YOU ARE IN A
This isn't a life sentence. It's a well-modelled, three-to-five-year play — with genuine, numbers-backed exits at Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5.
Cash flow buffer
These are post-mortgage numbers — what's left every month once the home loan itself is paid. It's the buffer you'd have to live on, save, or cut back into if you ever needed to.
Normal months (48 of 60)
$11,921
left over / month, post-mortgage — before living costs
Household net income $22,776/mo vs. $9,981 mortgage repayment
Stress-tested months (12 of 60)
$5,531
left over / month, post-mortgage — even on part-time income
Income drops to $16,387/mo — mortgage still comfortably covered
And after living expenses too — 12-month average, bonus included
$7,337
true bottom-line cash flow / month, normal year
$948
true bottom-line cash flow / month, stress-tested year
Individual months during the scenario dip modestly (living costs of $9,000/mo draw on the buffer), but averaged across the full 12 months — including the annual bonus — cash flow still comes out positive both ways.
Source: Cash Flow tab — Monthly Surplus/(Deficit) and Total cashflow, rows 4–63
Cash reserve in offset
Even through the 12-month reduced-income scenario, the balance dips only slightly before recovering with the next bonus — it never falls below where it started on settlement day.
Day 1 (settlement)
$288,774
Lowest point, any month
$291,695
Month 60
$652,335
Source: Cash Flow tab — Closing Cash, rows 4–63
Equity + cash reserve over time
Home equity isn't the whole picture — the offset balance sits on top of it as additional, liquid wealth. Stacked together, this is the household's total net position at any point in time.
Total wealth — Month 1
$708,148
Total wealth — Year 3
$1,144,811
Total wealth — Year 5
$1,536,860
Equity grows from loan principal paid down + modest 2% p.a. house growth; cash reserve grows from monthly surplus + annual bonuses. Together: over $828k of new wealth in 5 years.
Source: Cash Flow tab — Equity + Closing Cash, rows 4–63
Rent vs. interest crossover
Interest cost falls every month as the loan amortises; the modelled rent equivalent rises with inflation. The two lines cross around Month 37 (~Year 3) — from then on, the interest portion of your repayment is cheaper than renting the same home would be, and the gap only widens.
Source: Cash Flow tab — Interest charge vs Rent equivalent, rows 4–63
Restructure optionality
The model tests restructuring the loan at three points, always keeping a $250,000 cash buffer intact. Each option lowers the repayment — and dramatically lowers the household income needed to stay cash-flow neutral (wife's income unchanged).
YEAR 3
Month 36 — restructure option
Husband's income could drop to
$103,381
from $205,000 — and still be cash-flow neutral
$9,981 → $7,840 repayment
+$2,141 freed up every month
YEAR 4
Month 48 — restructure option
Husband's income could drop to
$87,028
from $205,000 — and still be cash-flow neutral
$9,981 → $6,947 repayment
+$3,033 freed up every month
YEAR 5
Month 60 — restructure option
Husband's income could drop to
$69,642
from $205,000 — and still be cash-flow neutral
$9,981 → $5,998 repayment
+$3,982 freed up every month
This is the option, not the obligation. Nothing forces a restructure — it's proof of how much flexibility you'll have to change course, drop hours, or change careers, whenever you choose to.
Source: Cash Flow tab — Restructure available ($250k surplus), rows 39/51/63; income floor modelled on Inputs tax formula, wife's income held at $200k
This is a 3–5 year play with optionality — not a permanent commitment.
Worried about the job itself, not the mortgage? Read The Mandate →