Handling Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer Files

Creating a New File

To create a new empty Mortgage Calculator file, pull down the "File" menu and click on "New Mortgage Calculator File".

In the standard file selection dialog box titled "Create New Mortgage Calculator File", select the disk drive and folder to receive the new file. Then enter a file name. It is normal, but not necessary, to use an extension of .mgc. If you have named a file that already exists, you will be asked whether you want it replaced with a new empty Mortgage Calculator file. If you answer "No", the process is abandoned and the existing file is unharmed. If you answer "Yes", the existing file is deleted.

Opening an Existing File

To open a different Mortgage Calculator file, pull down the "File" menu and click on "Open Mortgage Calculator File".

In the standard file selection dialog box titled "Open a Different Mortgage Calculator File", select the disk drive and folder and filename of the Mortgage Calculator file you wish to process. This dialog box requires you to name an existing file that was created by Mortgage Calculator. You can abandon the process by pressing the "Cancel" button or the "Close Window" icon.

Renaming a File

To save a Mortgage Calculator file under a different filename, in a different folder, or on a different disk drive, pull down the "File" menu and click on "Save Mortgage Calculator File As"

In the standard file selection dialog box titled "Save Mortgage Calculator File As", select the disk drive and folder to receive the renamed file. Then enter a file name. It is normal, but not necessary, to use an extension of .mgc. If you have named a file that already exists, you will be asked whether you want it replaced with the renamed Mortgage Calculator file. If you answer "No", the process is abandoned and the existing file is unharmed. If you answer "Yes", the existing file is deleted.

After the file is saved into the new filename, Mortgage Calculator redirects all new changes to the new filename.

Backing Up Your Files

Its always a good idea to back up your data. To back up your data to a diskette or CD rom follow these steps. Have the data that you want backed up on open on your screen. Use the 'File' menu. Select 'save Mortgage Calculator file as'. A window will pop up the default file name *.mgc. Replace the * with your new file name. Select the 'a' or 'e' drive and click okay. You have now successfully backed up your data. Note: We are not responsible for lost data.

Editing Individual Payments

To edit individual payments click on the "Edit Payments" button.

In the window that opens you can edit each individual payment.

Selecting the payment

10 years are shown on the screen at a time. Click the tab for 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years at the top of the screen to select the time frame that you want to edit.

Now click on the specific payment you want to edit and type in the new payment.

Depending on the type of mortgage the month or payment number will appear in the left column and the year will appear across the top. Each column is a year. The top left payment will be the first payment. Then subsequent payments for that year will move down the column. The next year starts at the top of the next column to the right.

Calculate button

Click the calculate button to update the payments to reflect any changes you have made.

Reset button

Click the reset button to reset all the payments back to the original payment value.

Save

Click the save button to save and exit this window.

Entering Mortgage Data

You may enter the following data for your mortgage. Not all entries are required to figure your mortgage.

Mortgage Name - This is whatever you want to call this mortgage. Name it something that makes sense to you. Like Home Mortgage or 2nd mortgage or beach house mortgage.

Term (years) - This is the length of the loan in years. For a 30 year fixed mortgage you would enter 30.

Interest Rate - This is the interest rate.

Loan Amount - Amount of the mortgage. Note: this is just the amount you borrowed, not the value of your house or what you paid for your house.

Date of Loan - Date of your first payment.

Compounded - Enter how often your mortgage is compounded. If you don't know, chances are the answer is monthly. If you leave this blank, the program will default to monthly.

Pay cycle - How often you pay your mortgage. If you pay each month, then the answer is monthly. This is where you can try out different options like trying bi-weekly to see just how much quicker you could pay off your mortgage by paying half a month's worth every week.

Extra Payment - Here you can enter an extra payment amount. This will be added into every payment over the course of the loan. If you just want to try a few payments or track payment by payment you would use the "Edit payments" button.

See Your Actual Monthly Payment to see how to figure the actual check you write to the bank with taxes and insurance included.

