|
To perform a calculation, one must select an UNKNOWN variable from the 4 (or 5 in lease mode) financial variables, and enter numeric values for the remaining variables. By default, the program first starts with PAYMENT as the unknown variable, and provides default numeric values for the other variables. (Later, the program will start with the loan/lease that was
last performed).
The financial variables available are described below:
| - |
AMOUNT: |
the loan/lease principal, total amount borrowed |
| - |
INTEREST: |
annual interest rate for the loan |
| - |
PERIODS: |
number of payment periods in the loan;
e.g. a 3-year loan compounded monthly would include 36 payment periods |
| - |
PAYMENT: |
amount due at each payment period |
| - |
RESIDUAL: |
for lease calculations, the residual amount at the conclusion of the loan |
| - |
EXTRA COST: |
for APR calculations, the sum of the additional fees incurred at the beginning of the loan, such as the closing cost, the points, the document fees, and so on. |
Of the 4 financial variables involved in a loan calculation,
one can freely specify 3 of them. The value for the final
variable is determined from the other three. This dependent
variable is called the "unknown" and is selected by the user.
The current UNKNOWN variable is highlighted by both a radio
button and a bold variable name. To set another variable as
the unknown, select that variable's name.
To change the NUMERIC VALUES for the other variables, click
on the current numeric value of the desired variable. This
will place a data-entry box around the current value. Data
can now be entered using the numeric keypad at the lower-right
of the screen.
Hitting the "back arrow" will delete the last number entered,
whereas hitting "Clr" will clear the entire entry. The "Enter"
key is provided for redundancy; the loan calculator updates
automatically after each number is entered.
One can TOGGLE the interest variable. Specifically, one can
select either INTEREST or MONEY FACTOR.
To perform a LEASE calculation, click the "Lease" button at
the bottom of the screen. This will enable a 5th financial
variable (Residual Value, that can be percentage or dollar amount) to enter the calculations. To change back to a LOAN calculation, click the "Loan" botton.
To view a payment schedule for a given loan/lease calculation,
click the "Schedule" button at the bottom of the screen. This
will provide a screen showing 12 consecutive payments, where each
payment period is assumed to be 1 month. By default, the first
screen corresponds to the first "year" of the loan. To change
the year, select "year" at the top of the screen to obtain a
pull-down menu with the available years, and select another year.
One can also change the output variables by picking on one of
the variable names to obtain a pull-down menu.
| 
