's too late.

Chapter 6: Take Bold Risks When You Have Little to Lose

Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, began his entrepreneurial journey selling trash bags to neighbors at age 12. After college, the 23-year-old packed his meager belongings into an old Fiat and moved to Dallas, where he shared an apartment with five other guys and slept on a beer-stained carpet. When he got fired from his software store job for defying his boss, he started his own computer consulting business, which he later sold for $6 million at age 32. What's most interesting about Cuban's story isn't his eventual success but his attitude toward risk. "I had nothing," he recalled. "So I had nothing to lose, right? It was all about going for it." Cuban was facing what the author calls "asymmetric risk" – when the potential upside far outweighs the downside. In such situations, being bold is actually less risky than playing it safe. This principle applies most powerfully when you're young. At 23, the author was fired from his job as a junior trader at an investment bank for resting his head in the booth. Though initially scared, he found work as a broker within a month. Even if he hadn't, he was young enough to easily correct course. The younger you are, the more time you have to recover from failures – and the lower the long-term impact of any setback. Career choices illustrate this principle clearly. If you're in your early twenties dreaming of becoming an actor despite the competitive odds, you should absolutely go for it. Give yourself a few years, and if it doesn't work out, you can still pursue other careers. That's exactly what Jeff Cohen did after playing Chunk in the 1985 film The Goonies. When puberty turned him "from Chunk to hunk" and new roles failed to materialize, he went to college and law school. Today, he's a successful entertainment lawyer and partner in his own firm. By contrast, making the same bold move in your fifties carries much higher risk. Not only do you have more to lose (including dependents who rely on you), but the potential rewards are lower because you'll have fewer years to enjoy any success. The risk/reward balance shifts dramatically with age. Many people avoid bold action because they magnify the downside in their minds. When the author encouraged his unhappy young friend Christine to quit her job selling plastic countertops without having another position lined up, she feared becoming unemployable. In reality, at 25 she could easily find temporary work while searching for a better opportunity. Her perceived risk was far greater than her actual risk. Another common fear that prevents bold action is reluctance to move or travel. People often refuse to consider opportunities in different cities, citing concerns about not knowing anyone or wanting to stay near family. The author suggests quantifying these fears: If moving for a job would earn you $70,000 more annually, calculate how much time you actually spend with the people you'd be leaving and how much it would cost to visit them regularly. Many people effectively pay enormous sums for the comfort of not moving. The author experienced this firsthand when offered a trading job in Texas. Despite stereotypes about the South and the risk of leaving a stable broker position in New York, he recognized the asymmetric nature of the opportunity: high upside if it worked out, and the ability to return to brokering if it didn't. The move launched his successful trading career and introduced him to a lifestyle he came to love. For older individuals, boldness takes a different form – having the courage to spend your hard-earned money rather than continuing to accumulate wealth you'll never enjoy. Your greatest fear should be wasting your limited time, not running out of money in old age.

Summary

The central message of this philosophy is both simple and revolutionary: your life is the sum of your experiences, not your possessions or bank account. Money represents your life energy – the hours you've traded to earn it. When you die with unspent money, you've literally wasted irreplaceable hours of your life working for nothing. By aiming to "die with zero," you shift your focus from maximizing wealth to maximizing lifetime fulfillment. This doesn't mean being reckless or ignoring your future needs. Rather, it means being deliberate about how you allocate your resources across your lifespan. Give to your children when they can best use the money. Donate to causes while you're alive to see the impact. Invest in experiences early to maximize their memory dividends. And take your biggest risks when you're young enough to recover from failure. As the author reminds us: "In the end, the business of life is the acquisition of memories." What are you waiting for? Today is the perfect day to examine where your life energy is going and whether it's creating the experiences that will make your journey truly worthwhile.

About Author

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Bill Perkins

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.Called the "Last Cowboy" of hedge funds by the Wall Street Journal, Bill Perkins is considered one of the most successful energy traders in history. He's reported to have generated more than $1 billion for his previous firm during a five year period. After studying electrical engineering at the University of Iowa, Bill trained on Wall Street and later moved to Houston, TX where he made a fortune as an energy trader.Now at age 51, Bill's professional life includes work as a hedge fund manager with more than $120 million in assets, Hollywood film producer, high stakes tournament poker player, and the resident "Indiana Jones" for several charities.Bill manages this via smartphone on his yacht in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and while traveling the world with close friends and family.

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