What the balance means
Future account balance—
In today’s purchasing power—
Australian-first. Built around your time.
Money is a number.
Freedom is a date.
See when work could become a choice. Then discover the small changes that could move that moment closer.
Three inputs to start. No sign-up. No bank connection.
Your life, in three numbersAUD
$
Investments available to fund this plan. Exclude your home unless you plan to sell it.
$/ month
After-tax money invested each month, assumed to rise with inflation.
$/ month
Your intended spending in today’s purchasing power, including housing and tax.
Your projected work-optional dateEstimate, not a promise
—
Adjust the three numbers to explore your path.
The earlier milestone / Coast FIRE
↗—
An illustrative, constant-return projection—not a retirement recommendation. Tax, pensions, super access rules and market volatility aren’t modelled.
01 / The path, made visible
Watch the choice
get closer.
Your investment path and work-optional target, both in today’s money. The return sensitivity below shows why one precise date isn’t a guarantee.
Your projected investments Work-optional target
Sensitivity cases change the assumed annual return by two percentage points. They are scenarios, not probabilities or a forecast range.
02 / The reality check
Big numbers.
Different buying power.
Inflation changes what a future dollar buys. Fees reduce the balance and the growth that balance could have earned.
The extra-fee drag
Same horizon—
Less in your portfolio at the same date, in today’s money. Includes the additional fees and lost growth.
03 / Small changes. Real time.
What could you
buy back?
Change one thing at a time. These comparisons use the same starting investments, living expenses and assumptions as your main plan.
A little more each month.
—
The contribution pause.
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Existing investments keep growing during the pause. Only new contributions stop.
A little clarity goes a long way
Two milestones.
Different kinds of choice.
Your existing investments could do the rest.
At the projected Coast point, your investments could reach the target by your chosen retirement age without further contributions, under the stated return assumption. You still need income for living expenses in the meantime.
The modelled portfolio reaches your target.
The target is annual living expenses divided by your selected withdrawal rate. Reaching it isn’t proof you can safely retire: retirement length, taxes, inaccessible super and the order of market returns matter.
Why do you ask for a retirement age if there are only three sliders?
Coast FIRE needs a destination age to calculate how long existing investments can grow. The example starts at age 30 and uses age 65 for Coast retirement. Change both in assumptions. The work-optional date is calculated independently of that destination age.
What about Australian superannuation?
This first version does not separately model super, tax concessions, preservation conditions or a portfolio to bridge the years before you can access super. Only count investments as available when your plan can actually access them. If you include super, the early work-optional date may be infeasible without an accessible bridge portfolio. Read Moneysmart’s access guidance.
Is the withdrawal rate guaranteed to last?
No. It is an adjustable modelling assumption, initially 3.5%, not a guaranteed safe rate. The model doesn’t simulate withdrawals or market sequences after retirement. A long early retirement needs a different assessment from a shorter retirement. Read Morningstar’s discussion of retirement length.
Are the defaults investment forecasts?
No. A nominal annual return of 7%, inflation of 3% and an annual investment fee of 0.25% are illustrative inputs. They are not recommendations or estimates for a particular investment. The calculation assumes end-of-month contributions maintained in today’s purchasing power, so nominal contributions rise with inflation.
How are my figures handled?
The calculator runs in your browser. It doesn’t connect to a bank or send your financial inputs to a server. Remembering inputs is optional. Share cards are generated on your device; you choose whether to include amounts. The standard shared link contains only a public challenge and no financial inputs. Hosting infrastructure processes normal page requests.