FinCalc

This is an easy to use financial calculator with three different tabs, all slightly differently configured. There are no number buttons or settings. You simply drag a bunch of sliders around, and watch as your monthly instalment for car finance or home loans gets recalculated, as well as the graphs demonstrating the payment down of capital and total interest. The retirement calculator allows you flex many different parameters relating to savings towards retirement, including your current age and the age at which you plan to retire, as well as your real salary increases and real investment return. You can see how these and other parameters like your current savings, will affect how much you have at retirement as a multiple of your salary at retirement. You can also see a full payment or savings schedule, and each calculator has its own help / info screen. The app also includes force touch from the home screen, as well as for peeks and pops from within the app, utilising the latest iPhone and iPad features.

Car Finance Calculator

The car finance calculator is fairly straightforward.

1. Use the sliders to select everything from the term of the finance period (in months), to the cost of the car, interest rate (p.a.), and any deposit and / or residual.

2. The monthly repayment is automatically calculated as you move any of the sliders, as is the total interest paid by the end of the finance period.

3. Changing the cost of the car will automatically change the deposit and residual amounts (if they are not zero), as the sliders relate to the percentage of each of these parameters, not their amounts.

4. The cost slider has a special ability. If you drag it to either end, it will change the minimum and maximum values of the slider to allow you to enter smaller or bigger amounts. It will either double (if you drag the slider to the maximum position), or halve (if you drag the slider to the minimum position), all the cost slider related amounts.

5. The stepper (+|- buttons), will do the same as above quicker i.e. it will double or halve all the cost slider values.

6. The graph illustrates the balance outstanding and total interest paid at all periods from inception of the finance, until its expiry.

7. The Schedule button at the top right of the screen provides a detailed payment schedule (month by month) with the amount outstanding, payments towards interest and capital, as well as total interest paid.

8. This calculator does not use any specific currency, meaning that you can translate the specific amounts into any currency of your choice.

Home Finance Calculator

The home finance calculator is fairly straightforward.

1. Use the sliders to select everything from the term of the finance period (in years), to the cost of the house, interest rate (p.a.), and any deposit and / or residual.

2. The monthly repayment is automatically calculated as you move any of the sliders, as is the total interest paid by the end of the finance period.

3. Changing the cost of the house will automatically change the deposit and residual amounts (if they are not zero), as the sliders relate to the percentage of each of these parameters, not their amounts.

5. The stepper (+|- buttons), will do the same as above quicker i.e. it will double or halve all the cost slider values.

6. The graph illustrates the balance outstanding and total interest paid at all periods from inception of the finance, until its expiry.

7. The Schedule button at the top right of the screen provides a detailed payment schedule (month by month) with amount outstanding, payments towards interest and capital, as well as total interest paid.

8. This calculator does not use any specific currency, meaning that you can translate the specific amounts into any currency of your choice.

Retirement Calculator

The retirement calculator is also straightforward.

1. Use the sliders to select everything from your pensionable salary, current savings, current age and retirement age, to the rates of contribution, real return on your investment and real salary increases. Real means above inflation.

2. The multiple of salary at retirement (which is equal to your total savings divided by your pensionable salary at retirement), will be calculated automatically.

3. The pensionable salary and current savings sliders are unique in that their maximums and minimums will change if you drag the slider all the way to either end, doubling or halving the values, allowing you to go as high as you want.

4. The pensionable salary and current savings sliders have a special ability. If you drag them to either end, it will change the minimum and maximum values of the slider to allow you to enter smaller or bigger amounts. It will either double (if you drag the slider to the maximum position), or halve (if you drag the slider to the minimum position), all of the respective slider’s’ related amounts.

5. The stepper (+|- buttons), will do the same as above quicker i.e. it will double or halve all of the slider’s’ values.

6. Everything is calculated in real terms, which means after the effects of inflation have been accounted for, or equivalently in todays equivalent terms. You should be looking for multiples of 20 to 30 times to retire on 100% of your pensionable salary.

7. The graph illustrates the multiple of salary at all periods from your current age, until your retirement.

8. The Schedule button at the top right of the screen provides a detailed savings schedule (year by year) with projected real salary and savings, contribution amount, and multiple of salary. Don’t worry about too much about the amounts. Just focus on the multiple.

9. This calculator does not use any specific currency, meaning that you can translate the specific amounts into any currency of your choice.

Important Note: Whereas the calculation for the car finance and home loan is determined upfront, the same does not generally apply for investing for retirement, which typically happens through risky assets or funds of these assets. This calculator is therefore demonstrating how much would be saved if all of the assumptions were borne out over the life of the investment. The actual progression of the investment is guaranteed to be different to this because markets and their returns are uncertain / volatile.

Living Annuity Calculator

The living annuity calculator is also straightforward.

1. Use the sliders to select everything from your initial savings (at retirement or other date of interest), your initial income (which will be maintained in real terms), and the expected real return on your investment. Real means above inflation.

2. The calculator will tell you how long your savings are expected to last. Remember that this is a deterministic calculation and doesn’t account for the uncertainty (volatility) of returns around the expected real return assumption.

Financial Calculator

The financial calculator is slightly more complicated, but allows you to perform calculations more precisely.

Enjoy calculating!!!