Financial basics··5 min read
What a £3,000 Pay Rise Is Actually Worth📊 Worked example
A £3,000 raise sounds like £250 a month. A basic rate taxpayer keeps £180, a higher rate taxpayer £145, and someone in the 60% trap keeps just £95.
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Thoughts on household finances and how CrestCast can help.
Start with a guide
Three roll-ups that frame a topic, group the articles that answer it, and point at the calculators for the parts that are arithmetic.
- Mortgages and property →
Upsize, downsize, buy or rent, overpay, buy-to-let and solar. Eight guides and five calculators.
- Saving and investing →
How much stays in cash, pension against ISA, and what a pot is worth by the date you need it.
- When your income changes →
A pay rise, four days a week, parental leave, a new baby and redundancy, worked through properly.
Financial basics··5 min read
When Do Your Assets Outweigh Your Debts?📖 Explainer
On a 30-year mortgage with flat house prices, it takes about 18 years to own more of your home than the bank does. What moves that date, and by how much.
Read more →Financial basics··5 min read
How Accurate Is a Financial Forecast, Really?📖 Explainer
"Nobody can predict the future" is a fair objection to a financial forecast, and also slightly beside the point. This is what actually drives the accuracy of a household forecast, and where the real uncertainty lives.
Read more →Financial basics··5 min read
The Three-Way Financial Model: Why Businesses Use It, and Why Your Household Should Too📊 Worked example
Most companies of any size run on three linked financial statements, updated together as one model. Here's what 'three-way' actually means, and why a household forecast needs the same structure to be worth anything.
Read more →Financial basics··8 min read
UK Net Worth by Age: How Do You Actually Compare?📖 Explainer
Net worth benchmarks get shared a lot and understood poorly. The real question is bigger than one number. Net worth, P&L, and cashflow can all tell a different story about the same household.
Read more →Financial basics··5 min read
Redundancy-Proofing Your Finances📊 Worked example
The standard advice is three to six months of expenses in an emergency fund. For a household with a mortgage and one income doing most of the heavy lifting, that number often falls short. This is how to calculate your own.
Read more →Financial basics··5 min read
How a Loan Works: Interest, Equity, and the Real Cost of Borrowing📊 Worked example
Every loan repayment contains two components, and only one of them builds your wealth. Understanding the split between interest and capital is fundamental to understanding your mortgage.
Read more →Financial basics··5 min read
Cash Flow Forecast vs Profit and Loss: What's the Difference and Why Does It Matter?📊 Worked example
A cash flow forecast and a profit and loss statement measure completely different things. Understanding the gap between profit and cash, and why a healthy P&L can still leave you short, is one of the most practically useful things you can learn about your finances.
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