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Ireland · Your financial reality

The truth about your life might be closer than you think.

Your salary. Your rent. Your future. See how your finances compare with Ireland — measured against CSO and Revenue data, not guesswork.

Face your reality Explore Ireland’s mirror

2 minutesFreeNo accountAnswers stay in your browser

The uncomfortable reality

Three numbers that frame every Irish budget.

  1. 01Official data

    €44,816

    is the median annual pay of an employee in Ireland.

    Half of all employees earn less. It includes part-time jobs, so the typical full-time salary is higher.

    Source: CSO — Earnings Analysis using Administrative Data Sources 2024 · 2024

  2. 02Derived calculation

    €3,076

    a month is what that median pay leaves after tax, USC and PRSI.

    Our calculation for a single PAYE employee, using Revenue’s 2026 rules. Rent, food and everything else come out of this.

    Source: Revenue — income tax, USC and PRSI rules for 2026 · 2026

  3. 03Official data

    €15,564

    a year is the full State Pension (Contributory).

    The maximum personal rate, and only with a full PRSI record. Everything above it you fund yourself.

    Source: gov.ie — State Pension (Contributory), maximum personal rate · 2026

Every benchmark, by county and sector

The sample reflection

This is what you get back.

The real report format, filled in for an invented person by the same scoring model the test uses. Yours is built from your answers.

Sample · 31 · renting in Cork · €46,000 a yearExample
69of 100

Band · Solid

Four areas

Financial Reality
61
Career Reality
61
Lifestyle Reality
90
Future Outlook
71

Rent burden

40%

of take-home goes on rent

Model threshold: 30% of take-home

Pension at 66

€24,672

a year projected, vs a €30,667 target

€5,995 a year short · modelled estimate, today’s euros

Why they scored 69

  • Pay vs Ireland€46,000 · CSO national median €44,816Watch
  • Housing cost40% of take-home · Model threshold: 30% of take-homeWatch
  • Emergency cover1.9 months of outgoings · Model target: 3–6 monthsWatch
  • Pension readiness80% of target income · Model target: 67% of pay in retirementWorking
Illustrative: an invented person, scored by the live model without county rent data. Not anyone’s real result. Pension figures are a modelled projection, not financial advice.
See my own reflection How every score is calculated

Four dimensions of reality

Four mirrors. Fixed weights. No black box.

Same answers, same score. No AI decides it — every threshold is published.

  1. 01

    Financial Reality

    Whether your housing cost, savings cushion and debt leave you exposed.

    Housing cost against take-home pay, months of emergency cover, and debt against income.

    30% of the overall score

  2. 02

    Career Reality

    Where your pay really sits — nationally, in your sector, in your county.

    Your pay against the CSO median for Ireland, your sector and your county.

    30% of the overall score

  3. 03

    Lifestyle Reality

    How much of each month is genuinely yours once the bills are paid.

    How much of your take-home is left after housing and everything else.

    20% of the overall score

  4. 04

    Future Outlook

    Whether the retirement you are funding is the one you are expecting.

    Projected pension income against a target, and how secure your housing is.

    20% of the overall score

Weight of each area in the overall Reality Score. Read the method.

How it works

Two minutes. Three steps.

  1. 1

    Answer about fourteen questions

    Age, county, pay, housing, spending, savings, debt and pension. Sliders start at typical values, so it takes about two minutes.

  2. 2

    See yourself against Ireland

    One Reality Score, a score for each area, and your numbers side by side with CSO and Revenue benchmarks — plus your three biggest gaps.

  3. 3

    Find your escape routes

    Practical actions for this month, this year and the long term, and how your score moves if you take them. All of it free.

Fact, estimate, model, example

Every number says what it is.

A product about the truth cannot blur an official statistic with its own guess. So every significant figure carries a tag.

Official data
Published by a public body (CSO, Revenue, RTB, gov.ie) and quoted as published.
Derived calculation
Simple arithmetic on official figures — for example rent as a share of median earnings.
BlackMirror model
A BlackMirror threshold or assumption. Stated openly so you can disagree with it.
Example
A demonstration number. Not real data about anyone.
Your input
A figure you entered. We do not check it and we do not keep it.

Private by design

We never see your answers.

  • No account, no sign-up
  • Calculated in your browser — answers are never sent to us
  • Gone when you close the tab, unless you choose to keep them
  • No AI processing of your answers
  • Nothing sold or shared — we have nothing to sell
  • Share cards show scores only, never your figures
Exactly what is and is not stored

Your turn

Look into the mirror.
Then decide.

Two minutes, free, and your answers never leave this browser.

Face your reality

When the data changes

An occasional email when new CSO, RTB or Budget figures move the benchmarks. Unsubscribe in one click.

What to do next

Picked for what you just worked out — not a list of everything we make.