Review of Die With Zero by Bill Perkins
The first book on my reading list for 2026 was Die with Zero by Bill Perkins. I made this the first book on my personal finance reading list because I had heard about it on social media, from clients, and in industry circles. I wanted to read for myself what all the noise was about.
The essence of Die with Zero (whose full title is Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life) is simple: people don’t spend enough money on life experiences and accumulate wealth with no purpose.
I believe the title is intentionally provocative. In the author’s ideal scenario, people would die with no assets because they spent it during their lifetime on things that are truly meaningful to them. These life experiences create memories and connections that yield dividends throughout your life, so why not exchange money for them?
The author (Bill Perkins who, by the way, is a University of Iowa grad) laments that people accumulate wealth throughout their lives and their net worth increases for virtually no practical purpose. Even during retirement, Bill provides charts that show net worth tends to increase while spending on life experiences decreases. We reach a certain point that traveling becomes too difficult, trips aren’t as interesting, and people we would usually travel with are too sick or busy to join us.
Bill advocates that money should be exchanged for these life-defining trips and experiences while we have the chance. He is so aggressive in his belief that the title Die with Zero succinctly explains his message: spend all your money on everything that gives your life meaning and value since you can’t take any of your material wealth with you when you die.
As a financial planner and advocate for good financial habits, this sounds horrible. There are so many unknowns in life that having a safety net is critical to good planning.
However, Bill tempers the title of the book with a realistic approach. The book does not suggest becoming a spendthrift. He cautions people that a key aspect of his belief is intentionality. Spending money on trivial things merely because you can is not the message of the book. Rather, he believes that American culture has become too focused on thoughtless wealth accumulation and consumerism. He recommends treating your life and health as precious gifts. The money we earn can maximize the memories and experiences while we are healthy, mobile, and active.
The book fully acknowledges that dying with zero is impossible. If we knew when we will die then planning for the optimal scenario becomes a math equation, but reality is much different. The book provides practical methods and tools to do what Bill is suggesting.
Do I agree with every single thing in the book? No. I don’t think that makes it a bad book at all. I have a certain perspective and way of working with people that doesn’t fully align with the author’s beliefs.
Would I recommend this book? Absolutely, I would. I even think other financial planners should read it and have these types of conversations with clients. It’s uncomfortable to think about death, but it is a reality for everyone and we only have so much time to experience what is important to us.