Where does your money actually stand?

01

The reserve

Could you cover three months of essential expenses tomorrow — without borrowing, and without touching long-term investments? Essential means the non-negotiables: housing, food, transport, school fees, insurance, debt repayments. Not your full lifestyle. The floor beneath it.

Why it matters — Without a reserve, every unexpected event becomes debt. This is the single item that decides whether a setback stays a setback.

02

Income continuation

If illness or injury stopped you working for six months, would money still arrive every month? Check what actually pays out, when it starts, and for how long — many people have cover for a permanent event but nothing for a temporary one.

Why it matters — Your income is the engine behind every other item on this list. Protecting investments while leaving income exposed is the wrong way round.

03

Dependants and final expenses

If you died this month, would cash reach your family within weeks — not months? Two things to check: immediate cash for final expenses, and longer-term capital to replace the income your dependants relied on.

Why it matters — Estates take time to wind up. A family can be well provided for on paper and still have nothing accessible in the first three months.

04

The retirement rate

Are you contributing at least 15% of your income toward retirement — and did you set that figure recently, or did you inherit it from a job you started years ago?

Why it matters — Time does more work than contribution size. A rate set at 22 and never revisited is usually the wrong rate at 35.

05

Debt structure

Is your short-term, unsecured debt smaller today than it was twelve months ago? Credit cards, store accounts, personal loans, overdraft — not your bond or vehicle finance. The expensive, revolving kind.

Why it matters — Growing short-term debt is the earliest visible symptom of a cash-flow structure that doesn't work, and it will outrun investment returns every time.

06

Education funding

If you have children, is there a dedicated plan for their education — sized for education inflation, not general inflation? Education costs have historically run well above headline inflation.

Why it matters — Education costs arrive on a fixed timetable. They're the most predictable large expense most families face, and the most commonly underfunded.

07

Estate readiness

Is your will current, and do your beneficiary nominations match what it says? Two documents, two different systems — policy and retirement fund nominations pay out independently of your will, and if they disagree, the nomination usually wins.

Why it matters — This is the cheapest item on the list to fix, and the most expensive to leave broken.

The cost of waiting

Illustrative figures based on assumed contribution escalation and investment return, excluding fees and taxes. Not a guarantee — your own position depends on your fund, your term, and your assumptions. For every ten years a retirement plan is delayed, the contribution rate needed to reach the same target roughly doubles.