So I’m certainly not trying to tell you that one set of experiences is better than another; instead, you should choose your experiences deliberately and purposefully rather than living life on autopilot, as too many of us do. (Location 109)
It’s called consumption smoothing. Our incomes might vary from one month or one year to another, but that doesn’t mean our spending should reflect those variations—we would be better off if we evened out those variations. (Location 167)
Life energy is all the hours that you’re alive to do things—and whenever you work, you spend some of that finite life energy. So any amount of money you’ve earned through your work represents the amount of life energy you spent earning that money. That is true regardless of how much or how little your work pays. So even if you’re earning only $8 an hour, spending that $8 also means spending an hour’s worth of your life energy. (Location 182)
Again, it’s all about life energy. If the $70,000 job costs you more in terms of your life energy—the cost in time of a long commute to the city, the cost of the kinds of clothes you need for this high-status job, (Location 191)
As Americans, we’re steeped in the old-fashioned work ethic. But people in many other cultures understand that life is about much more than work. (Location 202)
This just means that everything you do in life—all the daily, weekly, monthly, annual, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences you have—adds up to who you are. (Location 318)
That was when I realized that you retire on your memories. When you’re too frail to do much of anything else, you can still look back on the life you’ve lived and experience immense pride, joy, and the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. (Location 336)
Economists even call expenditures on education “investment in human capital.” (Location 391)
When you spend time or money on experiences, they are not only enjoyable in the moment—they pay an ongoing dividend, the memory dividend I mentioned in chapter 1. (Location 394)
But so much of our life is spent on autopilot—we move through the world as if someone else programmed our actions, and we don’t think nearly enough about how to spend our time and money. (Location 498)
Because even if you enjoyed every minute of the work that brought you that money, failing to spend that money is still a waste. (Location 645)
If dance is your life, and you happen to also earn money from dancing, go ahead and spend it on dance-related experiences: Splurge on private lessons with the best dance teachers if that’s what you value, (Location 651)
So how do you make sure you’re covered if you need long-term care, without having to save up massive amounts of money you won’t spend if you don’t need nursing care? The answer: long-term care insurance. (Location 778)
There is one very accessible tool their Web site recommends: the Actuaries Longevity Illustrator (http://www.longevityillustrator.org/ (Location 820)
Since many people are fearful of running out of money before they pass on, there is one product that they should definitely look into. These products are called income annuities (Location 850)
Economists generally think that annuities are such a rational way to deal with longevity risk (Location 875)
If you’re really putting your kids first, as you claim you are, don’t wait until you’re dead to show your generosity. (Location 992)
remember that you can buy long-term care insurance, which costs far less than self-insuring by saving massive amounts of money for a crisis that may never come. (Location 1079)
For my daughters, who are not yet 25, I’ve funded an educational savings plan (a 529 plan) and set up a trust. (Location 1123)
You Can’t Be Generous When You’re Dead (Location 1224)
Or maybe she thought of the money growing in her accounts as some sort of score, a measure of how well she was doing, instead of a way to have an impact on the world. (Location 1246)
when I say “die with zero,” I don’t mean die with the money that you’re going to give to charity. If you plan to give, give while you’re alive, and the earlier the better. Your charity can’t wait. (Location 1288)
Many economists, on the other hand, think that thrift among young people is generally a bad idea. (Location 1303)
The less healthy you are, the less you’re able to cope with long flights, airport layovers, irregular sleep, and other travel-related stressors. (Location 1388)
At a certain point, your memories of having played football are a lot more pleasant than playing football. (Location 1398)
Think about the three basics people need to have to get the most out of life: health, free time, and money. The problem is that these things rarely all come together at once. (Location 1503)
Using time-saving services reduced time pressure, they found, and reduced time pressure improved the day’s mood. (Location 1616)
As the old saying goes, “No one ever regrets not having spent more time in the office.” (Location 1751)
For example, you can still enjoy visiting libraries, watching classic movies, reading novels, and playing chess well into your old age. Taking a cruise can be enjoyable at just about any age. (Location 1824)
The idea is that it’s always good to invest in experiences—but it’s especially good to do it when you’re young. (Location 2230)
Remember: In the end, the business of life is the acquisition of memories. So what are you waiting for? (Location 2382)