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Personalising Doughsense

Make Doughsense work perfectly for your unique financial situation. This guide shows you how to customise settings for accurate projections and a personalised experience.

Getting to Your Settings

Access settings from the Profile tab in the main navigation. Each setting can be changed by tapping 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. Tap "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. Tap "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

Date of Birth

While optional, adding your birth date unlocks powerful age-based features.

What it enables:

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

Privacy: Your date of birth is only used for calculations within the app, never shared.

If you prefer not to share: You can still use Doughsense fully, just without age-based features.

Growth Rate Settings

Growth rates help Doughsense project how your money will change over time. Think of them as your financial weather forecast.

How Doughsense Handles Growth Rates

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

  • Inflation Rate: Automatically uses your profile's inflation setting
  • Savings Rate: Conservative rate for savings accounts
  • Investment Returns: Typical returns for investment accounts
  • Earnings Growth: For salary progression
  • Property Growth: For real estate appreciation
  • 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 Rate" 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

Savings Growth

Interest earned on regular savings accounts.

Using presets:

  • Select "Savings Rate" 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 "Investment Returns" 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%

Setting Up for Different Life Stages

Just Starting Out (20s-30s)

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

Family Building (30s-40s)

  • 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)

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

Retirement (65+)

  • 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

  • Risk-averse? Use lower investment returns
  • Aggressive saver? Might achieve higher rates
  • Stable job? Steady earnings growth
  • Entrepreneur? Variable income

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 Personalization Checklist

  • Set your primary currency
  • Add any foreign currencies you use
  • Enter date of birth for age features
  • Set inflation expectations
  • Configure savings account rates
  • Choose investment return assumptions
  • Set property appreciation (if applicable)
  • Configure vehicle depreciation (if applicable)
  • Estimate earnings growth

Remember

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.

The best settings are: - Based on your actual experience - Slightly conservative - Reviewed regularly - Adjusted as life changes

Pro Tip: After setting up, check your Timeline projections. Do they feel realistic? If not, adjust your rates until the future looks believable.