Financial Planning Calculators – Our 5 Most Popular
By Dee (Dewi) Chan, Financial Advisor
Everybody loves an online calculator. Calculators ask us to input some basic information, and then make quick work of figuring out the most complex computations for us. And they’re kind of fun.
There are thousands of calculators online that help millions of people figure things out every day. From calculators that help us determine our body mass index to ones that track calories for us and even organise our monthly budgets, there’s a calculator out there to make mathematical life a little bit easier for everyone.
We’ve all used an online calculator for something. Maybe not all; but if you haven’t, it’s time to check a few out. Many of us use online calculators to generate information every day. It’s hard to remember a time when converting dollars to pesos, kilometres to miles and Fahrenheit to centigrade wasn’t a few clicks away.
Even some of our most complex multi-step calculations are done online, such as income taxes and banking.
Many of the most popular online calculators incorporate just a few simple input tools, often in the form of a questionnaire. This input is then calculated to inform us about our financial state and its probable outlook over time.
From the privacy of our own computer monitors, we can swap values in and out that can show us how different financial behaviours and income changes can change our financial picture. This can be very inspiring in setting financial as well as career goals. Online calculators will never judge us. They won’t laugh at us when we’re trying to determine whether we can afford another credit card or a vintage car. They can be quite useful. They’re also a great step to take in preparing for the first appointment with a financial planner.
At Blueprint Wealth, Our Top 5 Online Financial Planning Calculators Are:
Do You Need a Retirement Plan Calculator
This is a quiz-style calculator. It asks a few basic questions regarding age, income and outstanding debts. It determines your current level of retirement planning and knowledge.
How Much Do You Need to Retire Calculator
This calculator factors in variables such as income, super and super contributions. It incorporates sliders that can help you make easy adjustments and preview various strategies.
Borrowing Capacity/Repayments Calculator
Filling in a few basic fields here will result in the following information: the amount of money you could be eligible to borrow and what your monthly payments will potentially be.
Salary Sacrifice Calculator
This is another easy tool. It allows you to swap in different sacrifice percentages and amounts and will help to guide you in planning your salary contributions.
Extra Loan Payments Savings Calculator
This calculator comes in handy when you are in a position to make extra payments on an outstanding loan. Based on the terms of the loan, you can learn how different payment frequencies and as well as extra payment amounts can save you money.
All online financial calculators are, of course, only approximations. But, they provide a solid starting point and provide some consistent, basic information. It’s always advisable, when planning for retirement or other important financial matters, to speak with professionals who can provide specific options and details along with expert guidance.
In Perth, there are many financial advisors to choose from. Blueprint Wealth is a multi-disciplined team of advisors from all finance backgrounds. Blueprint Wealth has been providing financial advice in Perth for almost 20 years.
When you’re ready to speak to a friendly, knowledgeable financial advisor in Perth, we hope you’ll give us a call. We look forward to answering any questions we can, and to becoming a part of your financial planning team.
Dee (Dewi) Chan is an authorised representative and credit representative of AMP Financial Planning. Blueprint Planning Pty Ltd (ABN 78 097 264 554), trading as Blueprint Wealth, is an authorised representative and credit representative of AMP Financial Planning, Australian Financial Services Licensee and Australian Credit Licensee (AFSL / ACL 232 706).
This article contains information that is general in nature. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your financial situation and needs before making any decisions based on this information.
