Lean FIRE Calculator — Australia
Lean FIRE means reaching independence with a modest, intentional spending level — often well below the national average household budget. A smaller number is easier to hit, but it leaves less headroom, so the drawdown test matters more, not less.
Your situation
Everything in today's dollars.
Retirement age
Income & spending
Take-home after tax: $104,330
What you have invested
Earliest Lean FIRE age
Age 43
That is 8 years from now, around 2034. From that age the portfolio funds your spending all the way to 92, including the years before Super unlocks.
- Target portfolio
- $1,285,714
- Projected at retirement
- $1,055,920
- Savings rate
- 58%
Save this scenario. Compare plans side by side, track progress, and export the full year-by-year schedule.
See plansWhy you can retire on less than the 3.5% target
Portfolio through to your planning horizon
Shown in today's dollars, so every figure keeps the purchasing power you understand right now.
- Outside super
- Super
- Target to sustain spending
- Left at the end
- $1,175,691
- Money runs out
- Never
- Year one saving
- $69,110
In today's dollars, at age 92
Including employer contributions
The bridge: 17 years before Super unlocks
Retiring at 43 means funding everything from investments outside super until age 60.
- Needed for the bridge
- $765,000
- Accessible at retirement
- $691,260
- Shortfall
- $73,740
17 years of spending
Investments outside super
This is the constraint that usually bites
What actually moves your date
Each row changes one thing and re-runs the whole projection.
Spend $5k less a year
Cuts both what you need and what you must save towards.
-2 yr
Age 41
Earn 10% more
A raise, with the extra going straight to investments.
-1 yr
Age 42
Cut fees by 0.5%
Switching to a lower-cost fund or platform.
-1 yr
Age 42
Returns 1% lower
A more pessimistic market than the one you assumed.
+1 yr
Age 44
Live 5 years longer
A longer horizon the portfolio has to stretch to cover.
No change
Age 43
Retire on 10% more
A more comfortable retirement budget than you planned for.
No change
Age 43
Where your money goes this year
Based on Australia rules for the 2026-27 tax year.
- Gross income
- $140,000
- Salary sacrifice into super
- $0
- Income tax
- −$32,870
- Medicare levy
- −$2,800
- Take-home pay
- $104,330
- Spending
- −$49,500
- Into outside super
- $54,830
- Employer SG (12%)
- $16,800
- Contributions tax
- −$2,520
- Into super
- $14,280
Year by year
Retirement years are shaded.
| Age | Year | Spending | Outside super | Super | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 2026 | $49,500 | $152k | $185k | $337k |
| 36 | 2027 | $49,500 | $215k | $207k | $423k |
| 37 | 2028 | $49,500 | $283k | $231k | $514k |
| 38 | 2029 | $49,500 | $355k | $255k | $610k |
| 39 | 2030 | $49,500 | $432k | $281k | $712k |
| 40 | 2031 | $49,500 | $513k | $307k | $820k |
| 41 | 2032 | $49,500 | $599k | $335k | $935k |
| 42 | 2033 | $49,500 | $691k | $365k | $1.06m |
| 43 | 2034 | $45,000 | $678k | $380k | $1.06m |
| 44 | 2035 | $45,000 | $665k | $396k | $1.06m |
| 45 | 2036 | $45,000 | $651k | $413k | $1.06m |
| 46 | 2037 | $45,000 | $636k | $430k | $1.07m |
| 47 | 2038 | $45,000 | $620k | $448k | $1.07m |
| 48 | 2039 | $45,000 | $604k | $467k | $1.07m |
| 49 | 2040 | $45,000 | $587k | $486k | $1.07m |
| 50 | 2041 | $45,000 | $569k | $507k | $1.08m |
| 51 | 2042 | $45,000 | $549k | $528k | $1.08m |
| 52 | 2043 | $45,000 | $529k | $550k | $1.08m |
| 53 | 2044 | $45,000 | $508k | $573k | $1.08m |
| 54 | 2045 | $45,000 | $486k | $597k | $1.08m |
| 55 | 2046 | $45,000 | $463k | $622k | $1.08m |
| 56 | 2047 | $45,000 | $438k | $648k | $1.09m |
| 57 | 2048 | $45,000 | $412k | $675k | $1.09m |
| 58 | 2049 | $45,000 | $385k | $704k | $1.09m |
| 59 | 2050 | $45,000 | $356k | $733k | $1.09m |
| 60 | 2051 | $45,000 | $359k | $732k | $1.09m |
| 61 | 2052 | $45,000 | $362k | $730k | $1.09m |
| 62 | 2053 | $45,000 | $364k | $729k | $1.09m |
| 63 | 2054 | $45,000 | $367k | $727k | $1.09m |
| 64 | 2055 | $45,000 | $370k | $726k | $1.10m |
| 65 | 2056 | $45,000 | $372k | $724k | $1.10m |
| 66 | 2057 | $45,000 | $375k | $723k | $1.10m |
| 67 | 2058 | $45,000 | $378k | $722k | $1.10m |
| 68 | 2059 | $45,000 | $381k | $720k | $1.10m |
| 69 | 2060 | $45,000 | $384k | $719k | $1.10m |
| 70 | 2061 | $45,000 | $387k | $718k | $1.10m |
| 71 | 2062 | $45,000 | $390k | $717k | $1.11m |
| 72 | 2063 | $45,000 | $393k | $716k | $1.11m |
| 73 | 2064 | $45,000 | $396k | $715k | $1.11m |
| 74 | 2065 | $45,000 | $399k | $714k | $1.11m |
| 75 | 2066 | $45,000 | $402k | $713k | $1.12m |
| 76 | 2067 | $45,000 | $406k | $712k | $1.12m |
| 77 | 2068 | $45,000 | $409k | $712k | $1.12m |
| 78 | 2069 | $45,000 | $412k | $711k | $1.12m |
| 79 | 2070 | $45,000 | $416k | $710k | $1.13m |
| 80 | 2071 | $45,000 | $420k | $710k | $1.13m |
| 81 | 2072 | $45,000 | $423k | $709k | $1.13m |
| 82 | 2073 | $45,000 | $427k | $709k | $1.14m |
| 83 | 2074 | $45,000 | $431k | $709k | $1.14m |
| 84 | 2075 | $45,000 | $435k | $709k | $1.14m |
| 85 | 2076 | $45,000 | $439k | $708k | $1.15m |
| 86 | 2077 | $45,000 | $443k | $709k | $1.15m |
| 87 | 2078 | $45,000 | $447k | $709k | $1.16m |
| 88 | 2079 | $45,000 | $451k | $709k | $1.16m |
| 89 | 2080 | $45,000 | $456k | $709k | $1.17m |
| 90 | 2081 | $45,000 | $461k | $710k | $1.17m |
| 91 | 2082 | $45,000 | $465k | $710k | $1.18m |
Save this scenario. Compare plans side by side, track progress, and export the full year-by-year schedule.
See plansHow this works
How early could I retire on a lean budget?
The trade-off you are making
Lean FIRE gets you out years earlier, because you are attacking the problem from both ends at once: saving more and needing less. The catch is that a lean budget has little discretionary spending left to cut if markets go against you early.
Why the withdrawal rate defaults lower here
A lean retiree usually has a longer horizon and less flexibility, so this page defaults to a 3.5% withdrawal rate rather than 4%. If your budget already contains genuinely optional spending you could pause in a downturn, a higher rate is more defensible.
Keep going
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