Bill Perkins’ book, Die With Zero, is one of the most perspective-shifting books I’ve ever read. The basic premise is this: Instead of waiting until death to pass on your wealth, consider gifting that money before you die. This way, your money is more useful to the people you’re providing it to. And you get to be alive and share in the life-changing moments your gift makes possible.
For example, let’s say you have kids at 30, and you die at 90. Your kids will be 60 by the time you pass on your inheritance. At that point, the major chapters of their lives have largely been written. Any sort of impact your money could have had to change the big decisions of their youth—like their career path, buying a first home, or starting a business—has passed. Your grandchildren may already be 30 at this point as well, with similar major chapters closed.
Perkins challenges the conventional wisdom of endlessly saving for retirement and instead advocates for maximizing “net fulfillment” throughout life. I’m already investing in what Perkins calls “memory dividends” – the powerful idea that the happiness from an experience keeps paying you back in the form of great memories and stories to share with others for the rest of your life. So what’s the real cost of putting off that trip until later? It’s not just the risk that “later” may never come. The real cost is the guaranteed loss of years of “memory dividends” you can never get back.
To put this idea into practice, Perkins introduces the tool of “Time Buckets.” The concept is to divide your life into five- or ten-year intervals and proactively plan the key experiences you want to have in each one. Some experiences, like backpacking across Europe, are better suited for your 20s, while others, like becoming a mentor or visiting an ancestral homeland, might be perfect for your 50s. By planning this way, you ensure you don’t wake up at 70 realizing you’re no longer healthy enough to climb the steps of a pyramid, to take your teen son to the World Series, to run that first marathon, or to see your favorite musician live in concert.
More than any other book I’ve read recently, Die With Zero completely reshaped how I view my future and, more importantly, my present. It’s a book I can guarantee will fundamentally change your perspective on money, time, and happiness—you’ll simply never look at your bank account or your bucket list the same way again.
Above is an episode of one of my favorite podcasts All the Hacks by Chris Hutchins where Hutchins and Perkins discuss Die with Zero. This particular episode is perhaps the best episode of the entire All the Hacks podcast. Give it a listen and consider reading Die with Zero as well
