Die With Zero – Bill Perkins

Die With Zero definitely isn’t my usual type of read. I’m generally a fiction reader, so this was a change of pace for me and I found it a little more difficult to get into. Since this is a non-fiction/self-help type of book, I won’t be reviewing in my usual categories of setting, characters, and plot. Instead, I’ll be reviewing based on what this book has shown me and how it has benefitted me for the future. 

Writing

Die With Zero captured me right away. The opening chapter started with a story based on a cancer patient who unfortunately had very little time to live, and how his wife was forced to work to take care of them. The author, Bill Perkins, gave her the freedom to take care of her expenses while she spent time with her husband, conveying the message that we have to live in the moment because life is too short to be working instead of spending time with loved ones. 

This was such a perfect way to start the book and as someone who isn’t necessarily a non-fiction reader, I enjoyed the fact that the story was able to bring me into the writer’s world a bit more. 

Bill Perkins was able to humor me and add little tidbits of information while giving me advice that genuinely meant something to me. I am about to be a freshman in university so expenses and money is something that has definitely been on my mind and I found myself relating to a lot of what Perkins was saying and that while I am saving up for “future-me” to be happy, what about “present-me”? 

The Message

When I was asked to review this book I definitely had my doubts on whether I would benefit from a book about finances and how I can balance the short-term pleasures and long-term pleasures of spending money and the rewards that come with it. As soon as I started the book, however, I realized that Perkins made it relatable to anybody who has access to some money and finances. I’m an eighteen-year-old without a current job and I was able to find the book incredibly helpful in my savings towards school and my life afterward. After talking to my parents and some other friends my age, they agreed that the message of balancing your short-term and long-term rewards is very important in life because who isn’t afraid to run out of money?

Changes in my Life

In a self-help book, you always want something to bring away. Whether this is a message that you’ll keep in your mind or a new way of looking at life, there should always be something that benefits the reader. 

For Die With Zero, I was able to completely change my mindset. I’ve always been someone who is afraid to spend because I may run out of money in the future, but this isn’t a healthy way of looking at spending. You have to live. 

After reading Die With Zero, I was able to come up with my own plan for spending and how I’d like to use my money to benefit myself instead of saving it for “the future”. 

In Conclusion… 

Die With Zero is one of those books that I think everybody should read when it comes to managing their life and expenses. Everyone has the issue of worrying about money and how they’re going to spend it, so you should die with zero. 

Rating: 4.5/5⭐