How to Calculate Interest Using a Financial Calculator

Many financial websites have provided free financial calculators with which to calculate interest owed or earned for a financial account. These easy-to-use calculators can be easily accessed, and in most cases do not require downloading. Simply enter the requested information, and you're done.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Calculate interest on an auto loan using the Bank Rate financial calculator. Visit the Bank Rate website (see Resources) and click the "Auto" tab (third tab from the left at the top of the home page). Enter the loan amount, the term of the loan and the interest rate. Click "Calculate." For example, a $50,000 loan amount with an auto loan term of 60 months and an interest rate of 5.45 percent will yield a monthly auto payment of $953.90.

2. Use other financial calculators available on the Bank Rate website, such as the "Early Pay Off Calculator," "Buy Versus Lease" calculator and "Loan Rate Comparison" calculator. Click the appropriate link and enter the requested information.

3. Calculate interest using one of the many financial calculators available for free at the Money Chimp website (see Resources). For example, you can calculate compound interest, rate of return (after interest) or mortgage-loan interest rates. To use the mortgage loan calculator, input the loan amount, mortgage rate (interest rate) and term of the mortgage (the years you have to repay loan) for the monthly payment. A $100,000 mortgage with a 7.5 percent mortgage rate and 30-year term will yield a monthly mortgage payment of $699.21.

4. Refer to the Dinky Town website (see Resources) and choose from a number of financial calculators, including (but not limited to): savings calculators, credit-card and debt calculators, business calculators, investment calculators, tax calculators and auto calculators. Each calculator is set up to calculate interest on loans, debt, investments, savings and other interest-bearing accounts. To calculate the amount of interest that will accumulate on a savings account over a 7-year period, click the "Calculate" link, then enter the starting amount, the period (7 years in this example), the expected monthly contribution (the amount you expect to deposit on a monthly basis) and the rate of return (the percentage the bank will pay for any balance on the account). Click "Calculate" for the total amount of interest earned.

5. Download a free financial calculator from the Dinky Town website. Follow the instructions for download and use it for free at your discretion.

Tips & Warnings

• Always verify that you are earning the correct interest amount or are not paying more in interest than the term of your loan.
• Never use estimates, as this could significantly thwart the actual interest amount that is owed or earned.

Resources

• Bank Rate Calculator
• Money Chimp Financial Calculator
• Dinky Town

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