Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor's Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life

by Jordan Grumet, Vicki Robin (Foreword)

Learn what end of life can teach us about the secret to financial independence and making every moment count with this life-altering collection of tips from Dr. Jordan Grumet, host of the award-winning Earn & Invest podcast, featuring a foreword written by Vicki Robin, coauthor of Your Money or Your Life.

Written by a hospice doctor with a unique front-row seat to the regrets of his dying patients, this book will remind you to take stock of life now, before it is too late. The goal of financial independence is to have the economic fuel to live a full life and avoid regret. Taking Stock is your guide to taking control of your finances and investing in yourself. Inside you'll find:

The three basic archetypes of building wealth, and how to choose which is right for you Time-hacking techniques to modify your perception of time passing and fill your moments with meaning Tips to invest in education, family, and your own physical and mental health And much more!

Don't wait until the last moment to live life to the fullest!

Genres: Finance, Nonfiction, Personal Finance, Money, Self Help, Business

208 pages, Paperback

Published July 27, 2022

About the author

Almost daily, I write something to publicly share, a practice adopted long before I became a doctor of Internal Medicine. Readers of my articles and books access first-hand accounts of my personal and professional struggles, joys, sorrows, shortcomings and intrinsic rewards.

My ever-widening exposure to reading and listening audiences includes the following highlights:

• In My Humble Opinion.blogspot.com. Most weeks I post multiple articles on this venue.
• My writing is featured on social media's leading physician website KevinMD.com.
• Bimonthly, I write articles for The Medical Bag.com.
• Northern MSW: Advocacy, Aging, Healthcare & Social Work Issues, a Canadian website moderated by Victoria Brewster, MSW, regularly presents my essays.
• The Lives You Touch Publications released my chapbook of poetry, Primary Care, in Winter 2012, and with the editorial assistance of CreateWrite Enterprises I published my first book of short stories and essays in early 2015: I Am Your Doctor and This Is My Humble Opinion.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1973, my interest in becoming a doctor ignited when my father, an oncologist, died unexpectedly in the prime of life. This profound and life-shaping loss colors my self-reflective writing and manifests as my "genetic destiny" to practice medicine.

In January 2014, after much soul-searching, I launched my own concierge-style, home-based medical practice.

Reviews

[Logan Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is hospice physician who blends his knowledge of person finance with the regrets of the dying.

I’ve heard him on a few podcasts and found his book coming out - I had to read it based on the things he talked about.

He talks through the trade offs of early financial independence vs. enjoying the journey. Although i would say he gives no secrets to a happier life, he does make you think about the different paths available.

My favorite thought in the book was that those who rush to financial independence see themselves as BUYING time. Whereas those who slow down to enjoy their work / journey don’t feel as if they are losing any time.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the writing which can get repetitive, 3-4 stars, for the content, 5.

As he wishes for his reader at the end of the book, this indeed landed at exactly the right time for me, making hard decisions about life/what I want to accomplish/how I want to live Vs more time in the increasingly harsh capitalist system so that I have enough.

“What is enough?” he pushes you to ask yourself. More importantly, he provides guidance through stories as well as prompts to assess what is enough not just from a financial perspective but also from a relational, community, and personal perspective. How can we grow these assets and prioritize them? How can we feel fulfilled rather than regretful when we reflect back at the end of our lives? This hospice doc encourages us to “take stock” now when we can act and change course rather than on our deathbeds when our options are fewer.

In short, the perfect book for me right now as I decide to take off the shackles of my golden handcuffs and go live the life I really want.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy the writing style of this author. As a listener to his podcast (Earn and Invest), I already knew his approach to be thoughtful and deep and was pleased to see that approach carry through into his writing. This book will definitely get you thinking. Life, the universe, everything. And no, the answer isn't 42. ;-)
This is a relatively quick read but there are exercises for the reader throughout and they decidedly take some time if done right. But overall, I see this as a framework for thinking through life in stories rather than a self-help or finance book. What do you want out of life? How will you get there? Who will you have with you on the journey?

[Jordan Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this investment book through the lens of a hospice doctor who shares his philosophy and advice about saving/investing alongside living life. There is a time to save and a time to spend money to enjoy life with no regrets.

