A loan is a contract between a borrower and a lender in which the borrower receives an amount of money (principal) that they are obligated to pay back in the future. Most loans can be categorized into one of three categories:
Many consumer loans fall into this category of loans that have regular payments that are amortized uniformly over their lifetime. Routine payments are made on principal and interest until the loan reaches maturity (is entirely paid off). Some of the most familiar amortized loans include mortgages, car loans, student loans, and personal loans. The word "loan" will probably refer to this type in everyday conversation, not the type in the second or third calculation. Below are links to calculators related to loans that fall under this category, which can provide more information or allow specific calculations involving each type of loan. Instead of using this Loan Calculator, it may be more useful to use any of the following for each specific need:
Many commercial loans or short-term loans are in this category. Unlike the first calculation, which is amortized with payments spread uniformly over their lifetimes, these loans have a single, large lump sum due at maturity. Some loans, such as balloon loans, can also have smaller routine payments during their lifetimes, but this calculation only works for loans with a single payment of all principal and interest due at maturity.
This kind of loan is rarely made except in the form of bonds. Technically, bonds operate differently from more conventional loans in that borrowers make a predetermined payment at maturity. The face, or par value of a bond, is the amount paid by the issuer (borrower) when the bond matures, assuming the borrower doesn't default. Face value denotes the amount received at maturity.
Two common bond types are coupon and zero-coupon bonds. With coupon bonds, lenders base coupon interest payments on a percentage of the face value. Coupon interest payments occur at predetermined intervals, usually annually or semi-annually. Zero-coupon bonds do not pay interest directly. Instead, borrowers sell bonds at a deep discount to their face value, then pay the face value when the bond matures. Users should note that the calculator above runs calculations for zero-coupon bonds.
Nearly all loan structures include interest, which is the profit that banks or lenders make on loans. Interest rate is the percentage of a loan paid by borrowers to lenders. For most loans, interest is paid in addition to principal repayment. Loan interest is usually expressed in APR, or annual percentage rate, which includes both interest and fees. The rate usually published by banks for saving accounts, money market accounts, and CDs is the annual percentage yield, or APY. It is important to understand the difference between APR and APY. Borrowers seeking loans can calculate the actual interest paid to lenders based on their advertised rates by using the Interest Calculator. For more information about or to do calculations involving APR, please visit the APR Calculator.
Compound interest is interest that is earned not only on the initial principal but also on accumulated interest from previous periods. Generally, the more frequently compounding occurs, the higher the total amount due on the loan. In most loans, compounding occurs monthly. Use the Compound Interest Calculator to learn more about or do calculations involving compound interest.
A loan term is the duration of the loan, given that required minimum payments are made each month. The term of the loan can affect the structure of the loan in many ways. Generally, the longer the term, the more interest will be accrued over time, raising the total cost of the loan for borrowers, but reducing the periodic payments.
A secured loan means that the borrower has put up some asset as a form of collateral before being granted a loan. The lender is issued a lien, which is a right to possession of property belonging to another person until a debt is paid. In other words, defaulting on a secured loan will give the loan issuer the legal ability to seize the asset that was put up as collateral. The most common secured loans are mortgages and auto loans. In these examples, the lender holds the deed or title, which is a representation of ownership, until the secured loan is fully paid. Defaulting on a mortgage typically results in the bank foreclosing on a home, while not paying a car loan means that the lender can repossess the car.
Lenders are generally hesitant to lend large amounts of money with no guarantee. Secured loans reduce the risk of the borrower defaulting since they risk losing whatever asset they put up as collateral. If the collateral is worth less than the outstanding debt, the borrower can still be liable for the remainder of the debt.
An unsecured loan is an agreement to pay a loan back without collateral. Because there is no collateral involved, lenders need a way to verify the financial integrity of their borrowers. This can be achieved through the five C's of credit, which is a common methodology used by lenders to gauge the creditworthiness of potential borrowers.
Unsecured loans generally feature higher interest rates, lower borrowing limits, and shorter repayment terms than secured loans. Lenders may sometimes require a co-signer (a person who agrees to pay a borrower's debt if they default) for unsecured loans if the lender deems the borrower as risky.
Examples of unsecured loans include credit cards, personal loans, and student loans. Please visit our Credit Card Calculator, Personal Loan Calculator, or Student Loan Calculator for more information or to do calculations involving each of them.
This automatic calculator figures actual monthly loan repayments from a financial institution offering the entered terms. Enter the loan amount, the loan term in years along with the stated interest rate (e.g. 7.25). When any variable is changed the amortizing and interest-only payments will automatically update. Clicking the [Reset] button will clear entered values.
Enter the purchase price, monthly payment, down payment, term and interest rate to see how different loan terms or down payments can impact your monthly payment and what it will take to pay off your car loan.
Purchase Price: It is recommended that the monthly auto loan payment alone is limited to about 10% to 15% of your after-tax take-home pay. A lower purchase price will make it easier to achieve affordable monthly payments but there are many good reasons to spend more on a car that will last longer or provide what your household needs.
Loan Terms: A loan term is the amount of time you will be paying your monthly auto loan payments -- how long your car loan payoff will take. Longer term loans allow for a smaller monthly payment but add up to larger amounts of interest paid on a car in total.
Good candidates for refinancing might include people who have significantly improved their credit score since securing their car loan or people who financed through a dealership and found that the dealer took advantage of them and marked up their loan to a higher rate from what the lender provided.
About your privacy:Cars.com is asking for your ZIP and credit rating because it helps us to make an educated guess at your sales tax and loan interest. These two factors can greatly change your monthly payment.
Our student loan calculator tool helps you understand what your monthly student loan payments will look like and how your loans will amortize (be paid off) over time. First we calculate the monthly payment for each of your respective loans individually, taking into account the loan amount, interest rate, loan term and prepayment. Then we add up the monthly payment for each of the loans to determine how much you will pay in total each month. The amortization of the loans over time is calculated by deducting the amount you are paying towards the principal each month from your loan balances. The principal portion of the monthly payments will go down to $0 by the end of each loan term.
The federal government has a number of different student loan programs, described below, that offer low interest rates and other student-friendly terms. If you are able to use any of these programs to pay for part of your college tuition, your debt after graduation may be easier to manage.
You should note that in 2022, the federal government approved a targeted student loan debt relief program that will offer relief to more than 40 million borrowers and a complete cancellation for roughly 20 million. Savings can range from $10,000 to $20,000 in total forgiveness, depending on eligibility. Courts have since then issued orders to block the program and the Biden-Harris administration is currently seeking to overturn them.
For students who are ineligible to receive subsidized loans, unsubsidized Stafford loans are available. These offer the same low interest rate as subsidized loans, but without the government-funded interest payments. That means that interest accumulates while you are in school, and is then added to the amount you have to pay back (also known as your principal balance) once you graduate. While this may sound like a minor difference, it can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars of debt beyond what you borrowed. A good student loan repayment calculator takes into account the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans.
Along with the specific ceiling of $23,000 for subsidized Stafford loans, there is a limit on the cumulative total of unsubsidized and subsidized combined that any one student can take out. Undergraduate students who are dependent on their parents for financial support can take out a maximum of $31,000 in Stafford loans and students who are financially independent can take out up to $57,500 in Stafford loans. So, for a student who has already maxed out her amount of subsidized loans, she could take out an additional $8,000 to $34,500 in unsubsidized loans, depending on whether or not she is a dependent.
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