Home

Examples, Tips and Possibilities

Worked examples and calm, practical ways to use the calculator to explore real choices and take a useful next step.

Worked Examples
A simple first scenario using round numbers
A scenario for irregular income
What if I put extra money towards debt?
What if one income stops for a while?
What if I reduce my working hours?
What if moving changes rent, travel and time?
What if I start saving before every debt is gone?
What if one weekly cost changes?
Tips That Make the Calculator More Useful
Start with what you know
Build a baseline before you build a dream
Change one thing at a time
Try low, likely and high scenarios when you are unsure
Remember the costs that only appear sometimes
Name your assumptions so future you remembers
Let good enough numbers teach you something
Do not use optimistic numbers just to make a scenario work
Review a scenario when something changes, not every day
Bigger Possibilities
Explore taking a new job
Explore working fewer days
Explore moving home
Explore a growing family
Explore caring for someone
Explore taking a career break
Explore starting a small business
Explore retirement with more than money in mind
Explore helping children or parents
How to Think, Work and Do
Separate the decision from the numbers
Look for choices with more than one benefit
Compare real trade-offs, not a perfect option and a terrible one
What do I know, what am I assuming, and what can I test?
When the numbers say no, ask: not yet, not this way, or not now?
Turn a possibility into one small action
Talk about money without turning it into blame
When to stop calculating and seek qualified help
Review the decision after you have lived with it