Jordan Grumet's pushback on "Die with Zero"

I haven't seen the substack post nor podcast episode, but I have read the book.

I have to say that while there was plenty in the book that I couldn't relate to (going into debt while young to take a traveling gap year, or taking family on ostentatious party vacations), there were other aspects that I did find meaningful.

Chief among those from the quote you raised: "…you’ve essentially wasted precious life energy working for dollars you never got to enjoy"

I was planning on waiting a few more years for the Rule of 55 before I'd leave the workplace. I hadn't honestly evaluated whether I was at my FIRE number or not already. But this book got me thinking about the limited time we have on this earth, and that you can never buy back a single day of life once your time is up. Time is a precious commodity.

After reading "Die with Zero" and "Outlive", I evaluated my position and decided to pull the trigger, spend time on things that are meaningful to me, and to work on my neglected fitness so I might be able to stick around and enjoy a longer life and health span than I otherwise would working my long hours, high stress corporate job.

It's given me more time with family, opportunities to volunteer, much more sleep than I'd been getting before, and I've walked a lot of miles, listened to a lot of audiobooks, ushered at theater, and started a weight training program. I'm relaxed and happy, and I'm enjoying participating more within my community.

If I hadn't read those two books, I think I'd still be on the corporate treadmill for a few more years.

I'm not a big fan of the book either.

It's easy for a decamillionaire to tell people they should be spending more money on life and experiences, but for the majority of us there is a real opportunity cost to doing so.

Almost nobody is really trying to "Die With Zero". (You would just need to use annuities to do that.) But that book is frequently used as a convenient straw man or stalking horse for people who are afraid to spend money or seek to justify accumulation until death – as if its some kind of binary choice -, which is the biggest problem among retirees these days according to Michael Kitces, Carl Richards, Brian Portnoy and many others who pay attention to this stuff. (Not that AUM-based financial advisors really mind – they do better when their clients don't spend money.)

Every person I know who talks about "Die With Zero" as if its a binary choice is pretty grossly over-saved, including the author of that article. Here's another famous and grossly over-saved personal finance guru doing the same thing. It's really part of a lot of personal finance culture, especially among older Bogleheads.

Query why people who are grossly over-saved need to run around justifying themselves like this. You know, nobody really needs to know about that, and pleas for affirmation for those behaviors really don't wear well, especially among other family members who just end up resenting you if you are not careful.