How we do the Mortgage Calculations

The calculations used in the Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer are shown below. We reserve the right to change, fix, alter or otherwise improve on these calculations at any time. Hopefully, this number will get more and more accurate as time goes on and we do new revisions of the calculator.

Payment = (Principal * Interest Rate) / (1-(1+i)~-n) where n = number of payments and i = interest rate

Interest Rate = (1 + Iannual/p) ~ (c/p) ........where p = number of payments each year and c = compound periods per year

Many of these numbers can be changed in the program. For example, the "Pay Cycle" entry on the main screen is how often you make payments. This number times the number of years determines the total number of payments. This number is also used to determine the number of payments per year. There is also an entry called 'Compounded", this entry can be used to change the compounding period.

If you don't know what your compound period or pay cycle is, you can leave this blank. The program will select a standard monthly number for both of these.

In order to be sure that any new data you have entered is used in the final calculations, click on the "Calculate" button.

How to Use Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer

Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer is a software program designed to give borrowers full control and management of their loans. It allows you to track your interest and principal on a payment by payment basis. Any additional payment or shortfall in payment can be entered in and the overall impact on the mortgage or loan calculated.

Printing an Amortization Report

The Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer allows you print an amortization report of your current entries.

To access the report select Tables from the main menu and then View Amortization Table. Then select Print from the window that opens. You can also click on the Amortization Table button.

There are two types of Amortization tables you can view or print out. These are selected by the "Show Only Yearly" checkbox located just below the Amortization Table button. If this box is not checked the amortization table will include an entry for every payment over the life of the loan. If this box is checked, the table will just show the yearly results.

Printing: The report should automatically print to the default Windows printer. How this works may vary from computer to computer. Depending on your network set up, this may not work when printing to a networked printer.

Running the Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer for the First Time

The first time you use Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer, it will open the Example file called Example.mgc. If the example file is not found, the program will automatically create a new file for you called "NewFile.mgc". To rename this file just go to the File Menu and do 'Save Mortgage Calculator File As'. After you have created your first file, Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer remembers the last file you were using.

Once you get a file open, enter your mortgage data into the text boxes.

The data from each entry is automatically saved in the current open file when you exit the program or select another entry or click the "save" button.

Tip: Be sure to have the file opened that you want to make changes to.

The Main Screen

The main screen is where you enter your mortgage or loan details:

Adding a new Mortgage

Click the "Add" button to start a new mortgage. You can also use the "copy" button to copy an existing mortgage. This is useful when you want to try out different scenarios with the same mortgage.

Entering Data

Once you have added or selected the mortgage, you can enter data in the entry boxes to the right of the screen.

See Entering Mortgage Data for more information.

Saving a Mortgage

Click the "Save" button to save the mortgage.

Selecting a Mortgage

A list of your mortgages or loans will appear in the list to the left. You can select the mortgage you want to work on with your mouse or arrow buttons.

Deleting a Mortage

Select the mortgage you want to delete and press the delete button.

Calculating Payment and other information

Click the "Calculate" button to see updated calculations. For more information on Calculations see How we do the Calculations

Edit Payments Button

See Editing Individual Payments

Amortization Table Button

See Printing an Amortization Report

Your Actual Monthly Payment

Your actual monthly payment that you make to the mortgage company may be different than the payment shown in the main screen. This is because there are additional items in most mortgage payments than just the loan. These can include PMI (mortgage insurance), taxes, and your home insurance. To figure this payment you can enter in these numbers in the bottom left of the main screen and the program will figure your total monthly monthly payment. You may leave any or all of these fields blank.

Disclaimer: TSI and www.debtmanagementtool.com are not responsible for any errors or bugs in this program. TSI is not responsible for any loss of any kind by the use of this program. This program is given away as is and is to be used for educational or study purposes. Please see our full disclaimer in the License and Terms file that was included in this software package.

Mortgage software links:

• Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer
• Download Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer
• Mortgage & Loan Calculator Analyzer Software Help

Other Mortgage articles:

           Choosing a Mortgage
           Types of Mortgages
           What are Mortgage Points?
           Refinancing