[Bruce Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much in here that I didn't already know, but a different viewpoint of life decisions from a doctor specializing in hospice care, who gets a completely unique take on the concept of wealth from the dying. Much of the author's positions are to counter the FIRE revolution (financial independence retire early), pointing out that you better have something going on in retirement, and that total focus on financial independence at an early age can deprive you of life's precious relationships and time.

[Rachel Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This came highly recommended through a FIRE list I'm on. I've always felt that money investing is only one form of investing, and yes I am trying to live a good, happy life (if only for revenge on Dane, that one sixth grader who I can't quite remember why I hated so much).

Part One starts off strong, asserting the author's authority as a man who has legitimately seen a lot of people DIE, okay, and who knows what they're thinking at the end. There are some wrenching descriptions of people dying with regrets of varying sorts. There are some obvious truth bombs, among them:

money is a poor way to meet our needs for love, purpose, personal growth, introspection, and service.

And some less obvious ones, specifically regarding financial freedom, which deserve a place in the FIRE goodbye letter.

Freedom isn’t entitlement to do as you please. It’s agency to do as you value.

(okay... it's both though... but "agency to do as you value" sounds soooo good).

Winning is directing your life energy toward what you most value and what brings you the deepest joy.

money isn’t the only thing that compounds. Experience compounds. The time and energy we put into our relationships and explorations of the world compounds. Education compounds, as does joy.

The author goes over, then, into a little TOO much denigration of money as a goal. These, in particular, didn't resonate for me:

the “fallacy of enough”—this idea that, once we reach some sort of plateau (whether wealth, achievement, or happiness), a great calm will overcome us. In reality, I have found that once we reach our goals, fear sets in. We immediately start to worry we will lose everything we worked so hard to gain in the first place, and the sheer terror can greatly outshine the pleasure of the accomplishment.

Yes, yes, the hedonic treadmill. We know. But not only is that something we can counter with a gratitude practice, it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem in my own life when it comes to goals that took me a long time to attain. I can, for example, do the front splits: one leg forward, one leg back. Doing this took me a long, long time. I couldn't do it until my late 30s, and I'm in my late 40s now. These days when I try to do the splits I expect to succeed, but I also -- every single time -- feel a deep sense of accomplishment and smugness. And likewise, after I blasted a bit beyond my FI number goal in 2021, I only got a little nervous at the long churn through '22 and '23 when I just kept shoveling money in and nothing much happened to my net worth. I'd had a number in mind, and I never did dip below that number, even though my net worth reduced. My brain really does seem to register "enough", if I've trained it for enough years on what I want.

And this -- what is this?

No one ever put a specific net worth in their bucket list;

Oh yes they do though. I remember 43things.com, a defunct website where people used to pseudonymously list their goals for the world to see, and there were a whole lot of people wanting to "be a millionaire by age 30" and so forth.

There are some more chapters, about which I have less to say. There's good advice about not waiting until after FI to develop ourselves as human beings, with hobbies and relationships and various investments in ourselves. None of these thoughts were new to me, but they were nice reminders. There's a parable about three brothers who took three different routes to get to a destination and that map to three different roads to FI: the fast efficient one of high W-2 earnings and extreme saving, the side hustle / passive income stream one, and the "love your work and don't be in a hurry" one; all of these have strengths and weaknesses. Somewhere in here, probably in a critique of the mainstream FIRE movement of the last decade, came another quote I liked:

I have come to believe the majority of our spending should be on either joy or necessity—not on fear.

Then the author gets into finances. Much of this will be less interesting to the average reader who already is into FIRE, but all such books need to cover the basics; and this book also has some good reflections about preparing pragmatically for your own death and for others' deaths, which were serviceable summaries of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

There's also a chapter about time perception arbitrage that's probably the weakest material in the book; it focuses mainly on efficiency, not really covering memory formation or the difference between perceived experience and remembered experience. It has good points about the value of time, but is not as rigorous as the finance discussions or as backed by experience as the deathbed discussions.

The author discusses the "perpetual money machines" that early retirees should build. He recommends a machine with four legs: investments in stocks & bonds, investments in real estate, passive income, and some kind of side hustle or wage earning. He points out that such a setup is far more stable to changes, lean times, and/or the value of any one of these decreasing, and he's right; I may indeed take this as my own model going forward. I enjoy the analogy and the idea of building up so much redundancy.

