I'm back.
I'm not sure what your husband earns before tax, or how old your children are, but if I use these calculators here
http://www.rdlaccountants.com.au/calculators.php plug in $80,000 for him, $0 for you, and a 6 and a 8 year old, I get $7,700ish.
I just got my assessment, and the calculator puts out the right numbers for me, so I would seriously look into it. Did you remember to register your second birth?(!)
Health Insurance: For ten years now, I've kept track of how much we would have put into health insurance, subtracted how much we would have received, and incremented it by our mortgage rate, or more recently investment returns, and we're $25,000 ahead, even after some major dental work.
We spent several thousands of dollars on some elective surgery, and if we'd had insurance, would have only got $100 back (after the $500 excess). Babies in public hospitals are free, and the caesarian rate is ten percentage points lower.
My son was in hospital recently, and the quality of care was top notch, and it didn't cost a cent.
Not sure why you're worried about the tax hit on not having PHI, currently, a couple can earn up to $176,000 and not pay it. (Source:
http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/healthinsurance/incentivessurcharges/mls.htm)
Anyway, back to you....
In my opinion you have a debt emergency, and you have no business having pay TV, or spending $175 a month on gifts and donations. Skip donating now, and make up for it when you're in the clear. Christmas is coming up, tell family you want a handmade only Christmas. Don't spend more than five dollars per person on materials. Kids parties are a bother, but you're going to have to go to close friends only, and keep the price down to under $10. Tell everybody you don't want gifts for your birthday, so you can then skip theirs.
With your car insurance and contents insurance, do you have high excesses? This keeps costs down. You should be insuring for catastrophic loss, not cosmetic damage, or a few stolen DVDS.
Your superannuation accounts will almost certainly be deducting Death and TPD insurance. Decide if you want this, and what level of coverage you want. This is a cost, just like all your other costs, that eats away at your stash. Your husband's super may be deducting income protection insurance. If he has a large amount of sick leave accrued, this may not make sense to keep.
Everyone here is being very positive about your chances of retiring early, but if you're paying $500 a week rent then chances are houses in your area cost $700,000. If you want to retire at 55 and keep living in the same area, you would have to do something pretty amazing on the income front. If you're willing to move somewhere a lot cheaper when you retire, then you're in the game.
Lastly, do your own sums and your own research - I'm just a random on the internet.