🔥 Wealth Planning

Your FIRE Number

Calculate exactly how much you need to retire early and when you'll get there — built for Australian investors.

Wealth is not about accumulation — it's about optionality. The goal isn't the Ferrari. The goal is waking up on a Tuesday with no obligation to anyone.

Most people never reach financial freedom not because they earn too little, but because they never define what enough looks like. They keep moving the goalpost. The number gets bigger, the anxiety stays the same.

When you know your real number — the practical, honest figure that covers a meaningful life — something irreversible happens. Money stops being the scorecard and becomes the tool. You stop working for it. It starts working for you.

The only real measure of wealth: how many days forward can you live without working?

🏁 Your Starting Line

Current Age
yrs
Retire At
yrs
Savings & Portfolio
Cash Savings / Money in Offset Account
?
Cash in savings accounts or mortgage offset. Fills Bucket 1 first — any surplus flows directly into Bucket 2.
$
Investment Portfolio outside of Super
?
Shares, ETFs, managed funds held outside superannuation. Grows at your portfolio return rate.
$
Current Super Balance
$
Income
Income Type
Annual Gross Income
$
$0
Annual Take-Home
$0
Monthly Take-Home
Monthly Essential Expenses
Your most important number in this calculator.

This single figure — your bare-minimum monthly cost of living — drives everything downstream. It sets your FIRE number, sizes your emergency bucket, and determines how long each bucket takes to fill.

Think of it as what life costs when the fun stuff is stripped out. No restaurants, no holidays, no hobbies. Just the essentials that keep the lights on and the family fed.

🏠 Rent / Mortgage 🛒 Groceries ⚡ Utilities 🏥 Health Insurance 🚗 Transport 👶 Childcare 💳 Debt Repayments
My Monthly Essentials
$
$0
Left to Save
each month
$0
Saved Per Year
before tax advantages
0%
Savings Rate
% of take-home

💼 Super Contributions

After filling B1 and B2, decide how much of your monthly surplus to direct into super. The remainder goes to B3 Outside Super — accessible anytime.

Self-Concessional Contribution
?
Your voluntary concessional (pre-tax) contribution to super. Taxed at 15% on entry. The total of employer SG + your self-contribution cannot exceed $30,000/yr (FY2025-26). The calculator will cap this and warn you if you exceed the headroom.
$/mo
Non-Concessional Contribution
?
Your after-tax contribution to super. No contributions tax applies on entry — the full amount goes in. Capped at $120,000/yr (FY2025-26).
$/mo
→ Monthly to Outside Super (B3) $0

⚙️ Assumptions

ETF / Portfolio Return
?
The annual return on your Investment Portfolio outside of Super and your Bridge (Bucket 4) — already adjusted for inflation, so all numbers stay in today's dollars. A diversified Aussie ETF portfolio (e.g. VAS/VGS) has historically returned ~6–7% in real terms.
Applies to: B3 Outside Super (investment portfolio + ongoing contributions)
7.0%
Super Fund Return
?
Enter the after-tax return — the net return after the 15% super earnings tax has already been applied. Most fund fact sheets show a net-of-tax figure. The calculator uses this rate directly with no further tax deduction.
Enter after-tax return · no further tax deducted · exclude admin fees
8.0%
Inflation Rate
?
Your future retirement expenses are higher than today's because of inflation. This rate adjusts your monthly expenses forward to the year you retire. RBA's target band is 2–3%.
Inflates your monthly expenses to retirement-day dollars · affects your FIRE number directly
2.5%
Withdrawal Rate
?
The % of your portfolio you draw down each year in retirement. The 4% Rule comes from the Trinity Study (US, 30-year horizon, 60/40 portfolio). For Australian retirees — especially those retiring early with 40–50 year horizons — many planners recommend 3.5% or lower. A higher rate reduces your FIRE number and makes FIRE look easier to reach, but materially increases the risk of depleting your portfolio in a long retirement. This is the single most consequential assumption in the calculator.
⚠️ Most consequential input — directly sets your FIRE number · lower = larger target but safer · higher = smaller target but real depletion risk over 40+ years
4.0%

🛡️ Emergency Buffer Size

How many months of essential expenses should sit untouched in Bucket 1? This is your black-swan shield — job loss, medical event, emergency repair. Larger buffer = more security, longer to fill.

Your Buffer Target $0

🎯 Capital Expenditure Goals

Big purchases you're planning before you start building your portfolio. These are funded sequentially after Bucket 1. Any overflow from your cash savings gives you a head-start.

⚖️
Calculating your verdict...
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🔥 Your Full FIRE Number
$0
$0
FIRE Target
vs
$0
Projected (B3+B4)
Monthly essentials today: —
↓
Inflated to retirement: —
↓
FIRE Number = annual ÷ withdrawal rate: —
Your retirement monthly budget
Today's essentials, adjusted for inflation to your retire date
$0 / mo
Age —
Today
— years
Freedom
Age — · —
1
Emergency Bucket
Fill First
$0
Target to Hit
$0
You Have Now
—
Time to Fill
0%Not started
2
CapEx Bucket
Fill Second
No goals added yet. Use the panel on the left to add planned purchases.
3
Outside Super
Invest Anytime
$0
Opening Balance
investment portfolio input
$0
Annual Inflow
after B1 & B2 done
$0
At Retirement
projected balance
Growing at portfolio return
4
Superannuation Bucket
Inside Super
$0
Current Balance
$0
Annual Inflow
SG + concessional + non-conc
$0
At Retire Age
$0
Employer SG12% of salary · capped at MSCB $260,280/yr · ⚠ if exceeded
+
$0
Self-Concessional15% tax on entry
+
$0
Non-ConcessionalNo contributions tax
Timeline Summary
Your path from today to financial independence
Portfolio Trajectory
Stacked super + bridge vs your FIRE target
Outside Super
Super
Total
FIRE Target

For educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Tax calculations based on ATO FY2025–26 rates. Super projections are estimates only. Please consult a licensed financial adviser.

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