One of my favorite concepts comes from Bill Perkins, author of Die With Zero.
This is to optimize for “net fulfillment” instead of net worth.
Net worth is the sum of your assets and liabilities whereas net fulfillment is the sum of all your choices and experiences.
When considering net fulfillment, there are two variables in addition to money: health and time.
So, decisions need to be based on all three of these inputs, not just money.
For example, you shouldn’t just save a bunch of money to increase your net worth while putting off a ski trip until you’re 80 because when you’re 80, you likely will no longer have the ability (or desire) to go skiing.
You can replace skiing with surfing, hiking, whatever. Even travel to some extent. Think about it. How many 80-year-olds want to go through airport security and sit on a plane for 8 hours?
The harsh reality is too many people end up dying with too much money that they could have spent on activities or experiences that are better suited for earlier seasons in life.
I try to think about this more as I’m getting older and it’s challenging because I’ve always had the net worth, delayed gratification, FIRE mindset ingrained in me.
In essence, net fulfillment is a more complex optimization problem but worth doing because you only have one life.