Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life

by Bill Perkins

When the end is near, we suddenly start thinking, What the hell am I doing? Why did I wait this long? Until then, most of us go through life as if we had all the time in the world.

a smoker who had picked up cigarettes as a teenage boy because he wanted to look cool to the girls. But now that the boy got the girl, why is he still smoking? Only because he’s formed an addictive habit, and habits are hard to break.

Once you’re in the habit of working for money to live, the thrill of making money exceeds the thrill of actually living.

many people feel like they can never get enough, and as their net worth grows, their goalposts just keep shifting.

This is real! The hedonic treadmill never ends!

Optimizing across your whole life takes a lot of thought and planning; it’s easier to live for short-term rewards (myopia) and to stay on autopilot (inertia) than to do what will be good for you in the long term.

go-go years, slow-go years, and no-go years.

Very interesting method to think about life phases..

the premise of this book is that you should be focusing on maximizing your life enjoyment rather than on maximizing your wealth.

If you knew that you were going to die tomorrow, your behavior and activities today would obviously change, maybe even taking a 180-degree turn.

dying with zero is not only about money: It’s also about time. Start thinking more about how you use your limited time, your life energy, and you’ll be well on your way to living the fullest life you possibly can.