MORTGAGE
Mortgage amount - Original or expected balance for your
mortgage.
Interest rate - Annual interest rate for this mortgage.
Term in years - The number of years over which you will repay
this loan. The most common mortgage terms are 15 years and 30 years.
Monthly payment - Monthly principal and interest payment (PI).
Total payments - Total of all monthly payments over the full term of the mortgage.
This total payment amount assumes that there are no prepayments of principal.
$1,200.
Total interest - Total of all interest paid over the full term of the mortgage.
This total interest amount assumes that there are no prepayments of principal.
Prepayment type - The frequency of prepayment. The options are none, monthly,
yearly and a one-time payment.
Prepayment amount - Amount that will be prepaid on your mortgage. This amount
will be applied to the mortgages principal balance, based on the prepayment
type.
LOANS
Monthly - payment Monthly payment for this loan.
Interest rate - Annual interest rate for this loan. Interest is
calculated monthly on the current outstanding balance of your loan at 1/12
of the annual
rate.
Term - Number of months for this loan.
Loan amount - Total amount of your loan.
NET WORTH
Home - Current value of your home. This should be as close as possible to
the actual market value of your home. If you have owned your home for a number
of years, the current market value could be significantly higher than your
original purchase price.
Other real-estate - The value of any other real-estate you may own. Include
second homes, undeveloped land, rental property or any commercial buildings
you may
have an interest in. As with your home, use the actual market value of this
real-estate.
Automobiles - This is the total value of all automobiles that you own. Do not
include any leased vehicles.
Other vehicles - If you own any other vehicles, such as RVs, campers or collectibles,
enter them here.
Jewelry - The value of any jewelry, gems or precious metals such as gold. If
you have owned these items for a number of years they may have appreciated
in price, remember to use the current market value.
Household items - The value of your household goods and items. This would include
items such as furniture, home electronics, silverware, etc.
Checking and savings - The current total balance of your checking and savings
accounts.
Retirement accounts - The current total balance of your retirement accounts.
This should include IRAs, 401(k) savings, SEP IRAs, variable annuities and
any other retirement savings you may have.
Savings bonds - If you own any Savings Bonds enter the total here.
Bonds - If you own any Treasury, municipal, or commercial bonds enter the total
here.
Mutual funds - If you own any mutual funds, enter the total
here. Do not include any mutual funds that are in your retirement accounts,
they were already included
in the "Retirement accounts" line.
Stocks - If you own any individual stocks, enter the total here. Again, do
not include any stocks that are held in a retirement account.
Cash value of life insurance - Some life insurance has a cash value. This is
true for Whole Life and Universal Life policies. Term Life policies, on the
other hand, have no cash value. If you have life insurance with a cash value,
enter the total here. Remember, this should be the cash value of the policy,
not the amount paid out if you were to collect on the policy.
Cash - If you have any other cash, enter the total here.
Other - If you have any other assets of value, you can enter the total here.
Home mortgage principal - This is the current principal balance remaining on
your mortgage. This is the amount that you would have to pay to own your home
free and clear.
Other mortgage principal - This is the current principal balance for any other
real-estate mortgages you may have. This includes mortgages on rental property,
undeveloped land, commercial property or any other real-estate.
Auto loans - Total amount you currently have outstanding on your auto loans.
Student loans - Total amount, if any, that you currently owe in college or
student loans. You should enter the total outstanding even if these loans are
currently
in deferment.
Other loans - Total amount, if any, of any other loans you may have.
Credit card debt - Your total credit card debt.
DEBT MANAGEMENT
Credit cards - Enter up to 10 credit card accounts, one on each line.
Balances - Enter up to 10 credit card accounts, one on each line.
Interest rates - The average annual percentage rate you pay. This interest
rate is calculated for each of the categories of debt you have including credit
cards, Auto Loans and other installment loans. For credit cards the rate you
enter is used to calculate the interest on all future credit card payments.
The length of time to pay off this credit card may be much greater than calculated
if you enter a low promotional interest rate that is only good for a short
period of time.
Auto loans - Click on the details button to enter any auto loans you may have.
The details page is designed to let you enter your current monthly payment,
the term (in months), the starting balance, the number of months you have
left. It then calculates your outstanding balance and interest rate. You can
enter up to three installment loans.
Other loans - Click on the details button to enter any additional installment
loans you may have. The details page is designed to let you enter your current
monthly payment, the term (in months), the starting balance, and the number
of months you have left. It then calculates your outstanding balance and interest
rate. You can enter up to six installment loans.
Payment - This is your initial monthly payment. For credit
cards, if you checked the "use credit card minimum payments" box, your monthly payment
is calculated as 2% of your current outstanding balance. With the "use
credit card minimum payments" box checked, your monthly payment will
decrease as your balance is paid down. This can greatly increase the length
of time it takes to pay off your credit cards. Uncheck this box to enter your
own monthly payment that will remain the same until your balance is paid in
full.
( We calculate your minimum monthly payment as 2% of your current outstanding
balance. While your actual minimum monthly payment may be slightly different,
this is one of the most common methods used by credit card companies to calculate
minimum payments.)
COLLEGE SAVINGS
Age of children - Current age of your children. This calculator is
based on each child beginning their college education at age 18. The difference
between their
current age and 18 is the number of years you have to save.
Annual tuition - Current estimated cost of one year of tuition and books. This
amount should be per child and be specific to the school they may be interested
in attending. The cost of college for the 2001-02 school year, including tuition,
room and board, books, supplies, transportation and other personal expenses,
as reported by the College Board was $12,000 for one year at a four-year public
college and $26,000 for one year at a four-year private college. For the purposes
of this calculator all expenses are assumed to be due at the end of the year.
Room and board - Current estimated cost of one-year room and board. Like tuition
and books, this amount should be per child and specific to the school they
may be interested in attending. For the purposes of this calculator all expenses
are assumed to be due at the end of the year.
Education cost inflation - This is the percentage that you expect educational
costs to increase per year.
Current amount - The total amount you currently have saved for your child's
(or children's) education.
Monthly contributions - The dollar amount you plan to save per month toward
your child's (or children's) education. All amounts are assumed to be added
to your
account at the beginning of the month.
Rate of return - The annual percentage rate you expect to earn on your educational
savings. The average annual rate of return for the U.S. stock market has been
about 11%. You may wish to use a more conservative rate of return if your child
is within 10 years of enrolling in school. This calculator compounds all growth
annually. For the purposes of this calculator, taxation is not factored into
the results. If you pay taxes on the interest, dividends or capital gains from
these investments you may wish to enter your after-tax rate of return.
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