Which calculator should I use for a loan or mortgage question?
Start with what you are solving for. If you know the price, deposit and rate and want the monthly figure, use the Mortgage Calculator for property or the Auto Loan Calculator for a car. If you want to see how each payment splits between interest and principal over time, the Amortization Calculator shows the full schedule.
For any generic instalment loan, the Loan Calculator is the fastest route. If the debt is on a card rather than a fixed term, use the Credit Card Payoff Calculator, which tells you how many months a chosen monthly payment will actually take.
How to check whether a salary or contract rate is worth it
Pay is quoted in whatever unit suits the employer, so the first job is converting everything to one basis. The Hourly to Salary Calculator and the Salary to Hourly Calculator move between the two so you can compare a contract offer with a permanent one honestly. If you are paid fortnightly, the Biweekly Pay Calculator shows what actually lands per paycheque.
Two things people forget: overtime and inflation. Run extra hours through the Overtime Calculator before assuming a lower base rate is worse, and use the Pay Raise Calculator to see what a percentage increase is worth in cash before you accept it.
What savings and investment calculators can and can't tell you
They handle the arithmetic of growth perfectly and predict the future not at all. The Compound Interest Calculator shows exactly what a balance becomes at a given rate, and the Savings Goal Calculator works backwards to the monthly deposit a target requires. Both assume the rate holds, which real markets do not guarantee.
Use them for direction, not prophecy. The Rule of 72 Calculator is a useful sanity check on any advertised return, and the Inflation Calculator reminds you that a nominal gain is not always a real one. For business returns, the ROI Calculator compares options on the same footing.
Frequently asked questions
- How much house can I afford on my salary?
- A common guideline is that total housing costs stay under about 28% of gross monthly income, and all debt payments under about 36%. Check yours with the debt-to-income calculator, then work backwards using the mortgage calculator until the monthly payment fits.
- What is the difference between margin and markup?
- Margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price; markup is profit as a percentage of the cost. A 50% markup on a $100 cost gives a $150 price, which is a 33% margin — the same trade described two ways.
- Is it better to pay off debt or save?
- Compare the interest rate on the debt with the return you would earn on savings. If a card charges 20% and a savings account pays 4%, paying the debt wins by a wide margin.
- How accurate are online loan calculators?
- The maths is exact, but the output is only as good as the inputs. Real quotes add arrangement fees, insurance, taxes and sometimes a different compounding convention, so your actual payment can differ by a few percent.
- What does APY mean and how is it different from interest rate?
- APY is the annual percentage yield — the effective return after compounding is included, while a stated interest rate usually ignores compounding frequency. A 5% rate compounded monthly gives an APY slightly above 5%.