Your No.1 Resource to the Best Mortgage Loan Calculators & Loan Decision Making

The good news is that there are many loan calculators available as online versions on the internet, or as smart phone and tablet apps. The bad news is that the top ranking search results for "loan calculators" are not always the most useful financial calculator for you.

The purpose of this page to list the most useful online loan (auto, mortgage, home equity) calculators, and offline calculator apps (iPhone, iPad, Android, Chrome OS) in easy to browse lists. There will also be reviews on the best of them based on their features, ease of use, and how helpful in the loan choosing decision process.

Please enjoy and invest well to build a bright future. 

No matter what the uncertainty in the economy, the decision to take up a home loan, or even another car loan require serious considerations.

The same home mortgage loan can lead to very different financial results when it is use to invest in property asset that generates rental income, versus buying a liability when you just want to own a bigger property to live in.

Some other critical factors influencing the loan decision are cash flow projections and what-ifs worst case scenario projections for variable interest rates. In my opinion a great loan calculator will be one that shows you the what-if dollar figures while talking into account these critical factors.

Collating from my rich friend's advice and my own personal experience, I've shortlisted these 3 factors that will affect whether I will take up another loan commitment be it a new mortgage loan or a refinancing of my existing loans.

The first thing I'll consider is the portion of current and future Cash At Hand as a buffer. This is my version of what Warren Buffet calls his margin of error. This cash reserve will help me figure out my "loan endurance", basically how long I can service this loan assuming the worst case of drop in property prices and no income from the property. Its also important to factor in the needs of your other financing commitments and to make sure they are catered for separately.

If you've read some of my other personal finance article, you'll know I'm quite concern about effects of inflation and how it can eat into everyone's personal net wealth. That's why my spreadsheets always take inflation rates into consideration when computing cashflows and real profit. I'll do what-if projections for worst case (might even be the unthinkable deflation) & current (status quo inflation rate) inflation rates, to see if I can take the risk and handle any potential shortfall comfortably.

Considering of interest rates should be a given in any loan decision. As in my inflation considerations, I'll project the impact to my personal finance based on worst case and current interest rates. I don't compute based on best case simple because they tend to distort our thought process and makes me have the "wishful thinking" syndrome. Leaving out the best case scenario keeps me grounded and level headed which I'm sure you'll agree is critical in money matters. Remember to read the fine print to understand how the interest rate is computed for your particular loan terms.