Guides
Guides
Short explanations of the ideas behind the product. They are not personal advice and they do not replace the tax year named on a calculator.
- How a monthly budget worksA budget is a plan for a month. It is not the same thing as the transactions that have already happened.
- Reading a cashflow forecastA forecast is a month-by-month illustration built from balances, income, bills and the assumptions you choose.
- What makes up take-home payGross salary is not the amount that reaches your bank account. Tax, National Insurance, student loans and pensions are deducted in a set order.
- Student loans and take-home payThe repayment depends on income over a threshold, not on the size of the balance, until the final payment.
- Pension contribution methodsSalary sacrifice, net pay and relief at source are not the same, even when the percentage looks identical.
- Emergency fundsAn emergency fund is cash you can reach, sized from the costs you could not drop quickly.
- Mortgage overpaymentsPaying more than the contractual amount usually reduces interest and can shorten the term. It can also trigger a charge.