There is a lovely section about investing in other things besides money: experiences compound, he notes, and joy compounds. Something lovely done early in life may be remembered happily for a long, long time. Education may enable you to perceive things through more lenses for the rest of your life. And so on. There's a very nice exercise called the Nonmonetary Investment Review that I intend to go back and do, in which the reader is supposed to list out their education, their skills, and their community members to get a fuller understanding of their real wealth.

Another quote:

After many years of hospice work, I think not in terms of regrets, but rather in terms of investments. What investments are my patients most proud of, and for which do they feel remorse?

And another, which carries weight because it's backed by real stories of dying people recalling real (failed) journeys and efforts:

You will never regret the shortcomings you become aware of through valiant effort—only the ones you never fought for.

This is truly comforting. Perhaps failure, in future endeavors, is not so much to be feared as my brain would have me believe.

And I will leave this long review behind with a quote that truly brings me comfort:

Inquisitive people tend to die as they live: happy and full of questions.

I hope that will be me.

In the meantime, I recommend this book, but not in isolation. It's a good companion to Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals and How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, as well as Being Mortal (mentioned earlier) and all the standard FIRE material online.

[Hugo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dying is easy. The challenge is how to live fully.

As a FIRE and Boglehead believer reading this book at 50, I found it both eye-opening and deeply personal. Grumet, a hospice doctor, uses real stories to gently push us to reflect on what it means to live fully, how we spend our limited time, and the reality that dying is non-negotiable. This book made me reconsider my own path and priorities. If you’re on the journey to financial independence, I highly recommend it. It's a thoughtful invitation to pause and ask yourself what a well-lived life really looks like.

[Joe E · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Understanding that death is always knocking helps you get your life’s priorities in order.

Too much of the finance basics, I would’ve liked to hear more from the dying

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and easy read. Will be going back through to answer the journal prompts at the end of each chapter - think that’s the best way to get the most out of the concepts in the book.

[Tam Maj · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really rounds out and humanizes the literary canon of personal finance and life optimization. On my current journey of reading about financial independence and wealth, this was finally something that I felt hit the most relevant points in regards to investments that truly produce happiness (other than simply money and retiring early).

As a healthcare provider managing chronic illnesses, my patient’s lives and experiences allow me more space for reflection in regards to my life than most people. Thus, I have also been writing for sometime about similar concepts to Dr Grumet’s book — as I often wonder what I could do to satisfy my future self when faced with inevitable death. As someone who actually enjoys my profession (read: FIRE is sometimes so negative and depressing to me) but wants to set myself up to succeed and have options, I felt this was an actionable and enjoyable read.

I typically rate personal finance/self development books based on whether I’d give them to a friend to read & have finished the entire book with gusto. The answer to both is definitely. If a book inspires significant change, I think that’s one worth highly recommending.

One caveat, although the writing is simple, the personal development concepts are certainly not for the ‘beginner’ friend, as I do feel you have to have a certain level of emotional maturity, forethought, and financial basics down in order to appreciate his perspective.

In regards to writing style, the book repeats central themes many times. If you’ve listened to his podcasts he does recycle certain stories, as all content creators do. However there were enough new tidbits that intrigued me enough to feel it was worth the purchase.

[John Pickler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of practical advice mixed in with plenty of reminders to "not forget to live life and think/worry less about dying". Probably the one thought that sticks with me most is that many worry about either (1) dying soon (and thus are worried about not enjoying life enough) or (2) dying too late (and thus are worried about not having enough money).

[Ilan Raab · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique financial education book from the perspective of a hospice doctor , with decent , though basic, financial advice. Oftentimes repetitive and mostly simplistic. I thought the non-financial portion had real value and insight, while the financial side of the book,less so. 3.5 stars.
. .

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book my husband loved, one he has mentioned many times, and it took me a while to get the book from the library so it’s clearly a popular one.

I appreciate how it deviates from so many of the FIRE books that emphasize saving and instead emphasized experiencing life to the fullest, with the knowledge that you should be spending consciously.

There are some basic financial/investing concepts in here that are explained well. If you’re interested in a book that will help you live well, and learn something about investing as well, this might be for you. One of those financial/investing concepts is the 4% rule. You should save enough for retirement to be able to withdraw 4% a year. That means you need to save 25 times your yearly spending.

