Peter Alfeld, --- Department of Mathematics, --- College of Science --- University of Utah

A Financial Calculator

However, your browser does not support Java. If it did you would not see this message! Get a java compatible browser such as Netscape, of a sufficiently advanced version.


 

The applet on this page let's you bring up a financial calculator that you can use to compute your loan payments, examine the evolution of your savings, or plan your retirement.

The calculator let's you explore the connections between 5 financial parameters:

Examples

The menu below let's you look at several detailed examples showing the calculator, a plot of the payment plan, and a detailed table of payments.

User's Guide

The image nearby shows what you should see on your screen after clicking on the applet.

You need to specify the contents of four of the blue textfields and then click on the button labeled compute next to the fifth. The Calculator will compute the value of the fifth parameter and display it in the corresponding text window. You can also print or plot a payment plan.

Following is an explanation of the individual items on the Calculator:

Let's now go through the rows and explain the features of each.

The Mathematics

Since this is a mathematic page I'll have to tell you what's happening inside the Calculator.

(1)

Then it is a simple exercise to verify that the key equation linking our five parameters is

(2)

This equation can be solved explicitly for four of the five parameters:

(3)

To solve (2) for p a simple numerical technique (bisection) is used.

Downloading and Running Standalone

You can download this code and run it without a browser. You need two files

Download the files and invoke Loan.class like you would any Java code. For example, on a Unix system you type java Loan

Last change: [13-Mar-1999]

Copyright © 1998 Department of Mathematics, University of Utah