Die With Zero: The most important book I read in my early 30s
※注意点：本書は「日本語版」もありますが、英語版を強くオススメします。翻訳時に、著者の文体が崩れています。文体が崩れることで、書籍全体の世界観も崩れています。英語版は文章も読みやすく、洗練されています。
About this book
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.
My thoughts
This is one of the most important books that I read in my early 30s. These are the key learnings from the book:
- As you get older, your total consumption of money will decrease, as well as your energy, sense of taste, and sense of hearing.
- It's better to pass on your inheritance to your loved ones earlier. The average age of receiving an inheritance is around the 60s, but the way of consuming that money is limited at that age.
Until recently, I was working too hard. However, when I got Covid and had to lie down in bed for three weeks, I rethought my life. How should I live? Is my life okay? After that, I found this book: "Die with Zero." The following quote summarizes the book:
Chase memorable life experiences, give money to your kids when they can best use it, donate money to charity while you’re still alive. That’s the way to live life.
» Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life
My highlights
My point to you is that, like so many people who invest in real estate, Paulie was thinking only about return on equity—not about return on experience.
he was continuing to work because he had formed the habit of working
go-go years, slow-go years, and no-go years.
For example, cancer treatments can easily cost half a million dollars a year. You can’t pay your way out of high-priced end-of-life medical care; since uninsured medical care is so expensive, it won’t make any real difference for the vast majority of us whether we save for it or not. Either the government will pay for it or you will die.
But let’s say you’re not part of the vast majority—let’s say you’re worth millions or tens of millions. What then? Even if I earn enough that I could save up for a few extra months of life in the hospital, I can’t see the logic in doing that: There’s a big difference between living a life and just being kept alive, and I’d much rather spend on the former.
if you were betting on how old someone will be when they inherit money—assuming you know nothing else except that they stand to inherit—60 is your best bet.
The utility, or usefulness, of money declines with age.
number one regret was wishing they’d had the courage to live a life true to themselves. The second regret—and actually the top regret among Ware’s male patients—was this: “I wish I had not worked so hard.”
Chase memorable life experiences, give money to your kids when they can best use it, donate money to charity while you’re still alive. That’s the way to live life.
» Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life