Die With Zero
A Review
“Most of us go through life as if we had all the time in the world. It makes sense to delay gratification to some extent, because that pays off in the long run. But the sad truth is that too many people delay gratification for too long, or indefinitely. They put off what they want to do until it’s too late, saving money for experiences they will never enjoy.” - Bill Perkins, Die with Zero
When I was 23, Dave Ramsey’s “Ben and Arthur” chart changed my life.
The chart tells the story of two fictional investors, Ben and Arthur. Ben invests young, Arthur invests later, Ben’s investments crush Arthur’s.
Ramsey’s point: Deferring is the key to a rich life.
Dave isn’t wrong. If historic returns hold, every $1 you invest at age 20, will be worth $88 at age 65.
Ramsey and the whole personal finance industry continually push us to defer.
And yet, reminds Bill Perkins, Ben forgot one hard reality as he deferred away his young, healthy years.
Your life (and health) here on earth is finite, and running down by the day.
The ramifications are many.
Here are four concepts I took away from this much-needed “anti-personal-finance” book:
Memory Dividends
This hike was tough at age 36!
Question: What’s the difference between going to Italy when you’re 20 vs. going to Italy when you’re 70 (besides the arthritic knee that keeps you from climbing the Spanish steps)?
Answer: A lifetime of recalling the memories.
My travel memories, for instance, haven’t just warmed me on cold winter days, they’ve broadened my perspective on almost everything. My time outside the US has given me a lens that I use everyday to evaluate what my life is- and can be.
“Unlike material possessions, which seem exciting at the beginning but then often depreciate quickly, experiences actually gain in value over time.” -p.13
Many Experiences Can't Be Deferred
The Ben and Arthur chart implicitly assumes that a dollar spent when you’re 65 is the same as a dollar spent when you’re 20. Perkins reminds us that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
While it may feel like we have forever to defer the things we aim for in life, the reality is that our windows of opportunity are often tragically small. Perkins illustrates this point with stories from his own life that remind us that many opportunities come but once.
Bill Story #1: The Reckless (but Rational) Roommate
Out of college, Bill’s roommate quit his job and then borrowed money from a real-life New York City loan-shark for a trip to Europe.
"I said to Jason, “Are you crazy? Borrowing money from a loan shark? You’ll get your legs broken!”
When he came back a few months later, though, there was no discernible difference between his income and mine - but the pictures and stories of his experiences showed that he was infinitely richer for having gone. I felt pretty envious- and regretful that I hadn’t gone.
When I finally went to Europe, at age 30, it was too late: I was already a tad too old and too bougie to stay in youth hostels and hang out with a bunch of 24-year-olds. Plus, by the time I was 30, I had many more responsibilities than I’d had in my early twenties, which made it that much harder to take months off for travel.
Like me, Jason knows he timed that European trip exactly right. “I wouldn’t enjoy sleeping in a youth hostel with 20 guys on a shitty bunk bed now.” Despite the high-interest loan, he has the opposite of regret about the expense. “Whatever I paid was a bargain because of the life experience I gained,”
What he gained from that trip, in other words, is priceless. - p.21 [abridged for length]
Bill Story #2: The 45th Birthday
For his 45th birthday, Bill spent a painful amount of money flying his friends, family, and favorite musician to an all-out “all-the-people-I-love” bash in the Caribbean. Why did he do it? Or why didn’t he at least defer until the bigger milestone of age 50 after his investments accumulated for five more years?
He writes:
By the time my 50th rolled around, my dad had died, mom’s health had, unfortunately, declined substantially. My brother and two sisters were there, but some of my friends couldn’t make it this time. From my perspective, it had been a very good decision to splurge on that extraordinary gathering five years earlier.
Or… I could have not splurged on that lavish party when I was 45. Instead I could have celebrated my birthday by just looking at my monthly investment savings and IRA statements. But what kind of memory would that be? - p.153 [abridged]
Could you and I wail til we’re 65 to go take your dream trip? Absolutely. But make no mistake- you are paying for a very different trip than that of Bill’s roommate.