There is homework at the end of each chapter and I haven’t done any of it yet, so I plan to reread it and, this time, do the homework.

[William Yip · Rating 5 out of 5]

While a little repetitive, I got a lot out of this book. The main themes are to be more deliberate in our lives and to be more balanced between the extremes of living in the moment (i.e. YOLO) and working towards FIRE, saving, and investing until we're on our deathbeds. This was a very humanistic approach to the FIRE movement. The author made important points that relationships and experiences are as important as sound finances, money is worthless if we do not have good physical and mental health, we should make arrangements for our eventual deaths and communicate those plans in a way that eases the mourning period for loved ones, we should remove all the tasks we dislike to increase time for those we like, and that we have to find hobbies and interests that align with our identities and purpose after retirement. He gave a beautiful exhortation at the end of the book for people to live their best lives all the way until their deaths.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unique perspective as a hospice doctor (and former FIRE adherent) leads to insightful reframing of Maslow’s pyramid and other observations (eg, Pareto principle). Some stories of patients are especially powerful; but I wonder if a few could have served as the spine of the book while other stories supplement them. The book is ambitious in its scope (eg, financial planning, developing habits) and thus some parts are too shallow for its presumed audience.

[J Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose the large font makes the reading easier. It also masks the fact that there is very little substance in the book. There is nothing here that isn’t better addressed in lots of other books.

[Personal Finance Vault · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚💰For more such summaries visit Personal Finance Vault.

🎯 The Book in 3 Sentences
1️⃣ Your true fulfillment and happiness extend beyond money; prioritize purpose, connections, and non-monetary aspects of life.
2️⃣ Put your financial house in order by saving, budgeting, diversifying, and seeking professional advice.
3️⃣ Initiate important conversations with loved ones, control your time perception, and invest in personal growth and well-being.

💡 Key Takeaways
➤Money alone can’t guarantee fulfillment; prioritize purpose, connections, and non-monetary aspects of life.
➤Embrace the urgency of now, subtract unfulfilling aspects, and prioritize joy and experiences.
➤Financial independence involves choices: accumulation, passive income, or pursuing work with passion.
➤Put your financial house in order: save, budget, diversify, insure, and seek professional advice.
➤Initiate difficult conversations, plan for the future, and communicate important information with loved ones.
➤Control time perception, maximize productivity, invest in personal growth, and prioritize well-being.

✏ Top Quotes
➤If we want to learn how to die better, we have to learn how to live.
➤Money has the capacity to bring happiness only to a limited extent.
➤There is no time like the present to get our affairs in order and redefine our concept of ‘enough’.
➤Because time waits for no one, we must become experts at investing ourselves far beyond what we do with our money.

[Richie Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. Grumet covers a lot of ground, however, I did not find this to be necessarily a good thing throughout. The reader is repeatedly taken from lofty 10,000 ft vantage-point topics such as finding purpose in life, to getting down in the weeds on things like budgeting and time management, without there always being a clear prioritisation by the author as to what he thinks will really make an overall difference to "living a regret-free life", as the book title promises.

If you are one of the (probably rare) people who really believe that sacrificing EVERY enjoyment in life for the goal of early financial independence is a reasonable thing to do, then you need to read this book, urgently! Otherwise, if you're already familiar with the financial independence philosophy and literature, this is a nice leisurely read but it won't change your life.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many great tips in this book. I listen to Jordan's podcast and it is amazing, if you like this book, you should listen to the podcast Earn and Invest. I also plan on reading his next book the Purpose Code. From the book:

“Buddhist economics considers there are 3 purposes of work: 1. To provide for your material needs 2. To develop character 3. To make a contribution to the community.”

“Our goal is to put our finances on “auto pilot” so our money is working for us-but that is not the same thing as being on autopilot ourselves.”

“The passage of the Affordable Care Act has been an improvement in some states and has lowered the premiums for those who qualify for subsidies. Other options include buying insurance privately through a broker or health care sharing ministry (HCSM).”

[Elly Call · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the obvious care and deep love put into this book—I wish I were the kind of person who really lived finance but to be honest generally it just leaves me feeling somehow scared and stupid. This book very caring my picked me up and put me back on track. I did want more specific financial advice and this book isn’t as much about the finer points of investing, but the heart of this book is in the right place and I still got so much out of it as someone with a lot of anxiety (especially around death).

