Die With Zero: 3 Key Lessons Bill Perkins

Michael Zuber (0:02)

On this Labor Day, I wanted to open with some facts about a book of mine that I've read called Die With Zero. Give you kind of the three key or critical lessons from that. Don't worry, we still have a bunch of economic news, real estate news to talk about. But given it is Labor Day, happy Labor Day, everyone, here are some Labor Day facts, according to a quick search that, frankly, I didn't know. First, the first recognized Labor Day celebration was done in New York City on September 5th, 1882

Yes, the first celebration was in New York City, 1882 The first state to recognize Labor Day was actually Oregon in 1887 And then, of course, it became a federal holiday when President Grover Cleveland signed legislation in 1894

So federal holiday started all the way back in 1894 All right, let's get into the title. The title of this particular video is Die With Zero, Three Key Lessons. This book is written by Bill Perkins. Number one, for me, this was, I don't know, embarrassing to admit, but it was one of those, what I call light bulb or aha moments. And that is your money has an expiration date. How many stories have we heard about people that work until retirement? They have all these plans, and then they are gone within a year or two. So again, your money does have an expiration date, at least when you can use it or enjoy it. If you're planning to enjoy, for example, a Mediterranean cruise, which I have been lucky enough to do and will likely do again, you better be an able-bodied person because it is not wheelchair friendly, not walker friendly, cobble streets, unbroken ground everywhere. And also, at least when we went, really hot, not a lot of shade. So not something I would try to enjoy in my 70s or 80s. Number two, this one is really cool to think about. And actually, I think we all know it intuitively, but we, at least for me, I didn't put it in context until I read this from Bill.

Experiences earn interest too.

Think about it as a money or experience dividend. Yes, you and I are very familiar with dividends and stocks, with cap rates and real estate, with interest on savings. But how about those stories you still tell from way back when?

What if instead of waiting 10 years to go to Europe, you go next year? Then you have nine years of experience dividends. I'm thinking of Coach Nick, for example. He just spent two months in Europe taking his family and his kids on what must have been an amazing trip. Those kids, those teenagers, will remember that trip likely forever. And Nick and his wife will obviously remember that forever. So again, experiences earn interest to money or experience dividends. And then this is the last one. This is one I hear from a lot of folks, and then we'll get into the economic news.

Someday, someday isn't a plan. I will do it someday. We will go there someday. I will do this or that someday. That is not a plan. So again, if you haven't read the book Would Die With Zero, I will put a link below. It'll be an Amazon link. If you click the link, I'll make a couple of pennies. You don't have to, you can go search for this yourself, but the link will be below.

Again, I think it was a great book. Definitely a couple of aha moments for me. All right, let's shout out realtor.com with this little juicy tidbit. Median, median list price fell year on year in 36 of the largest 50 metros. Now again, don't forget that list price is not sold price, but again, realtor.com putting out a scary headline. Year on year, median list price down 36 percent. How about our boy, Lance Lambert from Rezzy Club once again, giving us the data.

Most active inventory since August of 2019

Where is inventory compared to pre-pandemic?

Let's go shrinking first. Where is inventory down? Now, of course, Lance Lambert is a data geek. I forget how big the spreadsheet was. Probably 50 or 60 names. I just took the bottom five and the top five. If you want to read it, you can go to Rezzy Club or I follow Lance on X. Shrinking. Where is inventory down? Fifth place, Virginia Beach. Inventory is down 43 percent. New York City down 48 percent. Providence, Rhode Island down 49 percent. Oh, wow, Chicago down 63 percent. Anybody invest in Chicago? What the heck is going on there? And then, of course, I probably would have guessed this one at this point because it seems to be the top of every inventory list, at least for shrinkage, is Hartford, Connecticut. I don't know, is that just like the New York crowd going to Hartford? Is that people leaving Massachusetts and going to Hartford? I don't know, but Connecticut is really seeing active inventory shrink. All right, now let's go to where inventory is growing, growing, booming, whatever. Number five, San Antonio, Texas, up 27 percent. Nashville, Tennessee, up 32 percent. Denver, Colorado, up 34 percent. And folks, I'm just rounding these numbers. So Lance, of course, goes out to the decimal, but you're going to get the point. Seattle, Washington, up 44 percent. And the number one city, big city, with the most growth in active inventory is Memphis, Tennessee. Yes, Memphis has the most inventory. All righty, folks, let's talk about our amazing event in January, again, in Vegas, 16th and 17th. If you haven't got your tickets, get them. I've been asked a bunch of questions because I don't do a lot of marketing, and my Eventbrite doesn't have a lot on it. It is what it is, I guess. But here's what I hope you get from that event. Number one, bring your questions. You're going to be able to ask all of your questions from not only the speakers because they were there, but also other audience members or attendees. Number two, you're going to introduce yourself and get around other wealth builders. One of the things that you will see in our community is we are very open and warm to people that want to do the work, get focused, be disciplined, and be good people. You're going to be around top A-list kind of people that all want to see you succeed, because you succeeding is not them failing. This is not a zero-sum game. Number three, my big goal is to make sure you all leave inspired. This game that we've all chose to build wealth is slow and takes a decade. So if I can give you a little jolt of electricity once a year, I see it as my duty to do that, because maybe it makes the next six months a little easier to get through. Number four, build new memories. Back to Bill Perkins and his Die With Zero. Someday is not a plan, experiences or earns interest in dividends. So again, I'm trying to build those memories that you think about. Man, remember that time we went to Vegas and we went to that event, and then we did this or that after hours, we met this or that person. Oh, let's look at the selfies. I'm trying to give you all of those moments. And then finally, take lots of notes and photos. So again, lots of stuff for you to do. And don't forget, folks, if you want to have angels get their wings, there you go. Dion says, every time you hit the like button, an angel gets its wings. Shout out, Dion. Hope you enjoy Labor Day. Let's talk about the real estate market today.