Settings and Personalisation

Make Doughsense match your financial situation. This guide shows you how to customise settings for accurate projections and a personalised experience. If you haven't set up your account yet, start with our Getting Started guide.

Getting to Your Settings

Access settings via the user menu in the sidebar. Each setting can be changed by clicking on it.

Currency Settings

Your Primary Currency

This is your main money denomination - the currency you think in and use daily.

What it does:

• Sets the default for new accounts and transactions
• Displays all totals and calculations
• Becomes your "home" currency

How to set it:

1. Click "Primary Currency"
2. Choose from the list
3. Save your selection

Good to know: Changing this won't convert your existing entries - they keep their original currencies.

Multiple Currencies

Perfect for international finances or travel planning.

When you need this:

• Living abroad or planning to
• International investments
• Foreign property ownership
• Regular travel expenses
• Multi-country income

Setting up:

1. Click "Additional Currencies"
2. Use "+" to add currencies you use
3. Remove any you don't need

How it works:

• Each account/transaction keeps its native currency
• Doughsense converts automatically using current rates
• See totals in your primary currency
• Track performance in original currencies

Personal Information

Month and Year of Birth

During onboarding, Doughsense asks for your month and year of birth. Only the month and year are needed, not an exact date.

What it enables:

• Retirement planning ("retire at 65")
• Age-based account access (pension at 60)
• Life milestone tracking
• Age-specific projections

Privacy: Your birth month and year are only used for calculations within the app, never shared.

Growth Rate Settings

Growth rates help Doughsense project how your money will change over time.

How Doughsense Handles Growth Rates

When adding accounts, income, or expenses, you'll see preset options:

• Inflation: Automatically uses your profile's inflation setting
• Savings: Conservative rate for savings accounts
• Investments: Typical returns for investment accounts
• Earnings Growth: For salary progression
• Property Growth: For real estate appreciation
• Vehicles: Depreciation rate for vehicles
• None: Zero growth rate
• Custom: Enter your own specific rate

Important: All rates should be nominal (advertised rates). Doughsense automatically handles inflation calculations - you don't need to adjust for it yourself.

Understanding Growth Rates

A growth rate is just the percentage change you expect each year:

• Positive rate = growing (like investments)
• Negative rate = shrinking (like car value)
• Zero = staying the same

Inflation Rate

The general increase in prices over time. This is managed in your profile settings and automatically applied throughout Doughsense.

What to set:

• Historical average: 2-3%
• Current environment: Check recent news
• Conservative approach: 3-4%

How it works:

• Doughsense automatically applies inflation to projections
• You can use the "Inflation" preset when setting up items
• Plan targets can be set as "today's money" (inflation-adjusted) or "actual money"
• No need to calculate real returns - the system does this for you

Viewing Values in Today's Money

While your inflation rate setting controls calculations, you can also choose how to view your projections:

Accessing the View Toggle:

1. Go to Settings > Financial (via the user menu in the sidebar)
2. Toggle "Today's Money" on or off
3. Your view updates instantly

Understanding the Two Views:

• Actual Money (toggle off): The pounds you'll actually have

  • Use when planning for specific purchases
  • Shows bank statement values
  • Good for near-term planning

• Today's Money (toggle on): What those pounds are worth in today's purchasing power

  • Use for long-term planning
  • Shows true lifestyle impact
  • Essential for retirement planning

Example: If you're saving for retirement in 20 years:

• Actual money view: "I'll have £500,000"
• Today's money view: "That £500,000 will buy what £350,000 buys today"

This helps you understand if you're truly saving enough for the lifestyle you want.

Savings Growth

Interest earned on regular savings accounts.

Using presets:

• Select "Savings" for a conservative default
• Or choose "Custom" to enter your bank's specific rate

Typical rates:

• Standard savings: 0.5-2%
• High-yield savings: 2-5%
• Check your actual accounts

Tip: These should be nominal rates (what your bank advertises).

Investment Growth

Returns expected from stocks, bonds, and funds.

Using presets:

• Select "Investments" for balanced defaults
• Different presets available for conservative/moderate/aggressive
• Or choose "Custom" for specific rates

Guidelines (nominal rates):

• Conservative: 4-6%
• Moderate: 6-8%
• Aggressive: 8-10%

Remember:

• Use nominal rates (not inflation-adjusted)
• Markets fluctuate
• Long-term averages work best
• Be realistic, not optimistic

Property Growth

How you expect real estate values to change.

Considerations:

• Location matters greatly
• Historical area trends
• Typical range: 2-5%

Tip: Research your specific area rather than using national averages.

Vehicle Depreciation

How quickly vehicles lose value.

Typical depreciation:

• New cars: -15% to -20% yearly
• Used cars: -10% to -15% yearly
• Classic/collectible: Varies widely

Note: Enter as negative percentage since values decrease.

Earnings Growth

Expected salary increases over time.

Factors to consider:

• Career stage
• Industry norms
• Personal goals
• Inflation adjustments

Realistic ranges:

• Early career: 3-7%
• Mid-career: 2-4%
• Late career: 1-3%

Cash Flow Sweep

What It Does

Cash Flow Sweep automatically allocates your monthly surplus (or deficit) to a designated account. This bridges the gap between your budget metrics and your actual wealth projections.

