Yea, the book isn't perfect. It's still the best one I know of for those of us that have trouble spending. Read it, take what you find useful, leave the rest. The only way to truly die with zero without running out of money too early is to annuitize everything and with no inflation indexed annuities out there, that's probably a bad idea. But most of us can get a lot closer than we think. Start by defining enough. Too few of us have done that.I'm nearly done reading Bill Perkin's Die With Zero, which has already been discussed here in a couple of lengthy threads (1) (2). I'm on the side of this being a very thought provoking and important book (acknowledging that Perkins is not the first to raise the topic). I'm a little bit hung up on two things and wonder what other bogleheads think. These questions are not unique to the Die With Zero philosophy, but that philosophy does require that you have an answer for them.
(1) Perkins believes that the optimal time for your kids to receive their inheritance is between 25 and 35, when they should be mature enough to be responsible and still young enough to enjoy it. Okay, but how much can/should you give your kids without warping them? Not so much that they don't have to work, but enough that they can enjoy life while working. I have no idea how much that is. People will say "it depends on the person" which is certainly true, but does anyone have any guidelines on what's important to consider?
(2) Perkins, at points, touches on buying an annuity to provide longevity insurance, and long term care insurance to guard against large unpredictable late-life medical costs. Though between the lines it also seems like maybe he's thinking "expensive late-life medical care is not as important as maximizing the enjoyment of your life up to that point, so if you end up with some very expensive medical needs at the end maybe you're better off just dying." Okay, annuity, fair enough; though I think I'd probably feel compelled to either buy too large of an annuity or plan to have more of a cushion of savings than Bill considers optimal.
The other bit, though, I don't know. I gather that good LTC insurance is very difficult to find, and partly for that reason I haven't bothered looking and have just accepted that I'm self insuring for that. And if I have LTC insurance that turns out to not meet the need, or if I don't have any LTC insurance, Bill might be okay if I just die, but my kids would probably feel differently and might feel a strong sense of responsibility to pick up the slack. Which is a responsibility that I wouldn't want to thrust on them.
If you generally subscribe to the Die With Zero philosophy, I wonder what are your thoughts about whether it's possible to give "too much" money as early inheritance, and whether/how you'll guard against unforeseen major expensive in later years?
Statistics: Posted by White Coat Investor — Sat Nov 29, 2025 1:51 am — Replies 112 — Views 9221