You are thinking about borrowing money. Maybe it is for a new car, a house, or a personal project. You know the amount you need—let's say $20,000—and the bank offered you an interest rate of 6% over 5 years. But what does that actually mean for your monthly budget? You could try to calculate it on a piece of paper. You would need to understand complex formulas involving exponents and monthly interest rates. You would need to figure out how much of your payment goes to the bank as profit and how much actually pays back what you borrowed. Or you could use a loan calculator to instantly see that your payment would be $386.66 per month, and over five years, you will pay a total of $3,199.36 in interest. A loan calculator computes your periodic payment amount based on the principal, interest rate, and loan term. It also generates an amortization schedule, showing exactly how every dollar is split between paying off debt and paying interest. Loan calculators are used by homebuyers planni...