“What Good Is Wealth Without Health?”

I am attempting to read all the books that I have sitting around my apartment. I will be posting very short reviews as I finish them.  I am not sure if I should call them reviews.  I will be writing about what I personally get from each book.  What did the book make me think about and how it applies to my life, if at all.  It is not meant to describe the whole book.

I just finished “Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life”, by Bill Perkins.

Main book ideas for me:

1. Stop accumulating money to spend when you are older; start using it now. Spend money on the things you love while you are young and healthy to really enjoy them.  Most people wait until retirement to start spending money on what brings them joy.  By that time, they may not have the health and energy to fully enjoy the activities they dreamed of.
2. Confronting our mortality.  We have a finite time on this earth.  What we take from it are the experiences we have, and the memories we make.

I realize I often choose saving over spending. I do spend money on essentials, some travel, and on family and friends.  In that last one, I will spare no expenses to help or treat them. I rather spend money on my family then on myself, and I often do.

“Think about what you really want out of this life in terms of meaningful and memorable experiences.”

I have always thought about making sure that I have money in case of an emergency, if I lose my job, or if my family ever needs anything.  Coming from nothing, I want to make sure that, my family and I, will never want for anything in life.

Yesterday, while catching up with my first boss in the US, she said: ‘You were always a saver.  Even when you were just a teenager, you never spent any money.”

Funny, that I really never thought about that.  I will spend money on myself but cautiously, mostly with traveling. I used to spend with nails, hair, massages, etc  but lately I am not even doing that.  I will get a massage every now and then.  For hair and nails, I always become impatient waiting for those services.  Plus some of the NY prices are crazy.

As far as clothes, I want to have less.  I never cared for material stuff, and I am having less and less interest in anything material. I want a life freer and simpler, but with enough money to do whatever I want.  I want to spend a lot time traveling and not maintaining stuff.

“The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end that’s all there is.”

Reading this book now, when Michael just came into my life, makes me more inspired to live more.  Michael saved money while young, with the aim of retiring at 55 years old, which he did.  He has been enjoying his life since then.  He is now 61.  I want to enjoy life with him. I want to spend more money and time acquiring experiences and memories, and not items that will weigh me down.

I cannot retire right at this moment for a couple of reasons.  My company needs me, and I need my company, for the health insurance and for the good salary.  So this book is perfect for me, as it reminds me not to wait for retirement, but live it up now. So, the planning for more fun, more travel, less working days is already in motion.

This book is also perfect for the person that has been over-saving, so focused on savings for the future that he forgets to live in the now.  Still, I believe and advocate balance in all areas. One cannot forget about making sure one has enough to live well in old age. The worst thing that could happen is to have to come out of retirement because one has ran out of money.

“What’s the takeaway here? Being aware that your time is limited can clearly motivate you to make the most of the time you do have.”

*all quotes are from the book

so this became very long, but if I edit, it will never be published, so here it goes.  Sorry for typos, etc