Die with Zero

I have found Hard Stop’s perfect companion. If not a perfect companion, a really solid crush.

As I write about frequently, we often get caught up in the relentless pursuit of more – more success, more money, more achievement. Often not thinking about what we sacrifice as we reach for these goals, or at a minimum, being aware of what these pursuits cost.

The purpose of Hard Stop: Live with Intention and without Regret  is to help people to start living more intentionally so they can live their best lives. From being uber specific to what your priorities are, to building boundaries or hard stops around them, and seeking the type of balance that you’re looking for in your life.

Bill Perkin’s message in Die with Zero is similar:

Make the most of your life now, not just when you retire.

And approach your financial plans in a way that  matches that philosophy. 

Instead of focusing on accumulating wealth as a life  goal, think about your goal as maximizing total life enjoyment – trying to get as much out of your savings as possible without outliving it. Because anything left in our savings when we die is “wasted”; wasted experiences we could have done when we were healthy enough to have those experiences because we take nothing with us when we’re dead. (For children, charities, other “gifts” you want to give that give you pause when reading this, read the first comment in the section below).

So often we have the mentality that we’ll work and save and then have our “golden years” of retirement.

But they’re not always “golden.” And there’s a risk in waiting until that time to start doing what’s on your list.

I’m healthy. Right now. Today. I’m in good shape. 

I love to hike, love to climb, love to be out in nature, I love to travel.

In twenty years, I hope to be able to enjoy many of the activities I love to do now, but it’s no secret that my physical abilities will diminish as the years go on. All of ours will. I could get sick. Life could get in the way somehow that I’m not aware of today as I write ethos.

So instead of a “bucket list” of all the experiences I want to have some day, how do I plan for the life experiences that I want to have - starting now?  What are those experiences that can wait twenty years, and what experiences will be so much better if they’re done sooner? 

I’m 46 years old. Here's just a few on my list.

✅ I want to backpack for a week on the High Sierra Trail.

✅ I want to trek in the Himalayas.

✅ My family wants to hike Machu Picchu together.

It’s  likely better I do these activities in my 40s and early 50s than writing them on a bucket list for some day when I retire and may not be in the shape I am now or as healthy as I am now  to do so. It’s too big of a risk to miss out on these to not plan how to make these experiences happen - now.

It changed the way I think about how to finance our life now and for the future that closely aligns with my goals of living life to the fullest. Die with Zero gives specifics with tables, charts, etc., on how to not only think differently following this approach, but actually helps in creating a plan. It provides a lot of data points that left me with a sense of urgency about starting to tweak my approach - now. 

I have summarized a full book down to only ¾ of a page, so I’m missing a lot. But, I wanted to share it with this group that follows the Hard Stop newsletter. I got so much out of it, and the message resonated so strongly, that I wanted to share it with you in the hopes you find it helpful as well. 

If you read it, can you bookmark this page and come back to let me know what you think? I’m excited to hear your thoughts.