My budget or FIRE calculation looks wrong

If a number does not look right, do not worry. Fireball may be showing a different period, counting a forecast, or using a setting you have forgotten about. You do not need to work through every section in this article.

Choose the section that matches your problem

- If a spending limit or amount left looks wrong, start with If the budget number looks wrong.
- If your financial-independence target or date looks wrong, start with If the FIRE number or date looks wrong.
- If Fireball shows a message about missing information, start with If Fireball says there is not enough data.

Before changing anything, note the screen, period or date range, and exact message shown. This makes it easier to see which change affected the number.

In Budget, forecast spend means what Fireball expects you may spend by the end of the period. Spending remaining means how much of your limit is left. These are different views of the same budget.

First, check whether your data is complete

If your bank connection is new, Fireball loads the most recent three months first and fills in older history in the background. Totals and insights can change as that history arrives. If an account, balance, or transaction is missing, follow My bank data is missing or out of date before comparing totals.

If the budget number looks wrong

Start with these two checks:

1. Open Budget and check that you are viewing the period you expected.
2. Open the gear icon and choose Budget Settings. Check whether Show remaining budget and Include pending spending match the view you want.

Pending debits affect forecast spend only when Include pending spending is on.

Fireball does not treat every payment leaving an account as spending:

- Transfers are kept out of spending totals.
- Single Budget excludes loan payments and savings transfers.
- Confirmed recurring charges are included in Activity and Budget.
- A confirmed recurring item due in the future can affect forecast spend before the bank debit arrives. It is not an extra transaction.
- If Include loan interest/fees is on, pure loan-account interest and fee rows count as budget spending. Loan repayments are still treated as planned transfers rather than spending.
- Roll over unspent changes the amount available in a later period; it does not change the posted transactions in the earlier period.

For a plain-English explanation of budget modes, periods, recurring forecasts, and rollover, see Set up and manage budgets and recurring activity.

If a category or zero-based plan looks wrong

First check the transaction that is contributing to the number:

1. Open Activity and choose All.
2. Open the posted transaction.
3. Check the category, transfer status, split, or refund match.

Categories affect budgets, spending insights, savings calculations, and FIRE. Tags and private notes are for organisation and do not change Fireball's FIRE calculations. For category, rule, split, transfer, refund, and duplicate steps, use Organise and correct your transactions.

If you use Category Budgeting, Zero-based planning is optional. Its purpose is to give all your income a planned use. Goal contributions and confirmed transfer commitments are included in that plan. You can turn this setting on or off in Budget Settings. It does not rewrite your transactions, and Fireball does not change budgets automatically.

If a recurring forecast looks wrong

Open Activity, choose Recurring, then look under Needs review. Check the amount, how often it repeats, and the next expected date. For recurring income, also check the source and Next payday.

Choose Looks right or Confirm only when the details match what you expect. Choose Not recurring for a charge that is not a repeating expense, or Exclude income for detected income that should not be planned. If a bill or income has temporarily stopped, use Pause recurring charge or Pause recurring income when Fireball offers it.

Confirmed recurring activity can be included in the budget forecast. It is an expectation for future activity, not a second copy of every bank transaction. If Fireball shows New payment details found, compare the new details with the real bill before choosing Keep my details.

If the FIRE number or date looks wrong

FIRE means financial independence: having enough invested money to support the retirement spending in your plan.

Open Fireball's menu, choose FIRE Settings, and start with Core Settings. Check these four items first:

1. Target retirement age is the age you are planning towards.
2. Retirement spending is how much you expect to spend each year in retirement. If you leave it blank, Fireball uses your current annual expenses from bank activity.
3. Withdrawal rate is the percentage of your invested savings you plan to spend each year in retirement. A lower rate usually creates a higher FIRE target; a higher rate creates a lower target.
4. Life expectancy is the age through which Fireball tests whether the plan can support your retirement spending.

If you enter a custom retirement-spending amount, treat it as your whole retirement budget. Include any housing, travel, healthcare, and other costs you expect to keep paying. Tap Save after making an intentional change.

Advanced FIRE settings

You only need to check these sections if you have changed or enabled them:

- Growth Estimates controls the assumed investment return and income growth.
- New Zealand retirement includes future KiwiSaver contributions and the optional NZ Super amount. The Australian option has its own super and Age Pension settings.
- FIRE Variants can add Coast, Lean, Fat, or Barista FIRE assumptions.

If you do not recognise one of these settings, leave it unchanged. The Core Settings and your account balances are the best place to start. Fireball's FIRE results are planning estimates, not guarantees or personalised financial advice.

If Fireball says there is not enough data

Insights can show Not enough data for insights yet when Fireball does not have the required history or account information. A Home or projection view can show FIRE timing unavailable when Fireball cannot calculate a reliable date from the data it has.

Check that the accounts you want to include are connected and that their balances and history are present. Do not delete saved bank history or disconnect a bank just to force a recalculation. If the message remains after the data has had time to load, contact support.

Contact support when the checks do not explain it

There is no single safe fix for every calculation difference. Open Fireball's menu, choose Support, then choose Contact support.

Include:

- the screen and chart or budget name;
- the period or date range;
- the number you expected and the number Fireball showed;
- any budget, recurring, category, or FIRE setting that may be relevant; and
- the exact message Fireball displayed.

The in-app email includes privacy-safe diagnostic information. Do not include passwords, bank login details, full account numbers, or raw transaction details. If the email option does not open, email support@heliosstudio.app.