How to use the ETQ Full Calculator
The Full Calculator is the engine behind Enough to Quit: a year-by-year projection of your cash, assets and net worth to the end of your plan, with every input and assumption on one screen and everything recalculating live as you type. This guide walks through it section by section, shows you how to read the results, and covers the modelling most people miss.
If you would rather be taken through it one question at a time, start with the guided walkthrough instead; your answers carry straight into the Full Calculator when you are done.
Who it's for, and how it differs from the quick estimate
ETQ gives you three ways in, and they share the same engine and the same data:
- The thirty-second estimate on the home page: six inputs, default assumptions, a first answer.
- The guided walkthrough: one question at a time, no jargon, about fifteen minutes.
- The Full Calculator: everything on one screen, for when you want to see and steer the whole model.
Anything you enter in one surface appears in the others. The Full Calculator is where you go to sharpen the answer: it adds property, pensions with their own start dates, one-off events, planned sales and purchases, market crashes, spending that changes through retirement, and the assumptions behind all of it.
The quick estimate and the walkthrough answer one question: the earliest age you could afford to stop. The Full Calculator answers four, and the quickest way to understand it is to pick yours first.
First, pick your question: the four planning modes
The Planning Mode selector sits at the top of the input panel, above Basics. All four modes run the same year-by-year engine on the same figures; switching between them costs nothing and changes only which question is being worked out, which retirement age drives the run, and what the header calls things.
- Retire as early as possible — the default, and the question ETQ is named for. The headline is your earliest viable retirement age, and the "Compare retiring at" stepper plots it against any age you choose.
- Retire at a chosen age — for anyone with a date already in mind. Set the age under "Plan to retire at"; the headline reports how the plan holds up at that age, plotted against carrying on to your state pension age when the two differ.
- Make the most of retirement — for anyone who has already stopped working, at whatever age. The headline becomes Sustainable spending: the most the entered scenario says you could spend a year on living costs while still holding your cash reserve and your chosen legacy. It varies annual living expenses only; mortgages, dependants, asset costs and other outflows stay modelled as entered. There is no retirement age to set, because retirement has already happened.
- Plan my finances over time — for anyone not choosing a retirement date yet. The mode assumes you stop at your state pension age and headlines the net worth the plan reaches by then, a projected nominal figure you can watch move as you test decisions. There is no age control here either.
At most one search runs behind the headline: the earliest-age sweep or the sustainable-spending search, never both. The methodology page sets out exactly what each mode computes.
A tour of the screen
The screen has three working areas:
- The inputs panel on the left: MY DATA (currency, saving and loading scenarios), the Planning Mode selector, then every input, grouped into sections from Basics down to Advanced Assumptions.
- The header: your result, a retirement-age control where available, and the switch between Charts and Projections.
- The results area: cash and net-worth charts with an events timeline in Charts view, or year-by-year tables in Projections view.
There is no calculate button. Change any figure and the verdict, charts, timeline and tables update in front of you.
Entering your numbers, section by section
Start rough. Every figure can be refined later, and the projection built from honest approximations will already tell you most of what you need to know. First-time visitors are offered an example plan on opening; loading it is the fastest way to see how everything fits together before you enter your own numbers.
Basics
Your age, life expectancy (the planning horizon: the projection runs to this age), whether to include a partner, and your two goals: the minimum cash reserve you want to keep on hand every year, and the amount you want to leave behind at the end. These two goals define what "viable" means for your plan, so give them a moment's thought.
Income and expenses
Take-home income for you (and your partner), plus annual living expenses, either as one figure or broken into categories. Living expenses are the single biggest lever in the whole model; a realistic figure matters more here than anywhere else.
Housing
Whether you own or rent, your home's value, any mortgage and its terms, and plans to downsize or move later in life, including the year, the cost of the next home, and rent if you switch to renting.
Retirement income
The statutory retirement age where you live, your state pension, and any other pensions with their own start ages, for you and your partner. Pensions arriving years after you stop working are exactly the kind of thing rules of thumb miss.
Savings and investments
Cash balances, your stock market portfolio, and regular contributions while you are still working.
