Die With Zero ??

 The Ant and the Grasshopper  

The industrious ant worked all summer long storing food for winter, while the carefree grasshopper fiddled and played all summer. so when winter came, the ant was able to survive, while the grasshopper was in dire straits. 

The moral of the story? There's a time for work and a time for play. BUT when does the ant ever get to play??

Rule No 1 - Maximize your positive Life experience

Your Life is the sum of your experience (Memories). Don't wait until you retire to start doing stuff you like. Start actively having the life experiences you want to have now. Have lots of meaningful and memorable experiences.

When you ever have a chance to talk to a 70+ old person, such as your grandparents. They wouldn't find much joy if you gave them hundreds or thousands of dollars. They don't have much things to do with those money. However, you will likely to see joy or smile on their faces when you ask and get them to share about their past experiences. Experiences such as their hobbies, places they have traveled and their times with their family and love ones.

Money = Time (Memories + Health)

Happiness comes from Wonderful Memories, Interesting Experience and Good Opportunities.

Recommendations

Think about the life experiences you like to have, and the number of times you will like to have them. The experiences can be large or small, free or costly, charitable or indulgence. Importantly, think about what you really want out of this life in terms of meaningful and memorable experiences.

Rule No 2 - Start Investing in Experiences early

When you look back your life, you'll remember the richness of those experiences. Plan the experiences you want to fit in and start now

Good memories and experiences comes with Memory Dividend.
Memory Dividend is like bank interest or dividend from an investment. When you "invest" in your experience, all these are stored in your memories. After months or years later, when you start to think or talk about those memories, it will bring back some joy (sweet memories). The earlier you invest in these memories, the more "dividend" you will get over the years.

Recommendations

Remember that "early" is right now. Of those experiences you thought about earlier, think about which ones would be appropriate to invest in today, this month, or this year.
If you're resisting of having them now, consider thinking of the risk of not having them now.

Think about the people you will like to have experience with, and picture the possible memory dividends you stand to gain from having those experiences sooner rather than later.

Think about how you can actively enhance your memory dividends. Would it help you to take more photos of your experiences? or to plan reunions with people you shared good times with in the past?

Rule No 3 - Aim to die with zero

Since we are using our time to "exchange" for money, then how much time should we spend on making money? Those money that you do not get to spend it after your death will the time waste for you to enjoy life. Aiming to die with zero is to "optimize" the time to build memories. 

Recommendations

If you love your job, and love going to work everyday, identify ways that you can spend your money on activities that improve your work? Spend on activities that can make your work more enjoyable? 

Rule No 4 - Use all available tools to help you die with zero

You don't know exactly when you will die, but there are tools available which will give you a rough idea of what your life expectancy is. Use tools to plan out your estimate age, getting insurance to help you die with zero.

Rule No 5 - Give money to your children or to charity when it has the most impact

When you plan to "die with zero", that means YOU have zero left of YOUR money. This will not include money you leave for someone or something else — like your kids or charity. You should give money to someone before you die, when it has the most impact. Not after you die.

The key is by giving someone when it has the most impact. Timing is the key. Plan and give when they needed most and not after you die.

The real legacy you leave behind shouldn't be money.

Recommendations

Consider at what ages you want to give money to your children, and how much you want to give. The same goes with giving money to charity. Discuss these issues with your spouse. Also to consult these matters with an expert such as an estate planner or a lawyer.

Rule No 6 - Don't live your life on autopilot

There are no universal laws when it comes to personal finance and balancing competing demands.  Simple balance rules don't work for everyone. 
Don't live on autopilot, be prepared to make constant, personalized changes. The ability to enjoy experience are based on health. The key is about balancing Health, Money and Time across your life.

Remember your health is more valuable than your money and never undersell your time.

Recommendations

- Think about your current physical health: What life experiences can you have now that you might not be able to have later?
- Think of one way in which you can invest your time or your money to improve your health and thereby improve all of your future life experience.
- Learn about how to improve your eating habits to improve your health.
- Do more of physical activities that you already enjoy (e.g. dancing, hiking) that will also improve your enjoyment of future experiences.
- If your ability to enjoy experiences is more constrained by time than by money or health, think of 1 to 2 ways you can spend money now to free up more of your time.

Rule No 7 - Think of your life as distinct seasons

Our life is made up of different stage or phase, when we are a teenager, a student, as a single, as parent, etc. Each phase of life is just like a distinct season in life. Think of these distinct seasons in advance and then take advantage of the unique opportunities they provide for experiences before the time is passed.

At some point your kids might be excited about going to Disneyland with you. It’s better to take them when this is the case. Otherwise the time passes and they don’t want to go to Disney and certainly not with you. Likewise, there are activities that rely on physical abilities. You may enjoy these activities in your 30s but may not at your 60s.

Recommendations

Try doing a time bucket (bucket list for different phase of your life). If time-bucketing your whole life feels a bit overwhelming, just do the exercise with three buckets covering the next 30 years. Know you can always add more to your life; just do it long before your age and health become a real factor.

If you have children, think about one experience do you want to have more of with them in the next year or two, before that phase of their life and your life is over?

 
Rule No 8 - Know when to stop growing your wealth

There is an optimal point at which you should stop working for maximum lifetime fulfillment. Figure out what that is before you blow right past it. Nobody on their death beds wishes they had spent more time at the office. 

How do you know if you have enough to live on? When can you reach financially independent? You need to know your peak. You peak should be a date (based on age) and not based on number in your bank. You have to re-bucket your life accordingly.

Recommendations

- Calculate your annual survival cost based on where you plan to live in retirement.
- Consult your doctor to get a read on your biological age and mortality; get all the objective tests you can afford that give you the status of your current health and eventual decline.
- Given your own health and history, think about when your enjoyment of those activities is likely to start declining in a noticeable way on an annual basis, and how the activities you love will be affected by this decline.

Rule no 9 - Take your biggest risks when you have little to lose

The younger you are, the more risks you should be taking, and the bolder you should be. Identify opportunities that pose little risk and go for it. You won't be able to do this once you get older.

Bet when you have nothing (or little) to lose. Before taking the risk, quantify the fear.

Recommendations

- Identify opportunities that you are not taking, that pose little risk to you. Always remember that you are better off taking more chances when you are younger than when you are older.
- Look at the fears that are holding you back, rational or irrational. Don't let irrational fears get in the way of your dreams.
- Realize that at every moment you have a chance. The choices you make reflect your priorites, so be sure you are making those choices deliberately.

Conclusion:

I’ve given you an impossible task: to die with zero. You can follow every rule in this book, you can closely track your health and life expectancy, and you can recalculate your financials every day — yet you’re not going to hit exactly zero. When you take your last breath, you might still have a few dollars in your pocket, and maybe even hundreds more in the bank. So technically, you will have failed to die with zero. That’s inevitable — and it’s okay.

Why? Because that goal will have done its real job, of pushing you in the right direction: By aiming to die with zero, you will forever change your autopilot focus from earning and saving and maximizing your wealth to living the best life you possibly can. That’s why dying with zero is a worthy goal — with this goal in mind, you are sure to get more out of your life than you otherwise would have.