Guides
Plain-English explanations of the money topics behind your plan. Reading is optional. They're general information, not financial advice.
About you
Guide me or Jump right in?
Two ways to build your plan. Both end in the same forecast; they differ only in pace.
Read guideIf a menu link doesn’t open
What happens when you tap Dashboard, Planning, Savings, Property or Help, and what to do if a page is slow to open.
Read guidePlanning as a couple
A joint plan should show both people’s income, ages and needs, including what happens if one person’s circumstances change.
Read guideUsing FLYNQD on your phone
Add FLYNQD to your home screen so it opens like an app, and use the menu to move between pages.
Read guideStarting or continuing your plan
One button on the home page either starts a plan or reopens the one already in this browser.
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Forecast
Understanding your forecast
Your forecast shows how your money could change year by year, based on your figures and assumptions.
Read guideAssumptions, inflation and uncertainty
Every forecast rests on assumptions about growth, inflation and how long you live. Change them to see how sensitive your plan is.
Read guide
Your priorities
Balancing lifestyle, tax, retirement timing and legacy
Most plans can’t maximise everything. Ranking what matters helps you choose between trade-offs.
Read guide
Savings
Emergency funds and accessible cash
Keep some money you can reach quickly so a surprise bill doesn’t force you to sell investments or borrow.
Read guideInterest, inflation and savings tax
Cash is safe from market falls but can lose value to inflation. Interest outside an ISA may be taxable.
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Investments
Risk, growth and diversification
Investments can grow faster than cash over long periods but can fall in value. Spreading money reduces reliance on any one investment.
Read guideUnderstanding fees
Small yearly fees compound over time and reduce what you end up with.
Read guideAn overall total or separate accounts
You can enter one overall figure, list accounts separately, or list some accounts while keeping the overall figure.
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Property
Your home’s role in retirement
Your home is wealth, but it doesn’t pay bills unless you sell, downsize or borrow against it.
Read guideBuying, downsizing and rental property
Moving releases money only after the mortgage, moving costs and the price of your next home.
Read guideBuying your first home
Set a price and deposit target, then see how your monthly saving builds towards it.
Read guideRenting or buying
Compare buying now, renting then buying, and keeping renting from the same starting savings.
Read guide
Other assets
Valuing possessions
Value possessions at what you could realistically sell them for, not what you paid.
Read guideWhen an asset becomes spendable money
An asset counts towards spending only once you plan to sell it, and after selling costs and any tax.
Read guide
Debt
Understanding interest and repayments
Interest adds to what you owe; repayments reduce it. The rate and term together set the total cost.
Read guideDebt in retirement
Debt that outlasts your working life comes out of a smaller income.
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Loans
Money owed to you
Loans to family or a business are assets, but only if and when they’re repaid.
Read guideRepayment delays and their effect on your plan
If money owed to you arrives late, your plan may need to draw on savings in the meantime.
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Retirement
Retirement mistakes that could be avoided
Retirement planning involves more than choosing when to stop working. It means deciding how you want to live, what your money needs to cover and how you’ll adapt when circumstances change.
Read guidePension types explained
The State Pension, defined benefit (final salary) and defined contribution pensions work differently.
Read guideSemi-retirement
Working fewer hours before fully retiring can reduce how much you draw from savings early on.
Read guideWithdrawal order
The order you draw on accounts affects tax and how long money lasts.
Read guideEarly retirement and FIRE
Retiring early means savings must last longer and bridge the years before pensions can be taken.
Read guide
Care costs
Planning for care
Care can range from occasional help at home to residential care. Planning ahead shows what your money could cover.
Read guideFunding rules across the UK
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different means tests and limits.
Read guideProtecting a partner’s needs
If one partner needs care, the other still needs a home and income.
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Planning
Comparing scenarios without changing your saved plan
Try a change and compare it to your plan. Nothing is saved until you choose to apply it.
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Tax
Tax in retirement
Pensions and most other income are taxable above your Personal Allowance.
Read guideCalendar years, tax years and when tax is paid
Tax is worked out for each UK tax year, but the cash can leave your account at a different time.
Read guideCapital Gains Tax: gains, losses and rates
Capital Gains Tax is charged when you dispose of something that has gone up in value, not while you hold it.
Read guideChecking your tax against HMRC's figures
For a completed tax year, you can compare FLYNQD's calculation with what HMRC says was due.
Read guideChecking a tax calculation document
On the Tax page you can open an HMRC tax calculation and see whether FLYNQD's own calculation agrees with it, figure by figure.
Read guidePension withdrawals and contribution limits
Taking taxable money flexibly from a pension can lower how much you can pay in with tax relief afterwards.
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Reports
Understanding and sharing your plan
Reports summarise your plan so you can review it or share it with someone you trust.
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