13 Personal Finance Calculators Everyone Should Use

by Richard Moore

There are so many free financial calculators online. It would be silly not to use them. Here are thirteen personal finance calculators that we all should use to help us make better financial decisions.

Money is about the numbers.

A prudent person should understand that he or she would be better off using calculators rather than making decisions based on assumptions and intuition.

The benefit of online personal finance calculators is that they can help you analyze your options and determine which is most prudent for you. Moreover, a majority of these online calculators are free, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t use them. Here are 13 personal finance calculators that everyone should use.

1. Home Affordability Calculator

This calculator helps you determine how much you can spend when acquiring a home. It considers several factors like estimated monthly income, existing debts, etc. in order to arrive at an accurate estimate of exactly how much you have available to finance your mortgage payment.

The Home Affordability Calculator is available and free to use at Money.CNN.com.

Related: How Not To Become House Poor

2. Home Rent Versus Buy Calculator

There are times when it is more convenient and less expensive to rent a house instead of buying one.

This calculator helps you make the right choice by considering several factors like how long you intend to stay in the home, taxes, and mortgage details among others. It compares and contrasts the common expenses associated with owning a home and renting one. It then applies this information to your situation. The end result of using this calculator is that you get a good idea of which option is best for you.

This calculator available and free to use at nerdwallet.com.

Expert Interview: Rent or Buy in Retirement?

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3. Retirement Savings Calculator

How much money do you need to retire? The answer to this question is not so far-fetched with the retirement savings calculator.

This calculator will help you estimate the future value of your retirement savings. It will also help you determine how much you need to save each month in order to reach your retirement goal.

The retirement savings calculator is available and free to use at Kiplinger.com.

Expert Interview: You Didn’t Save Enough for Retirement and You’re 55+

4. Budget Calculator

This calculator enables you to take control of your spending. The purpose of budgeting is to help you allocate your income between your estimated expenses. Budgeting is an essential tool on the path to financial freedom and this calculator helps you to do it better.

It is available and free to use at smartasset.com.

Related: The No-Budget Spending Plan

5. Life Insurance Calculator

A life insurance calculator will provide you with an idea of how much insurance you need to protect and provide for your survivors. If you have loved ones who count on you to care for them, then you should carry life insurance.

The life insurance calculator will provide you with an estimate of how much life insurance coverage would be ideal for your situation. The life insurance calculator is available and free to use at Bankrate.com.

6. Wage Calculator

The wage calculator can convert hourly wage to annual wage and vice versa. It can also factor in your job costs and other work related expenses in order to figure out the real hourly pay.

This calculator is available and free to use at FinancialMentor.com.

7. Net Worth Calculator

A person’s net worth is the total value of his assets minus his liabilities.

The net worth calculator enables you to know where you stand financially. Dave Ramsey has a good one that is free to use at RamseySolutions.com.

8. Debt Payoff Calculator

If you’re trying to determine the best debt payoff strategy for your financial situation, the Debt Snowball Calculator from undebt.it can help you formulate a plan. The calculator allows you to enter all of your outstanding debt balances and interest rates and then provides a payoff schedule based on the debt snowball or avalanche strategies. This way, you can easily compare the two strategies to see which might save you more money or work better with your current budget.

9. Investment Growth Calculator

Instead of waiting for years to see how your investment is growing, this calculator simply gives you an estimate based on compound interest.

It is available and free to use at Investor.gov.

10. Savings Account Calculator

This calculator enables a person to calculate the amount of time it will take to reach a savings goal.

The calculator works with only four parameters, which are current savings balance, future savings goal, amount to be added each month, and annual interest rate. The calculator is available and free to use at FinancialMentor.com.

11. 401k Loan Calculator

If you’re considering borrowing from your 401k, use this calculator at Bankrate.com before you do. It can give you a clear picture of how much it will cost you in retirement savings or, worse, in penalties.

12. Emergency Fund Calculator

You know you should have three to six months’ worth of expenses in your emergency fund, but is that really enough to protect you? This emergency fund calculator at Forbes.com can help you determine a more accurate savings goal.

13. Car Affordability Calculator

The car affordability calculator at Edmunds.com can help ensure you don’t end up with an unaffordable car payment for the next three to eight years. Once you input all of the requested data, it will give you a price range to stay within if you want to keep your budget intact.

Reviewed September 2023

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