Investment properties and other assets
Rental properties with their income, costs and loans; and other things of value such as vehicles, jewellery or art. Each can be given a planned sale year, or left for the model to decide if and when to sell (more on that below). You can also schedule future purchases, with ongoing costs and appreciation starting from the purchase year.
Family support and debt
People you support and the annual cost with an end age for each, plus credit cards and any other loans not already covered.
Reading your results
The headline follows your planning mode. The sections below describe the default earliest mode; in the other three the same spot reports your plan at the chosen age, sustainable spending, or net worth at retirement, and the control beside it re-labels itself to match.
Your earliest viable retirement age
The headline result in earliest mode. ETQ tests retirement at every age and reports the lowest one at which your cash never falls below your minimum reserve and you still leave behind the amount you chose, all the way to the end of the plan. It reads "Now" if you are already there, an age if one is found, and "Not yet viable" if none is. If no age works, the charts still show the projection for retiring at the statutory age, so you can see where the plan strains.
Comparing retirement ages
In earliest mode the "Compare retiring at" stepper sets the dashed comparison scenario, and every chart, timeline and table plots it against the solid earliest viable age (or the statutory age when no age is viable). The stepper defaults to your statutory age. A small badge shows how far your comparison sits from the earliest viable age. This is the control to play with first; the difference between stopping at 55 and 58 is often smaller than people fear, and seeing it plotted is usually the moment the decision becomes real.
In chosen-age mode the comparison is fixed for you: your chosen age against carrying on to the statutory age, when the two differ. The already-retired and no-date modes have only one retirement age in play, so they plot a single scenario and the comparison controls step aside.
The charts
The cash chart shows whether you keep your minimum reserve each year. Net worth shows assets minus debts; check its final value against the amount you want to leave behind. Comparing retirement ages shows two lines; already-retired and no-date modes show one. Hover over a year for exact figures.
The events timeline
The timeline is the projection told as a story: at 52 the mortgage is repaid, at 59 the flat is sold, at 65 the state pension starts. If the model has scheduled a sale you didn't expect, this is where you will notice it.
The projection tables
When you want the numbers behind the lines, switch the header to Projections. The Cash Flow tab shows inflows, outflows and the cash balance for every year; expand any group to see the components. The Net Worth tab does the same for assets and liabilities. When two retirement scenarios are in play, both tabs let you flip between them.
Cash versus net worth
Retirement plans fail on cash, not on net worth.
You can be a millionaire on paper and still be unable to pay for groceries if everything is locked in property. The model treats these separately for exactly that reason. When cash runs short, it raises money by selling assets you have allowed it to sell; when nothing is available to sell, the plan is not viable, however healthy net worth looks. Read the cash chart first, always.
Modelling real life
Major future events
One-off income and expenses with a year attached: an inheritance, a wedding, a renovation, a sabbatical. Open the Major Future Events section and add them as income or expense events. A single large event often moves your earliest viable age more than a percentage point of investment growth ever will.
Market crashes
Add a stock market crash with a year, percentage fall and recovery period. Try the year you plan to retire and see whether your plan still meets its goals under those assumptions.
Planned sales, purchases and downsizing
Give any property or asset a sale year and the proceeds (after selling costs) arrive in that year's cash. Schedule a future purchase and its deposit, ongoing costs and appreciation are modelled from the purchase year. Downsizing your home combines both: sell, buy the cheaper home or switch to renting, and release the difference. One rule worth knowing: the model never force-sells your other assets to fund a planned purchase; a deposit can draw on your stock portfolio only if you switch that on explicitly.
The liquidation order
If cash would fall below your reserve, ETQ sells eligible properties and other assets, cheapest first by default. Use the arrows to change the order. Turn on “Never sell” to keep an asset out of automatic sales. Sales you schedule still go ahead.
Scenarios: saving, comparing, and the example plan
Save your base case under a name before you start experimenting. Then change whatever you like, "retire two years earlier", "sell the flat", "spend ten thousand less", and save each variant. Loading a scenario restores every input and assumption exactly. The dropdown also contains the built-in example plan if you want a fully populated model to explore.
Everything is stored in your browser on your device: private by design, but with no backup and no sync. Clearing your browser data clears your scenarios.
