May 7, 2026
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Delaying gratification is a core principle for many investors. The longer you can put off major spending decisions, the more time your money has to grow. From a financial angle, this makes perfect sense.
But it's easy to forget that your finances are only one dimension of your life — and optimizing for wealth too aggressively can mean giving up the very things that make life worth living.
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That's hedge fund manager Bill Perkins' main point in his bestselling book Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life. Perkins frames it clearly: people often optimize building their net worth over life satisfaction (1). The result, he argues, is millions of hours spent working for money that's never spent in the spirit in which it's intended.
Perkins encourages people to shift their mindset from accumulating wealth to what he calls net satisfaction. Here's why that shift — and a more intentional approach to retirement planning — might lead to a more fulfilling life for Canadians, too.
Optimizing for net satisfaction
For many Canadians, retirement planning focuses around a single, grand number. According to the 2026 BMO Retirement Survey, Canadians believe they need $1.7 million to retire comfortably (2).
Yet most fall far short of that benchmark — and that gap widens significantly by age. According to Statistics Canada's 2023 Survey of Financial Security, the median net worth for Canadian families where the major income earner is under 35 and own their principal residence is approximately $457,100. And for those aged 55 to 64, it rises to about $914,000 (3). In other words, the majority of Canadians never reach that seven-figure goal.
In an attempt to bridge the gap, many Canadians spend decades working harder, spending less and delaying personal milestones — sometimes at a real cost to their quality of life.
For instance, a 2023 Angus Reid Institute survey found that 50% of Canadians without children cited the high cost of living as a reason they haven't started a family (4). This number rises to three-quarters (74%) among 35- to 44-year-olds. Similarly, financial pressure is leading some families to delay homeownership or push retirement further down the road.
But this approach may not align with reality. You can backpack through Europe in your 50s, start a family in your 40s or take up kayaking in your 70s — but many of these experiences are physically easier and more fulfilling when you experience them earlier in life.
Physical capability and energy levels generally start declining as early as age 47, according to research published in the journal ScienceDaily (5). That said, deferring retirement and meaningful experiences until your late 60s or 70s may not be the best strategy for everyone.
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All those extra hours of work and years of sacrifice mean little if the reward is wealth left sitting at the end of your life. As Perkins puts it, the goal isn't to die broke — it's to die with zero regrets.
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What you should do instead
Instead of focusing all of your energy on balancing a spreadsheet and hitting a vague seven-figure target, try building your financial plan around personal priorities.
The most important step is to define a retirement target that's specific to you rather than an aspirational number. If you're willing to downsize your home, relocate to a smaller city, travel on a budget or live modestly, you may not need $1.7 million. Your number could be significantly lower.
On the other hand, if having children and being present for them is important to you, it's worth planning for the years in your 30s and 40s when your income may be lower and your expenses higher. Rather than sacrificing time your family, you could map out a plan to accelerate savings in your 50s and still retire comfortably in your mid-60s.
Ultimately, money is a tool — not the destination. Sacrificing your health, relationships and happiness to chase an arbitrary financial number could be counterproductive. For some Canadians, the worst outcome in retirement isn't completly depleting your savings: It's running out of life before you get the chance to spend it.
What Canadians can do now: Practical next steps
If Perkins' framework resonates with you, here are some Canadian-specific strategies for aligning your financial plan with your life goals:
Calculate your personalized retirement number
Rather than aiming for $1.7 million, consider your lifestyle during retirement. Use the Government of Canada's Canadian Retirement Income Calculator (6) to model your income from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS) and your own savings (6). The average CPP retirement pension in 2024 was $925.35 per month for a 65-year-old; the maximum for those starting at 65 was $1,507.65 per month (7). Knowing what CPP and OAS will provide can give you a clearer sense of how much your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) actually need to cover.
To get started, open a no-fee RRSP high-interest savings account with EQ Bank. For a limited time, get up to $200 cash when you add new deposits to your EQ Bank RRSP account.
Use your TFSA strategically — not just as a backup
The TFSA is one of Canada's most flexible financial tools. Withdrawals are tax-free and don't affect your eligibility for income-tested government benefits like the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) (8). Consider using your TFSA to fund mid-life goals — a sabbatical, a bucket-list trip, a career change — without permanently derailing your long-term savings.
Don't assume you need to maximize your RRSP every year
RRSP contributions reduce your taxable income, but contributing aggressively to max it out early isn't always the best plan. When your income is lower — such as when you're raising young children or taking parental leave — it may make more sense to contribute to a TFSA first and carry forward your RRSP room to higher-income years when the deduction is more valuable (9).
Think in terms of life seasons rather than decades
Perkins recommends dividing your life into distinct chapters — career-building, family-raising, pre-retirement, post-retirement — and setting aside both money and time according to what you need from each chapter. A financial planner can help you model these scenarios and avoid the trap of over-saving during periods when spending on experiences, family or health would contribute more to your long-term wellbeing.
Work with a certified financial planner
A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) or fee-only financial adviser can help you stress-test your retirement plan against different scenarios — early retirement, a lower income period, unexpected health costs — and identify whether you're over- or under-saving for your specific goals. FP Canada, the national certifying body for financial planners, maintains a public directory of CFP professionals across the country (10).
-With files from Melanie Huddart
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Die With Zero (1); BMO (2); Statistics Canada (3); Angus Reid Institute (4); ScienceDaily (5); Government of Canada (6, 7); Scotiabank (8); Manulife (9); FP Canada (10)
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Vishesh Raisinghani is a financial journalist covering personal finance, investing and the global economy. He is the founder of Sharpe Ascension Inc., a content marketing agency focused on investment firms His work has appeared in Money.ca, Moneywise, Yahoo Finance!, Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha, Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine, National Post, Financial Post and Piggybank. He frequently covers subjects ranging from retirement planning and stock market strategy to private credit and real estate, blending data-driven insights with practical advice for individuals and families.
