Guides: FIRE, debt and saving, explained properly
Each guide answers one question with worked numbers, then hands you the calculator that produced them.
42 guides · page 3 of 5
How to use the inflation calculator
What a sum is worth after years of rising prices, why real returns are the only ones worth planning with, and what inflation does to a pension.
How to use the FIRE calculator
A walkthrough of every input on the FIRE calculator, what the projection is really telling you, and the four mistakes that flatter a plan.
How to use the fee impact calculator
What platform and fund charges cost over an investing lifetime, how to find your true all-in figure, and why small percentages are not small.
How to use the Expense Diary
Setting up accounts and bills, logging entries in seconds, reading the monthly reports, and why manual logging beats bank syncing for awareness.
How to size an emergency fund
Working out your true monthly essentials, choosing between three and twelve months of cover, and where to keep the money.
How to use the debt payoff calculator
Entering your balances, choosing between snowball and avalanche, and reading the debt-free date the calculator gives you.
How to plan FIRE as a couple
Combining two incomes and ages into one projection, the allowances that double, and the conversations worth having before the spreadsheet.
How to use the compound interest tool
Modelling growth on a lump sum and regular contributions, why real returns beat nominal ones, and reading the split between what you paid in and what grew.
How to use the Coast FIRE calculator
Finding the pot size that grows into retirement on its own, what coasting actually permits, and the assumptions that make or break it.
How to use the cash flow calendar
Mapping when money lands and leaves, spotting the days your balance dips, and fixing timing problems without earning more.