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Everyday Financial Calculators

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It’s never too early to learn how to manage money. Keeping track of where you spend your money and how much you earn teaches you to save up and set goals. Learning to budget is an important skill to have. When you spend more than you earn, then you have to borrow from other people. You have to pay them back before you can take care of your own needs and wants.

Budgeting is about separating your wants from your needs. You have to pay for your needs before you can save up for the things you want. There are short-term budgets and long-term budgets. Short-term budgets are useful for calculating whether your weekly allowance is enough to buy candy after school. Long-term budgets help you find out whether you’ll be able to afford an expensive present for a family member’s birthday.

As you get older, you’ll find out budgeting has more and more uses. It can put you in the right position to buy your own car. If you have good credit, you’ll be able to buy a new car and pay monthly car payments. “Credit” means that you have a reputation of paying your debts on time, and you earn more money than you owe.

Establishing good saving habits early prepares you for college. Most students need financial aid to offset the expenses of going to college. College costs more than tuition. There are living expenses, textbook costs, and meals to worry about. When you calculate your expected college expenses and match them to your financial aid package, you will know whether you’ll need to add to that income through a part-time job or a work study program.

Sometimes when adults need extra money to finance an unattainable item, they take out a loan. The most common type of loan is a mortgage. A mortgage is a loan from the bank to a person who wants to buy a house. The buyer pays a relatively small down payment. Then, the bank pays the rest of the money on the buyer’s behalf. The buyer has to pay the bank a monthly payment. If the buyer doesn’t pay, the bank can take the house. People who own their own businesses may take out a business loan to start operating. When they earn enough profits, they start paying the loan back.

People who have loans have to pay interest. Interest is a small percentage that’s added to the loan. It’s a way of compensating the lender for the risk that you don’t pay back the money. If you never pay back your loan, then you go into default. Default means that the lender is allowed to take your belongings to go towards the value of the loan.

One of the best ways to learn how to save money is to watch your parents. Believe it or not, your parents budget and save every day. They calculate how much allowance to pay you and they make monthly plans to figure out what kind of lifestyle you can afford to have. Sometimes, parents have to say no when you ask for an expensive toy because they know that they need to spend the money on something more important. You can use a spend management strategy for more help.

The reward for decades of hard work is a retirement fund. Retirement funds allow elderly people to live out their remaining years in comfort. There are many different ways to save up for retirement. One way is through a 401k plan. Employers offer 401k plans to their workers. Both the employer and the employee contribute small amounts to the plan. It’s a long-term savings plan to make sure that people don’t have to work hard for their entire lives. Business owners can choose a private retirement savings plan.

Personal Loan

Budget Calculator

  • Household Budget Calculator: This calculator shows everything your family might probably has to spend money on each month.
  • Monthly Finances Calculator: A calculator helps you determine how much money you need to pay the bills each month.
  • Simple Budget Calculator: Your monthly budget is the amount of money you need to set aside for basic needs.
  • Detailed Budget Calculator: This calculator is a little more complex than the others, but it can really help you understand all the different expenses included in a budget.

Debt Consolidation

College Financial Aid

Auto Loan Calculator

Retirement Savings Calculator

Calculators for Kids

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Written by Ryan Hammill

Ryan Hammill is the Business Pundit Editor for Entrepreneurship and for Policy. He is also COO of Syndicate Media Group, LLC, a digital media agency and start-up accelerator in Eugene, OR. He writes on topics including public policy, SEO, education, and religion. His writing has appeared in a variety of places, including Aleteia, The Federalist, and Sojourners. You can follow him on Twitter via @HammillRyan.