Die with Zero
by Bill Perkins · first published 2020
50% recommend25% neutral25% critical
Why HN recommends it
Argues for spending and experiences now over over-saving, using time value of money and a counterpoint to FIRE; readers say it reframes retirement planning and suits anyone weighing savings against enjoying money.
Common criticism: Several readers say it is wordy and could have been a short essay or summary.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A Common-Sense Guide to Living Rich....Instead of Dying Rich Imagine if by the time you died, you did everything you were told to. You worked hard, saved your money, and looked forward to financial freedom when you retired. The only thing you wasted along the way was... your life. Die with Zero presents a startling new and provocative philosophy as well as practical guide on how to get the most out of your money-- and out of your life . It's intended for those who place lifelong memorable experiences far ahead of simply making and accumulating money for one's so-called Golden Years. In short,
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2010–2026Nonviolent Communication
Marshall B. Rosenberg, Deepak Chopra, Magiarí Díaz Díaz, Alan Rafael Seid Llamas
Recommended by 99 · mentioned by 14099 recommend · 140 mention99 recommend · 14099 recommend
2007–2026How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie
Recommended by 579 · mentioned by 853579 recommend · 853 mention579 recommend · 853579 recommend
Folks might be inspired by reading Die with Zero - I sure was.
on “Don't Waste the Good Days” ↗https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52950915-die-with-zero Not related in any way to the author, but I find the book great and it answer all of the common issues
on “Bits of advice I wish I had known” ↗…* Three Simple Steps, Trevor Blake - Biography based inspiration for mental success * The Price You Pay for College, Ron Lieber - Data driven look at the true cost of college for parents and teens * Die With Zero, Bill Perkins - Counterpoint to FIRE movement, consider time value of money today vs. saving all for a future that might not exist * Economics of Star Trek, Rick Webb - Exploration of how finances could…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023” ↗…homeless people to give $1,000 to every year, and still have a million dollars to spend, without touching your principle. Could you even find 134 homeless people every day to give $1,000 to? The goal is to Die with Zero, as written by Bill Perkins, and while you may not want to literally do that, it's still a good book to read to get you thinking about how to spend your money.
on “The 'Return to Office' Lies” ↗If you like that, you may like the book "Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life". Even if you don't want to die with $0 there's a lot of sound advice around having good experiences now instead of waiting until you retire.
on “Life, death, and retirement” ↗…it, they get to thank me, they're not waiting for me to die, etc. I am lucky to be able to do that, of course, but many would can give an early inheritance don't. Which is to say, huge +1 to reading "Die With Zero" or "Die Broke"
on “Life, death, and retirement” ↗I've read "Die With Zero" by Bill Perkins recently. I think Perkins would say in that case that there's a time for everything. At 20-25, it's maybe a good idea to hitchhike to Alaska. At 45, married, with children and a mortgage,…
on “Pretty good career and life advice” ↗Die With Zero by Bill Perkins talks at length about this concept (it's a nonfiction book, so suffice to say it could've been an essay.)
on “Taking money off the table” ↗The author of “Die With Zero” makes an interesting observation: Experiences do compound in a way: the longer you have an experience, the more you can surface the memory over your life, leading to memories of memories which are themselves…
on “Don't Waste the Good Days” ↗While it's pretty badly written, the book Die With Zero changed my perspective on retiring a bit. I'm not sure I'd recommend reading it, but maybe reading a summary of the core ideas would be useful. The main take-away for me is that people tend to over-save…
on “Ask HN: What is your retirement plan? After retirement, what?” ↗…have different tastes. Sometimes I enjoy a long, rambling narrative if I like the author's style (eg Sadly, Porn). Other times I wish they'd have just written a pamphlet with their 1 interesting idea (eg Die With Zero).
on “I give you feedback on your blog post draft but you don't send it to me (2021)” ↗Thanks, I haven't heard of "Die Broke". > "Die Broke" is similar. I read it ten years ago and it completely changed my attitude towards money. One point "Die With Zero" makes within the first chapter or so is valuing experiences early on because experiences gain value over time, sort of like memory dividends. That is something I never thought about in that context but…
on “Life, death, and retirement” ↗…mostly, but there are definite regrets, esp with tech never being able to shut up about how awesome AI is in killing off any notion of craft. Re: travel: this is one of the big takeaways from the book Die With Zero: travel is much easier when you are younger even if it is more expensive (relative to your assets). Just got back from an Italy trip where I averaged 5mi a day walking. 10 years from now (50s) it’s a…
on “On loyalty to your employer (2018)” ↗