Guides & Articles
Practical, plain-English guides to go with our calculators — 78 articles and counting.
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Financial Calculators
Discount Calculator Guide
Sequential discounts multiply, not add. See why 30% off plus 20% off equals 44% total savings, not 50%, and how to compare stacked deals correctly.
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Financial Calculators
Business Loan Calculator Guide
Lenders size business loans around cash flow, not your credit score. Learn how debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR) drives approval and loan amount.
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Financial Calculators
Real Estate Calculator Guide
Learn how to read cash-on-cash return as your first-pass filter for a rental property, with a worked example and the mistakes that sink new investors.
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Financial Calculators
Take-Home-Paycheck Calculator Guide
Pre-tax deductions come out before withholding is calculated. Here's the order of operations and why raising your 401(k) shrinks your paycheck less than you'd think.
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Financial Calculators
Personal Loan Calculator Guide
How credit score sets your personal loan APR, and the math for deciding between a fixed-rate loan and a 0% intro APR credit card.
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Financial Calculators
Boat Loan Calculator Guide
Why boat loans get approved (or denied) differently than car loans — depreciation curves, required insurance, and documentation lenders check.
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Financial Calculators
Lease Calculator Guide
How to decide whether to lease or buy business equipment, including how the tax treatment of each option differs.
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Financial Calculators
Refinance Calculator Guide
Learn how to calculate your refinance break-even point and when a lower rate is (and isn't) worth the closing costs.
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Financial Calculators
Budget Calculator Guide
How the 50/30/20 budgeting rule works, and how to adjust it realistically when needs alone exceed 50% of your income.
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Financial Calculators
Rental Property Calculator Guide
Learn how cap rate and cash-on-cash return can disagree on the same rental property, and which one should drive your buy decision.
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Financial Calculators
IRR Calculator Guide
Two investments can share the same ROI and have wildly different IRRs. Learn why timing — not just total return — determines which deal actually wins.
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Financial Calculators
ROI Calculator Guide
Learn how to annualize ROI into CAGR so you can fairly compare investments held for different lengths of time, plus common comparison mistakes to avoid.