What goes into a future cashflow projection?

See who it covers, what it spends, which cash it draws on and the rates it grows by.

The working behind Future cashflow.

In the sidebar, Cashflow, then Future cashflow. The settings are one page, open until a plan is saved and then under Edit the settings. Calculate and save runs them.

Under Who to include, tick one or two people with a date of birth. For each, set Work income ends at age, and a Cash account if not the automatic one. Each person starts on the account Cash routing on Other assets picks for them, when the plan can use it. The years after work income ends start when the last person's ends.

Daniel's ends at 62 and Emma's at 60, both in 2033.

Annual household spending when work income ends covers everyone in the projection. With two people, their shares must total 100%.

The Mitchells spend $120,000 a year, half each, for 25 years. Add a spending change sets a new yearly figure from a later date.

Cash reserve is the least cash each person keeps, $15,000 for the Mitchells. Below it, the projection tops their cash up from the included accounts.

Expected gross bank interest rate is earned on spare cash, 4% here. Where super or an SMSF is included, tick Treat super and SMSF benefits as tax-free cash after age 60 before it calculates. Benefits from taxed sources are then cash from the day work income ends, at 60 or later, and from 65 where work goes on.

Investment selling cost comes off the sale price of shares and other investments, 3% to start and 1% for the Mitchells. A property uses the selling cost on its own record.

Who gets the final cash shares a company's cash between the people. A trust's follows its beneficiary shares. Replacement rent is what the household pays once the home is sold.

In a selling option, each property's sale is contracted when work income ends, or when it can first be sold if later, and settles 30 days after. Its selling cost and main residence treatment come from its property record.

Add custom property timeline sets the age each property sells at. A company's or trust's must sell by the time work income ends, and an SMSF's by the fund's wind-up.

Income, rent, spending, property costs and SMSF expenses each grow 3% a year to start. Once you save the plan, every other report starts from its rates. Net super return starts blank, so you enter it.

CPI change turns each figure into today's prices. The Mitchells use 2.5%. Reset to defaults puts the rates back.

Pick an option under the table, and every section and the appendix switch to it. What makes up the net position splits it four ways.

For Keep everything: cash $140,116, property equity $6,081,187, other assets less other debt $541,882, and company, trust and SMSF holdings $8,465,322, each rounded to the dollar.

The settings are saved, and the results are worked out each time you open the page. Cancel puts back the saved plan.

Tick Show it in the monthly update when the outcome moves, and it runs again each month. The update says so when the age its cash lasts to moves a year, or its cash when work income ends moves 10%.