When we went to Provence two years ago, we did it with our young family. We did it with our vibrant, healthy moms. I hope we have our whole lives to travel, but for that trip, 2022 may have been the only opportunity we get.
A Generous Life
How old are most people when they receive their inheritance? 30? 40? Nope.
The median age for Americans who receive an inheritance is 60 years old. (You know, right around the time you don’t actually need it.)
For many years after her divorce, Virginia Colin struggled financially. Receiving almost no child support from her ex, she raised her four children on her own, "mostly at the edge of poverty," as she puts it. She eventually remarried, was able to hold down a decent part-time job, and attained financial stability. Then, when she was 49, her mother died, at age 76, leaving Virginia with a large inheritance.
The $130,000 windfall was definitely welcome-no question about that. "But it just would have been a lot more valuable a lot earlier," says Virginia, who is now 68. - p.82
In other words, what would it look like to give a smaller inheritance earlier?
Furthermore, Perkins asks: who is the generous person? The person six feet under whose former possessions are distributed by lawyers? Isn’t the generous person the one who is living? Doesn’t generosity require being around to actually give?
Whether its inheritance or giving to charity, Perkins challenges what is possible and what is best in light of the “peak utility of money” for both the giver and the receiver.
Time Buckets Over Bucket Lists
What are the things you hope to do during your brief existence here on Earth? Here are a few things I would love to do:
Buy or build a cabin in the woods near Lake Superior’s north shore
Mentor young men in my neighborhood
Live in Europe
Pour everything I have into loving and discipling my kids.
The bucket list would have me lazily set these out with no timeline - as if I could pick and choose as I saw fit. Time buckets on the other hand dispel the illusion of infinite time and flexibility.
These buckets resolve the donkey problem and more importantly make it clear that many of your goals can only be achieved within a small window of your life.
Here’s those same goals, in decade bucket format:
My 30s: Pouring everything I’ve got into my kids
In thirteen years, all my kids will have left. Heck, in five years, they’ll be too cool to hang out and listen to me. The harsh reality: I’ve got a few short years to make the big memories and to put everything I’ve got into these little hatchlings- who are quietly but quickly growing wings.
My 40s: Mentoring younger men
Having left diapers behind and entered the teenage-parenting years, this may be the best time to coach sports or invest heavily into a youth group.
My 50s and beyond:
Living in Europe
A move that is super difficult right now, would likely be much easier when we no longer have to fork over $40,000/yr for international school, can be flexible visa-wise, and when all that’s needed to live is a little 1-BR overlooking the Mediterranean.
North shore cabin
In my 50s and 60s, I might actually be able to sneak away to build it without my wife dying of exhaustion (and me missing the critical kid years- see “30s” above).
Conclusion
I don’t have time to share all that I took away from this book, much less impress upon you the importance of managing not just your money but your (and your loved ones’) finite health and time.
To be clear, this is not a book advocating for financial stupidity. Bill Perkins actually comes from the finance world. He’s simply reminding us that while mindlessly spending money is harmful, mindlessly saving money can be even worse.
While some of you reading this should be more frugal and save more for retirement, some of you financially responsible, ever-deferring Americans need to wake up from autopilot.
This is your life.
Your energy, your health, your time - these are the limited resources you need to be managing - not your Vanguard accounts.
Beyond these four concepts, Bill addresses everything from fear over end-of-life costs, peak utility of money (at what age does a dollar matter most?) to how he plans on actually “dying with zero”.
For now, maybe it’s enough to pause and ask yourself:
What’s the biggest opportunity in your life right now -
that may not be there in ten years?
We don’t know how long God will give us on this side of eternity. While I certainly disagree with some of the selfish, “YOLO" vibes that can come through Perkins’ writing at times, there is a wisdom in this book that we would be wise to heed as we strive to manage our finite time on this planet. And that’s why I heartily recommend a discerning read of “Die with Zero”.
“Teach me to number my days, that I might gain a heart of wisdom.”
- Ps 90:12