What "Die With Zero" taught me about saving, spending, and the cost of waiting

I'm currently reading Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins, and it's a book that's challenged a lot of my assumptions as a financial planner — while also, honestly, kind of annoying me.
The core argument of Die With ZeroPerkins argues that most people save too much for the future and spend too little once they actually get there. His core idea centers on the concept of "life energy" — the hours and effort you exchange for money when you work. If you spend your life energy earning money and then never convert that money back into meaningful experiences, he argues, you've wasted the exchange. In his view, hoarding money instead of using it to create memorable, life-enriching experiences is simply irrational.
Where I disagreeIn my experience working with clients, this isn't the problem most people actually have. Between my years in the financial services industry and my own life experience, I've found that people are far more likely to struggle with overspending than with over-saving. Most of the financial stress I see in client relationships comes from not saving enough — not from saving too much.
So I want to be clear: This isn't a wholesale endorsement of Perkins' philosophy.
The idea from the book I can't stop thinking aboutThat said, there's one idea buried in his argument that has stuck with me:
Heavily prioritizing saving assumes you'll have equal opportunity for meaningful experiences throughout your entire life.
Life stages open and close windows of opportunity that money alone can't reopen — young children grow up, aging parents' health changes, physical abilities shift, and career demands ebb and flow.
I experienced this firsthand recently when I booked a five-day family vacation to New York City. From a pure budgeting standpoint, it wasn't the most prudent decision — I'm running a young business and paying $3,000 a month in daycare costs. But delaying the trip in favor of "someday, when things are more settled" ignores a real trade-off: By the time my business is more established and my kids are out of full-time daycare, I'll likely be busier with work, and we'll be tied to a school calendar that doesn't bend for our schedule.
What this means for your own financial planningTo be clear, this isn't a case for abandoning financial discipline or spending beyond your means. Sound saving habits remain essential to long-term financial security. But it is a case for asking a more specific question when you're building a financial plan:
Is there a window open right now — with your kids, your parents, your health, or your career — that money won't be able to reopen later?
The purpose of saving and earning isn't accumulation for its own sake. It's to create the financial capacity for a meaningful life, on a timeline that actually works for the life stage you're in.
As Dolly Parton put it: "Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."