Assumptions, limitations, and what this tool is not
Every default assumption (investment growth, inflation, property appreciation, selling costs, how spending shifts through retirement) is visible and editable in the Advanced Assumptions section. The model is deterministic: the same inputs always produce the same projection. It plays one future at a time rather than simulating thousands, which keeps every number explainable; test uncertainty by changing assumptions and adding crash events, not by trusting any single run.
ETQ is an educational planning tool, not financial advice. It does not know your tax position, your health, or your risk tolerance, and it does not recommend any course of action. The full list of assumptions and limitations is worth reading before you act on anything. Speak to a qualified professional first.
Common mistakes and practical tips
- Waiting for perfect numbers. Rough figures today beat precise figures never. Refine as you go.
- Reading net worth instead of cash. Viability lives in the cash chart. Net worth flatters.
- Forgetting the big one-offs. A wedding, a roof, a gift to a child: enter them. They move the answer more than tinkering with growth rates.
- Leaving the cash reserve at zero. A plan that only just clears zero is a plan with no room for a bad year. Set a reserve you could actually sleep on.
- Over-tuning growth assumptions. Chasing the "right" return percentage is guesswork. Keep returns moderate and stress-test with a crash event instead.
- Not saving a base case. Save before experimenting, so there is always a clean scenario to come back to.
- Stopping at the first answer. The stepper is the point. Compare ages, watch the delta, and find out what a year of your life is actually worth.
Find out where you stand
Open the calculator, load the example plan if you want to explore first, and then put your own numbers in. Thirty minutes of honest figures will tell you more about your future than years of wondering.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between the quick estimate and the Full Calculator?
The quick estimate uses six inputs and ETQ's default assumptions to give a first answer in about thirty seconds. The Full Calculator exposes every input and assumption behind that answer: property, pensions, one-off events, planned sales and purchases, market crashes, and more, projected year by year to the end of your plan.
Do I need exact figures to start?
No. Start with rough numbers; everything recalculates live as you type, so you can refine any figure later. A projection built on honest approximations is far more useful than no projection at all.
Where is my data stored?
Everything stays in your browser's local storage on your device. Nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and ETQ's servers never see your figures. That also means there is no backup: clearing your browser data clears your scenarios.
What does "earliest viable retirement age" mean?
It is the lowest retirement age at which your projection stays above your minimum cash reserve every year and still leaves behind the amount you chose, all the way to the end of your plan. If no age achieves that, the verdict reads "Not yet viable", and the charts fall back to the statutory-age projection so you can see where the plan strains.
Can I test a retirement age I have already chosen?
Yes. Set Planning Mode to "Retire at a chosen age" and enter it under "Plan to retire at". The projection starts from today, assumes your main employment stops at that age, and shows whether the money lasts your whole plan, plotted against carrying on to your state pension age so you can see what the earlier date costs.
I am already retired. What can ETQ tell me?
Set Planning Mode to "Make the most of retirement". The projection starts from today with work behind you, and the headline becomes the most the entered scenario says you could spend a year on living costs while still holding your cash reserve and your chosen legacy. It is a conditional estimate, not a spending recommendation, and it varies annual living expenses only; other outflows stay as entered.
What if I am not planning a retirement date yet?
Set Planning Mode to "Plan my finances over time". It assumes you stop at your state pension age, so there is no date to choose, and it headlines the net worth your plan reaches by then. Change a major decision — the house, the career move — and watch that figure respond. It is a projected nominal amount, not today's money. Already at or past your state pension age? Pick "Make the most of retirement" instead: it plans from today, with work behind you.
Can I include a partner?
Yes. Switch on partner mode in Basics to add their income, pensions and retirement timing. The projection then models the household together, including who retires when.
Can I compare different plans?
Yes. Save your current inputs as a named scenario, then change anything and save again under another name. Loading a scenario restores every input and assumption exactly as you left it. Scenarios are stored on your device only.
Further reading: how do you know when you have enough to retire?, how much do you really need to retire early?, and the companion guides on retiring at 55 and at 60.
Educational information only, not financial advice. ETQ produces illustrative model output that is sensitive to your inputs and the tool's default assumptions. Speak to a qualified professional before acting on a projection.