The Conscious Currency®
The Enough Calculator
The number that lets you stop running.
Step 1 of 5
How much is actually enough?
Most people have never asked this question with any precision. They have a vague sense that more would be better, but no defined number where the chase could end. This calculator walks you through a reverse-engineered answer in five steps. It takes about ten minutes. The number it produces may surprise you.
This is not financial advice. It is a framework for thinking about what enough looks like for you. The maths uses a 4% withdrawal rate adjusted for your chosen time horizon as a starting point for the conversation.
Step 1 of 5
Your baseline needs
What does it cost to keep your life running? Not the life you are living on autopilot, the life you would consciously choose. Be honest. Most people overestimate what they need and underestimate what they already spend.
If you receive or expect to receive guaranteed income (State Pension, defined benefit pension, annuity income, rental income), subtract that annual amount from your baseline needs before entering them. The calculator only accounts for the gap that your capital must fill. For example, if your baseline costs are £20,000 per year and your State Pension will provide £12,000, enter £8,000.
Rent or mortgage, council tax, insurance, maintenance
£
Energy, water, broadband, phone, subscriptions you actually use
£
Groceries, household supplies, toiletries
£
Car costs, public transport, fuel
£
Childcare, school costs, care for family members. Enter 0 if none.
£
Anything else you genuinely need. Clothing, healthcare, debt repayments.
£
Step 2 of 5
Your designed life
Beyond the essentials, what does the life you would consciously design cost? This step asks the question through the six dimensions of Real Wealth. For each dimension, think about what would meaningfully feed your life there. Not maintenance. Investment. Enter 0 for any dimension where the baseline already covers what you need.
If a category does not apply or you are unsure, leave it at 0. You can always come back. The point is to define the life you would choose, not to fill in every box.
Financial
Pension contributions, investments, the security beyond emergency cover
£
Physical
Movement, treatment, dental, the upkeep of the body that holds everything else
£
Mental
Therapy, courses, books, rest, the things that keep your mind workable
£
Social
Hosting, gifts, travel to see people who matter, meals shared
£
Time
What it would cost to reclaim your hours: help, delegation, the cleaner, fewer working days
£
Meaning
Travel that actually matters, giving, creative projects, contribution, purpose work
£
Step 3 of 5
What would it cost to restore what you have been depleting?
Most people have been quietly running down at least one dimension of their life. This step asks what it would cost to put it back. Some restoration is one-off (the dental work that has been postponed, the long break that needs to happen). Some is recurring (the therapy that needs to continue, the reduced working hours that change the income picture forever). Enter 0 for any dimension that does not need restoring.
One-off costs add to your total once. Recurring costs add every year for as long as your time horizon. The maths handles both, but it matters that you know which is which.
Financial restoration
Debt clearance, emergency fund, pension catch-up
One-off
£
Per year
£
Physical restoration
Postponed treatment, fitness, recovery from depletion
One-off
£
Per year
£
Mental restoration
Therapy, sustained rest, reduced cognitive load
One-off
£
Per year
£
Social restoration
Reconnecting, the trip to see someone, repairing what neglect cost
One-off
£
Per year
£
Time restoration
Reclaiming hours: reduced work, replacement income, the cost of choosing differently
One-off
£
Per year
£
Meaning restoration
The course, the project, the change of direction that has been postponed
One-off
£
Per year
£
Step 4 of 5
The buffer and the horizon
Your estimates will be optimistic. Everyone's are. The planning fallacy means we systematically underestimate costs. The standard buffer is 30%. Adjust if you have reason to.
Baseline needs£0
Designed life (six dimensions)£0
Recurring restoration£0
Annual total before buffer£0
The recommended buffer is 30%. Adjust if you have reason to.
%
How many years do you need this money to last? A longer horizon requires more capital. The default of 30 years suits most working-age adults. Reduce it if you are closer to the end of life than the beginning.
years
Step 5 of 5
What you already have
Now compare the number against reality. What is the total current value of your savings, investments, pensions, and assets, excluding your home if you plan to live in it?
Savings, ISAs, pensions, investments. A rough figure is fine.
£
How much you currently save or invest per year. Enter 0 if nothing right now.
£
My Enough Number
The number that lets me stop running
A pause before the maths
The number is the calculation, but whether or not it feels like enough is a separate question. And the more interesting one.
Sit with your number for a moment before you do anything with it. What arrives in the body? Relief, doubt, resistance, a pull to recalculate. All of it is information.
Consider the following question:
If this number arrived in your account tomorrow, what would you stop doing?
The answer to this question is the beginning of the practice.
Sit with your number for a moment before you do anything with it. What arrives in the body? Relief, doubt, resistance, a pull to recalculate. All of it is information.
Consider the following question:
If this number arrived in your account tomorrow, what would you stop doing?
The answer to this question is the beginning of the practice.
Test the number
The Enough number is sensitive to two things: the buffer you build in, and the horizon you plan for. Drag either slider and watch the number move. This is psychologically important. The number is not fixed. It is a function of the assumptions inside it.
Buffer
30%
Horizon
30 yrs
What this means
Your calculation breakdown
The practice that sits beyond the snapshot
Open The Enough Check-In
This calculation gave you a number, and the Real Wealth Dashboard gives you a profile. Both are doorways to The Enough Check-In, a lightweight practice that holds all of this work in one place and asks you to return to it on a rhythm.
Twelve minutes. Three components. No account required.
Twelve minutes. Three components. No account required.
Save your number
Get your Enough Number as a PDF
The card to carry, the calculation behind it, the questions to come back to. Yours to keep.
One email a fortnight at most. Unsubscribe any time.
This tool is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The calculation does not account for taxation, inflation, investment returns, or changes in circumstances. If you did not subtract guaranteed income (State Pension, defined benefit pension, annuity) from your baseline needs, your enough number will be overstated. For personalised guidance, consult a qualified financial planner.