Written

For

The

Australian

-

The

growing

trend

of

retiring

early

and

dying

with

zero

When was the last time you heard someone on their deathbed say they wished they'd spent more hours at the office? Exactly. And yet, most of us are wired to grind well past the point of financial necessity.

There's a growing movement among millennials called FIRE — Financial Independence, Retire Early — and its philosophical cousin, "dying with zero". The concept is simple: work only as long as you need to, then spend your remaining capital so that when you go, there's nothing left. No prize, after all, for being the richest person in the cemetery.

I spoke with Dave Gow from Strong Money Australia, who pulled the pin on work in his late 20s. His epiphany came at 18, watching 60-year-old colleagues in a factory who clearly didn't want to be there. Gow started with investment property, but quickly realised the low net rental yields and mortgage drag wouldn't get him to financial freedom. He pivoted to high-dividend shares — and that was his ticket out.

Sounds seductive, but here's the reality check. Living the FIRE dream in Sydney or Melbourne is brutal given property prices, and cost of living pressures are chewing through household savings. Regional moves and going off-grid can help, but it's still a stretch for most.

The bigger issue with "dying with zero" is that life throws curveballs. Adult kids need house deposits. Grandchildren need school fees. Divorces happen. And aged care? A quality facility can cost north of $1m. Run your capital too lean and you risk ending up "alive with nothing" rather than dying with zero.

My take: the philosophy has merit — your time isn't guaranteed and declining health can rob you of the retirement you imagined. But build in a $300,000–$500,000 buffer for the "what ifs". And don't be surprised if, like Gow observes, you end up working again anyway — just on your own terms.