| Loan amount owed | Loan amount owed
is the total remaining balance on a loan. If you are uncertain of your exact
balance, enter an estimate that is as close as possible. |
| Loan payment | The payment amount is
your current monthly payment. |
| Loan months Left | The number of
months you have left to make payments on a loan |
| Credit card balance | The
outstanding balance on your credit card. You do not need to include finance
charges, they will be calculated based on your interest rate. |
| Credit card rate | Annual interest
rate you pay on outstanding credit card balances. This calculator assumes
simple interest is charged every month at 1/12th of your annual rate. |
| Credit card payment | Credit card
payments are based on your outstanding balance and annual interest rate. For
this loan comparison, the monthly payment is the amount required to pay off
your credit card in same number of months as your consolidation loan. Your
actual credit card payment may be lower, but will often require many more
payments. |
| Interest rate | Annual interest rate
for your new consolidation loan. |
| Term in months | Number of months
for your new consolidation loan. |
| Up front costs | Any fees you are
required to pay up front to receive this loan. This could include appraisal
fees, loan origination fees, etc. |
| Points | Number of points paid to
for this loan. Points are usually only paid for home equity loans. |
| Rate earned on savings | This is the
rate you would have received if you had put your closing costs into savings.
Enter your short term savings rate. For most people this is currently 4% to
5% annually. |
| Income tax rate | This is your
combined federal and state income tax rates. It is used to determine income
tax savings when you use a home equity loan to consolidate your debt. |
| Loan type | The two most common
loans types, home equity and personal, differ in fees, rates and tax
deductibility of interest. Home equity loans often have higher fees, but
usually have lower rates and a tax deduction for interest paid. Personal
loans do not have a tax deduction for interest paid, and have a higher
interest rate but often have lower fees. These are important considerations
when choosing a loan. |
| Include closing costs in loan | If
you include your closing costs in your loan, your loan balance, monthly
payment and total interest paid will increase. You will, however, be
required to pay less money up front. Including your closing costs in your
loan may be a good option if you do not have funds available, or you can
achieve a relatively high rate of return on your savings. |