Why It Matters

Without sweep enabled:

• Your budget shows a £500/month surplus
• But that £500 doesn't appear anywhere in your account projections
• Over 10 years, that's £60,000+ missing from your financial future!

With sweep enabled:

• Your surplus automatically credits to your chosen account
• Projections show realistic wealth accumulation
• Your timeline reflects where your money actually goes

How to Enable

1. Go to Settings (via the user menu in the sidebar) → Financial → Methodology
2. Toggle "Cash Flow Sweep" on
3. Select your sweep account (where leftover money accumulates)
4. Save your settings

Choosing Your Sweep Account

Pick the account where your leftover money naturally accumulates:

• Current account: If you keep a buffer in your everyday account
• Savings account: If you regularly sweep surplus to savings
• Easy-access savings: A good middle ground for most people

Avoid selecting:

• Locked pensions or ISAs with contribution limits
• Investment accounts (unless you regularly invest surplus)

When to Enable/Disable

Enable sweep when:

• You want projections to reflect realistic wealth accumulation
• You have regular surplus each month
• You want to see the long-term impact of your savings habits

Consider disabling when:

• You're doing "what-if" scenarios without sweep impact
• Your budget is highly variable month-to-month
• You prefer to see surplus as separate from specific accounts

Tax Allowances

If you use tax-advantaged accounts like ISAs or pensions, set up tax allowances so Doughsense knows your contribution and withdrawal limits. This keeps projections realistic by capping contributions at the annual limit and adjusting tax treatment when allowances run out.

Set these up in Settings > Tax Allowances. For a full walkthrough, see our Tax Allowances guide.

Setting Up for Different Life Stages

Just Starting Out (20s-30s)

Early career typically means higher earnings growth potential and a longer investment horizon, so you can afford more aggressive growth assumptions.

• Earnings growth: 4-6% (career growth)
• Investment returns: 7-9% (long timeline)
• Inflation: 3% (standard)
• Focus: Building habits

Family Building (30s-40s)

With more financial commitments and mid-career stability, a balanced approach works well.

• Earnings growth: 3-4% (steady progression)
• Investment returns: 6-8% (balanced approach)
• Property growth: 3-4% (if owning)
• Focus: Balance and stability

Pre-Retirement (50s-60s)

As retirement approaches, shifting toward more conservative assumptions protects against late-stage volatility.

• Earnings growth: 2-3% (plateau phase)
• Investment returns: 5-7% (more conservative)
• Inflation: 3-4% (protective)
• Focus: Preservation

Retirement (65+)

In retirement, preserving capital and generating income take priority over growth.

• Investment returns: 4-6% (conservative)
• Inflation: 3-4% (fixed income concern)
• Focus: Income generation

Best Practices

Be Conservative

It's better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed. Use realistic, slightly conservative estimates.

Use Real Rates

Base growth rates on actual data:

• Check your bank's interest rates
• Look at your investment history
• Research local property trends

Review Annually

Economic conditions change. Review and adjust your rates yearly.

Inflation is Handled Automatically

Doughsense calculates real returns for you. If inflation is 3% and your savings earn 2%, the system knows you're losing purchasing power and shows this in projections. Just enter nominal rates - the math is done behind the scenes.

Match Your Reality

Your settings should reflect how you actually live. If you're cautious with money, use lower investment returns. If you save aggressively and have evidence of higher returns, set rates accordingly. Stable employment supports steady earnings growth assumptions, while variable or freelance income calls for more conservative estimates.

Common Setups

The Conservative Planner

• Inflation: 3.5%
• Savings: 1.5%
• Investments: 5%
• Property: 2%
• Earnings: 2%

The Balanced Approach

• Inflation: 3%
• Savings: 2%
• Investments: 7%
• Property: 3%
• Earnings: 3%

The Optimistic Investor

• Inflation: 2.5%
• Savings: 3%
• Investments: 9%
• Property: 4%
• Earnings: 5%

Troubleshooting

Projections seem too optimistic? Lower your growth rates - better safe than sorry.

Not seeing enough growth? Check if inflation is outpacing your returns.

Confused about what to set? Start with the "Balanced Approach" and adjust based on your experience.

Your Personalisation Checklist

• Set your primary currency
• Add any foreign currencies you use
• Confirm your birth month and year (set during onboarding)
• Set inflation expectations
• Configure savings account rates
• Choose investment return assumptions
• Set property appreciation (if applicable)
• Configure vehicle depreciation (if applicable)
• Estimate earnings growth
• Enable Cash Flow Sweep (if you want surplus to accumulate)
• Select your sweep account (where leftover money goes)
• Set up tax allowances for ISA/pension limits (if applicable)

What's Next?

These settings shape your entire financial projection. Take time to set them thoughtfully, but don't stress about perfection. You can always adjust as you learn more about your financial patterns.

• Managing Your Finances to see how your settings feed into budgets and projections
• Plan your financial future with personalised growth assumptions