Book Review – Die with Zero Getting all you can from your money and your life by Bill Perkins By: Dr. Nishita Ondhia

Before heading out on a long anticipated family vacation, a visit to the Toronto Public Library resulted in borrowing this book which is being discussed in some dental chat groups “Die with Zero – Getting all you can from your money and your life” by Bill Perkins.  The premise is a startling, new and provocative guide on how to maximize your finances and your life. It is specifically geared towards placing experiences before simply making money for our “golden years”.

Bill says, “We all get one ride on this roller coaster of life.  Let’s start thinking about how to make it the most exciting, exhilarating  and satisfying ride it can be.”

The book is controversial yet has changed the way I am seeing this next chapter of my life.  For the first time, in a few months, my husband and I will be empty nesters; there is a lot of time and energy needing to be redirected. How will this next phase look?

There are many great pearls in this book yet for me, one stands out.  At any stage in our life, you need 3 basic resources for good life experiences – time, finances and health.  At 20, 40 or 60 years of age, the limiting factor is always your health. And here is this recurrent theme in my life of optimizing one’s overall health and wellness, for myself and for others in my capacity as a oral health care professional.

This theme resonates with me as I authentically feel our health is actually the wealth, it is the main currency.  As a dentist of 27 years, I am always learning and I am very interested in how my work with oral health affects overall health.

We all need a paradigm shift.

What can we do to live healthier, earlier?

How can we learn to value and implement life experiences earlier in our lives.

We all need good overall health and wellness to live productive, happy lives; this is the key stone of a happy life.

-Dr. Nishita Ondhia