Mark & Sarah
Helping a local Cairns couple get on track to retire at 55.
About the Client
Mark and Sarah are a professional couple in their mid-40s with two young children. Combined income: $280,000. They own their family home with $600,000 in equity and hold strong super balances across both accounts. On paper, they’re doing incredibly well.
Their goal: retire before 60 — ideally at 55. The problem: almost all of their wealth was locked inside super, inaccessible until at least age 60. And despite a high income, they genuinely didn’t know where a significant portion of their money was going each month.
The Problem They Came In With
Mark and Sarah had done everything ‘right’ by conventional standards. But when we sat down, there was a clear disconnect between what their income suggested they should be accumulating and what was actually showing up in their accounts.
A high income combined with unintentional discretionary overspending had created a feeling of being financially comfortable but not genuinely getting ahead.
They also had no visibility on their super. They were contributing, they knew the balances existed, but they couldn’t tell you what they were invested in, whether it aligned with their timeframe, or how it fitted into the broader plan. It was a disconnected silo — not a strategy.
And retirement at 55 felt like a vague dream, not a plan.
What We Built Together
01
Cashflow Rebuild
Before investing a dollar, we rebuilt their cashflow from the ground up around what they actually valued: travel, family experiences, and freedom. That conversation revealed $2,800/month of unintentional discretionary spending that could be redirected into wealth-building without any meaningful change to the quality of their lives.
02
Super Restructure
For the first time, Mark and Sarah could clearly explain what they were invested in and why. We repositioned both accounts into growth-oriented allocations aligned to their 10-year horizon before retirement, and maximised salary sacrifice contributions to reduce their combined tax bill immediately.
03
Investment Property
With cashflow stabilised and super working as a strategic tool rather than a set-and-forget obligation, we turned to property. They accessed idle equity in their family home to purchase a capital growth-focused investment property. The asset is negatively geared — purchased before Budget night — and the carrying cost is comfortably absorbed by their redirected cashflow.
04
The Bridge to 55
The critical piece: how do they fund five years of retirement between 55 and 60, before they can access super? We built a diversified non-super investment portfolio, funded by their redirected cashflow, which will form the ‘bridge’ that makes retiring at 55 mathematically possible.
High-Level Client Stats
$2,800
Monthly Surplus Found
Redirected to wealth-building.
55
Target Retirement Age
On track with current plan
$0
Lifestyle Change Required
Same life, smarter structure
| Key Result | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Retirement timing | On track to retire at age 55 |
| Cashflow | Fully automated, values-aligned weekly banking system |
| Superannuation | Restructured, transparent, growth-aligned |
| Property strategy | Equity-driven, negatively geared, capital growth-focused |
| Non-super portfolio | Being built as the ‘bridge’ to super access at 60 |
| Legacy | Defined plan to support children’s property entry |
