What if I said that you shouldn't worry about saving for retirement? You should book that trip to Paris. You should go explore the Roman Ruins, or spend extra to zip line through the Jungles of Costa Rica.
Die with Zero
Most of you would probably think, "this woman is coo-coo for coco-puffs." The whole point of working hard is to save up for retirement and finally enjoy your hard earned time off. Author Bill Perkins would argue that you're wasting your life. Bill argues that most of us aren't using our money as effectively as we can. Even more, most of us are squandering the best years of our lives. Bill has the pocket book of a hedge fund manager, but the mind of an engineer. And Bill says that most of us are over-saving and losing out on precious time that we won't ever get back.
In Die with Zero, Bill Perkins argues that most of us save for retirement at the expense of our life experiences. He argues we're too concerned about saving for retirement, and not concerned enough with living life to its fullest when we're young. Your goal should be to die with zero instead of leaving an inheritance to your children. And while you might be thinking that he's a selfish, egotistical, narcissist - he actually makes some good points.
One of the first points that Bill makes, is that we need to have the right experiences at the right time in our life. In college I had several friends who studied abroad. Even though I might have been able to scrape by, I never felt like I really had enough money to do it. By the time I was earning enough money to go abroad for a significant amount of time, I was in my early 30s. While I can go visit Europe now, it will never be the same as a 19-year-old heading out of the country for the first time, wide eyed, and open to new experiences. Now I have a partner, a dog, aging parents, and a job that requires my full attention. I waited until I had enough money, but now I've missed out on a vital life experience that I can never get back. Bill argues that since our incomes increase with age, it's okay to make more risky financial decisions when you're younger.
Delaying Happiness for Money
This is happening on a much larger scale with retirement. We save and save to make sure we can have a wonderful and relaxing retirement. But in reality, there are few years of our retirement where we will actually enjoy the fruits of our labor. For most of us, that money would be better spent in our younger years where we can enjoy experiences more fully. And I hear everyone yelling in the background, "what about the kids?!" Bill argues that we should give our money to children when they can best spend it. Giving money to children during important life milestones like going to college or starting a family are going to have a far greater impact than when they are 60-years-old and you're finally wearing the wooden onesie. Overall, Bill argues that the money we leave behind after we die is wasted. It represents hours of work we engaged in without getting to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
I'm not sure I agree with all of the premises of the book. But it did make me start to think differently about money. I spent most of my 20s completing my graduate education. I watched friends and loved ones travel the world while I sat back and struggled my way through school. Sure, I could've taken trips. But it would have been financially irresponsible and left me with even more student loans. So instead, I watched others take trips they could barely afford and silently chastised them in my mind as irresponsible. I didn't realize that eventually they would recover. And even if our incomes were different, the quality of our lives weren't fundamentally different. The choices that I viewed as irresponsible led them to life experiences that I have forever missed.
The Story of the Mexican Fisherman
It's reminiscent of the tale of the Mexican fisherman and American businessman. The fisherman spends a few hours fishing, and spends the rest of his time with his family and loves ones. He sleeps in early and relaxes throughout the day. When the businessman hears this, he tells the fishermen that they can expand his business. If he works more hours per day - they can buy more boats, hire more fishers, and make millions. Then in about 20 years, the fisherman can sell the company for millions. After the fisherman has made millions, he can finally sleep in late, spend time with his family, and enjoy his life.
I find myself getting caught up with this mentality in my own life. I see the couple on instagram who owns multiple rental properties so that they can retire early and live on their investments. But in the meantime, they've missed their children's birthday parties. They've forgone the trips abroad. They've lost valuable time that they can't get back. But I don't see the life events they've missed out on in their timeline - I see the numbers in their bank account.
Bill Perkins makes a compelling argument....
that we're obsessed with the mentality of the American businessman. We want to work hard and make millions to enjoy the things that are already available to us. We're obsessed with the idea of more in the future, instead of enough in the present. It's an age-old message that if we live our lives fully in the present, we don't need to make millions in the future. It's a mentality that far too many of us will ignore until it's too late. Until we're looking back at the experiences we've missed out on - wondering why we didn't take advantage of them when we were young.
Rating: 8/10
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