So, do I wish I had the more specific advice? Sure, but I suspect he wanted the specifics contained in his award-winning financial podcast, which I may well take a look at. Ultimately I VERY much recommend this book, if anything because of its rare perspective and the author’s extraordinary insights into the meeting place of death and money. I’ve never read anything quite like it.

[Kresimir Mudrovcic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was exactly as promised, and meets the expectations of the title. It is a good insight into what people on that deathbed can teach us on how to approach finance, relationships, time, and other aspects of life. The book is primarily focused on the financial part, but to my (positive) surprise also covers some other parts of life in a wise way. I found it a helpful and a nice reminder of how to approach life, time, finances, and relationships with being aware that life is unpredictable and that we might not be here tomorrow or in 70 years, no one knows. Therefore, we should approach life in that way, not postponing everything for "one day" but also living anything for the future, retirement, and old days.

[Bryant Macy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great refresher on topics and perspectives we can sometimes lose sight of in a busy life. It is a great reminder to constantly re-prioritize what is truly important in life and finances so we are spending our time on what is truly important. I loved the stores told by Jordan. It provides great perspective and a reminder especially for when anyone can get too busy and forget what is truly important. It was a good read and well worth the time I invested reading it (or in this case mostly listening on Audible)

[Charity P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know how when you smell something putrid you often can't help but take another sniff?

That's my relationships with self-help books. I forget how much they suck, I read one that is recommended, I'm reminded how terrible they are, wash, rinse, repeat.

This book is written so weirdly, and at a 5th grade reading level. It's also written by a hetero white guy who benefited from lots of generational wealth to get where he is today, so...take his advice on financial management with a grain of salt.

It stinks.

[Jan Tell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book addresses monetary and nonmonetary investments and it starts with what YNAB is all about, an awareness of your money and a conscientious effort to pair it with your values. YNAB is actually mentioned in this book as a resource for that kind of budgeting.
The lesson: Money (interest) compounds but so does experience, relationships, and knowledge. Use the art of subtraction. Be choosy about what you can or can’t live without. Dying people understand the urgency of now and the importance of being present in the moment.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that this book opens your mind to the nonfinancial assets (or lack thereof) that matter to most humans in their last chapter. I wouldn’t say it was the most fascinating read, but definitely worth a pass if you’re new to being conscious or intentional with how you spend your most precious asset: time.

The underlying privilege of the author/doctor is a bit distracting from the perspective of someone who can’t relate to growing up with resources, though it’s authentic to his story. It just makes the application of some of his ideas/methods feel less accessible.

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is Financial Planning meets The Meaning of Life. You can tell that this doctor, writer, and financial expert has a passion for financial independence. He gives his readers an insightful glance into their futures to help them make good decisions in the present. I love the reflective exercises, especially the last one regarding “Nonmonetary Investment Inventory.” This is a book I will read more than once. Thank you Dr. Grumet!

[Yakub]

This definitely was a good read. It enlightened me on many aspects of life, most importantly the concept of money and how we view the world with respect to it. Although I can certainly see there were a lot of details that I might have missed while reading this book, details that’d otherwise be handy in time, I still enjoyed the book. I’ll return back to it when I come across relevant issues concerning finance years down the road. Highly recommend!

[Glen Leavens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended by the Retirement Answer man. I will have to listen to Dr. Grumet's podcast as well. The book introduction to the hospice Dr finding his way was a good explanation of the journey he has been on. The lesson on contentment or how much is enough really resonates with me. I have read the studies before and need to be reminded to do what I need to do and enjoy life, full of family and friends.

[Frieda Sewald Weigle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a thought-provoking book. I had been wanting to read this for a while and received this copy from the EconoMe conferenced in Cincinnati in March. His childhood experiences and medical background really helped me understand where he was coming from while also spurring me to question what regrets I might have if I was in hospice. Definitely trying to live a bit more and experience things in the now!

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

About How to Live a Fuller Life

I enjoyed the book, but I was expecting to read more about what others missed out in life while they are in hospice care. To me, it read more like a guide to live life with purpose, which is good indeed. Demonstrating the dividends of investing in oneself is important; however, I was hoping to read about real life cause and effect investments from people at the end of life. Overall, I enjoyed the book, and I do recommend it.