Inspired by Bill Perkins' Die with Zero — plan the moments that matter most
Bill Perkins argues in Die with Zero that every experience generates a "memory dividend" — the ongoing joy, nostalgia, and identity you draw from the memory for the rest of your life. A trip you take at age 45 pays dividends for 40+ years. The same trip at 75 may only pay dividends for 10.
Front-load your experiences into your healthiest decades. Use this planner to map your bucket list by target age, see how your spending clusters across life's decades, and make sure you are not leaving your best experiences too late. The goal is not to die broke — it is to die with zero regrets.
Count and total estimated cost per life decade
Bill Perkins' core insight is that most people drastically over-save and under-live. Money has no value after you die — only the experiences you have and the memories you create carry real worth. The goal is to spend your life energy on peak experiences at the right age, not to accumulate wealth indefinitely.
Key idea: your "health-wealth" curve peaks in your 50s or early 60s for most people. After that, the ability to enjoy physically demanding or travel-intensive experiences declines. Plan accordingly — do the active adventures now, while you still can.
Explore Retirement Income Styles