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Loan Calculator — User Guide

Quick instructions for using the Current and Comparison tabs. Open this guide anytime using the User Guide link.

Quick Start Current Tab Comparison Tab Tips

Quick Start 60 seconds

  1. Go to the Current tab and enter the loan details (amount, rate, term).
  2. Review the results (payment, total interest, total cost).
  3. Switch to Comparison to test a new scenario.
  4. Edit Revised Rate and/or Revised Term to see how the numbers change.
  5. Use Reset to Current if you want to start the comparison over from the baseline.

Good to know: Differences can be driven by rate, term, or both. That’s the point — you can test “same term / lower rate”, “same rate / shorter term”, or “both”.

In this guide

1) Current tab: baseline loan 2) Comparison tab: revised scenario 3) Reset to Current 4) Understanding results 5) Tips & common scenarios 6) Phone & tablet use 7) Troubleshooting

1) Current tab — set the baseline

The Current tab represents “today’s loan”. Enter the numbers as they exist now, then generate results.

  1. Amount Financed: enter the principal amount.
  2. Interest Rate: enter the annual rate (APR-style).
  3. Term: enter the loan length in years.
  4. Confirm the results update after you calculate (payment and totals).

Tip: If you’re presenting to a guest, keep the Current tab as your “truth baseline” and do all experimenting in Comparison.

2) Comparison tab — test a revised plan

The Comparison tab lets you compare the baseline against a revised scenario. You’ll see both side-by-side plus differences.

  1. Current (comparison side): shows the baseline rate/term you’re comparing against.
  2. Revised Rate: this can start empty and shows a placeholder like e.g. 12.00.
  3. Revised Term: enter the new term (years).
  4. Review the updated results and the “difference” callouts.

Reset to Current will restore the Comparison inputs back to the baseline, so you can try a new scenario quickly.

4) Understanding the results

The calculator focuses on a few key outputs:

  1. Monthly Payment: what you pay each month for that scenario.
  2. Total Interest: interest paid over the full term.
  3. Total Cost: principal + interest combined.
  4. Differences: what changes between Current and Revised (payment and/or total cost).

If you change the term, you may see a payment that looks “better” but a total cost that looks “worse” (or vice versa). That’s normal — term changes shift where the cost shows up.

5) Tips & common scenarios

  1. Lower rate, same term: usually lowers payment and saves interest.
  2. Same rate, shorter term: higher payment, but big interest savings.
  3. Lower rate + shorter term: the “power combo” for interest reduction.
  4. Longer term: can reduce payment, but typically increases total interest.

Presentation move: start with “same term / improved rate” first. If the payment doesn’t land, then show “shorter term” to spotlight long-term savings.

6) Phone & tablet use

This calculator is designed to work in modern mobile browsers (iOS Safari/Chrome, Android Chrome/Samsung Internet).

  1. Rotate your phone if you want a wider view of side-by-side results.
  2. If the keyboard covers an input, tap outside the field to dismiss it.
  3. Use the User Guide link anytime — it opens in a separate tab/window.

7) Troubleshooting

  1. No results? Make sure amount, rate, and term are entered for the scenario you’re calculating.
  2. Weird decimals? Enter rates like 12.00 (don’t include the % symbol).
  3. Comparison looks off? Use Reset to Current to re-sync baseline values.
  4. Stale page? On phones, refresh (or close/reopen) if the browser cached an older version after you deployed updates.
Difference driven by rate and/or term.