The Personal Finance Calculator: How to Calculate the Most Important Financial Decisions in Your Life

Faerber E. E.0071429069

Is it better to buy or lease a car? How does one calculate an investment return? For that matter, what exactly is an investment return? The Personal Finance Calculator provides noncomplex tools and calculations for assessing current personal wealth, determining how much debt is too much debt, understanding credit card interest rates, and more.Written by Esme Faerber, a McGraw-Hill author renowned for simplifying complex finance topics and explaining their use, this clear, concise book explains simple steps for getting one’s financial life in order and saving money over both the short and long term. Readers will learn how to:* Keep investment costs from undercutting overall returns * Use the popular “Rule of 72″ to estimate investment growth * Determine how much money they will need for retirement”

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Table of contents :
TeamLiB……Page 1
Cover……Page 2
Contents……Page 5
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……Page 9
INTRODUCTION……Page 11
PART ONE Assessing Your Current Wealth……Page 15
#1 How to Determine Your Net Worth……Page 17
#2 How to Determine a Cash In.ows and Out.ows Statement……Page 22
#3 How to Formulate a Budget……Page 26
#4 Time Value of Money and What It Can Do for You……Page 34
#5 Simple Interest and How to Calculate It……Page 36
#6 Compound Interest and How to Determine Future Value……Page 37
#7 What You Need to Know About Nominal Versus Effective Interest Rates and How to Calculate the Effective Rate……Page 44
#8 Present Value and How to Calculate It……Page 47
#9 Annuities and How to Calculate Them……Page 51
#10 How to Determine the Amounts Needed to Fund Your Objectives……Page 66
#11 How to Reconcile Your Checking Account……Page 75
#12 How to Prepare Your Records for Your Tax Accountant……Page 82
PART TWO Managing Your Personal Wealth¡ªDebt……Page 87
#13 Determine Your Debt Capacity……Page 89
#14 How to Determine the Best Source of Credit……Page 91
#15 How to Determine the Annual Percentage Rate Costs of Using Credit Loans……Page 95
#16 How to Determine the Rate of Interest on Your Credit Cards……Page 104
#17 How to Manage Your Debt……Page 108
#18 How Much of a Mortgage Can You Afford?……Page 113
#19 How to Calculate Your Monthly Mortgage Payment……Page 117
#20 How to Determine Your Mortgage Balance……Page 121
#21 Determine Your Mortgage Balance When Additional Principal Payments Are Made……Page 125
#22 Adjustable Rate Mortgages and How They Work……Page 128
#23 Which Type of Mortgage Should You Choose?……Page 135
#24 When Should You Re.nance Your Mortgage?……Page 139
#25 Should You Rent or Buy a House?……Page 141
#26 What You Should Know About Leasing a Car and How a Lease Works……Page 145
#27 Should You Buy, Lease, or Finance Your Car?……Page 150
#28 How to Create a Simple Interest Loan Schedule……Page 156
PART THREE Managing Your Personal Wealth¡ªInvestments……Page 161
#29 Determine Your Investment Objectives……Page 163
#30 Determine Your Risk Tolerance……Page 166
#31 How to Allocate Your Investments……Page 172
#32 How to Determine Your Equity Style in the Selection of Individual Stocks……Page 179
#33 How to Determine Which Types of Bonds to Buy for a Portfolio……Page 185
#34 How to Rebalance Your Portfolio……Page 189
#35 The Rule of 72 and How to Use It to Determine How Long It Will Take to Double Your Money……Page 193
#36 How to Assess and Balance Risk and Return in the Choice of Different Investments……Page 194
#37 How to Calculate a Simple Rate of Return for Stocks and Bonds……Page 200
#38 How to Determine a Rate of Return for a Mutual Fund……Page 204
#39 How to Determine the Yield on Treasury Bills……Page 207
#40 How to Determine the Purchase and Selling Price of Treasury Bills……Page 211
#41 How to Buy and Sell Treasury Securities Directly from the Federal Reserve……Page 215
#42 How to Convert Municipal Bond Yields to Before-Tax Yields……Page 221
#43 Duration and How It Can Help You in the Choice of Bonds for Your Portfolio……Page 225
#44 How to Value Bonds……Page 231
#45 How to Value Common Stock……Page 234
#46 How to Determine the Growth Rate of a Stock……Page 240
#47 How to Analyze and Evaluate Your Common Stocks……Page 243
#48 How to Choose a Mutual Fund……Page 260
#49 How to Determine the Tax Consequences of Buying and Selling Shares in a Mutual Fund……Page 268
#50 How to Determine the Average Cost in Dollar Cost Averaging……Page 273
PART FOUR Planning for Your Future……Page 277
#51 How to Determine Your Future Financial Needs and How to Fund Them……Page 279
#52 How to Determine How Long Your Money Will Last in Retirement and the Amount of the Payment in a Systematic Withdrawal Plan……Page 286
APPENDICES……Page 291
INDEX……Page 301