How to compare loans without looking only at the monthly payment
A practical guide to understanding total cost, term and conditions before choosing a loan.
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Learn to make better decisions
Clear guides for your finances
Practical information about loans, mortgages and savings, so you can compare confidently.
How to use these guides
Start with the situation you need to resolve, then open the related calculator to test your own inputs. Articles explain concepts, decisions and risks, while tools show the mathematical effect of amount, rate and term.
Always check the date, sources and stated limits. General guidance cannot replace contract documents or local rules, and a simulation does not confirm that a lender will approve or retain any terms.
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Latest articles
Taking Out a Loan to Invest: Risks to Consider
Investing with borrowed money can magnify both gains and losses. Learn to assess repayments, liquidity, and downside scenarios before deciding.
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Before Sharing Your Bank Transactions to Apply for a Loan
Learn what data a lender may request, how to distinguish a secure connection from sharing your login details, and what to check before and after granting access.
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Outstanding Principal vs. Loan Payoff Amount: Why They Don’t Always Match
A loan’s outstanding principal and payoff amount can differ. Learn what each includes and how to check the calculation.
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Avalanche, snowball, or hybrid method: how to organize your debts
Compare the avalanche, snowball, and hybrid methods for organizing debt, while keeping up with minimum payments, essential expenses, and a buffer for emergencies.
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Paying the Minimum on a Credit Card: What Happens to the Balance
Learn how the minimum payment is split among interest, fees and principal, and which statement details help you track how the debt changes.
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Selling Your Car Before Paying It Off: See If the Numbers Work
Compare your car’s estimated net sale proceeds with the amount needed to pay off the loan and see whether you may be short or have money left over.
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Financing a bundled purchase: how to separate essentials, extras, and contingency funds
Learn how to break down a purchase that includes a product, services, and extras to decide what to finance, delay, or set aside as a contingency fund.
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Replacement fund: how to avoid taking out back-to-back financing when an asset needs replacing
Planning to replace a vehicle, piece of equipment or technology helps you save gradually and rely less on another financing arrangement.
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Minimum operating balance: how to set the money you should not commit when taking on an instalment
Learn how to calculate a safety balance to cover essential payments and assess whether a new instalment would leave your household with little cash buffer.
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The continuity test: what must remain stable to sustain financing
Learn how to review the income, expenses, support and circumstances that must remain in place for financing to stay sustainable throughout its term.
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The spending substitutability test: decide whether to finance, postpone, repair, or forgo
A practical method for assessing alternatives to a purchase and calculating whether it is best to reduce, postpone, or avoid financing.
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