A calculator may be useful when it answers the question already in front of you. Tracking household spending requires a different tool from comparing loans, testing an interest rate change or preparing figures before speaking with a lender.
Tracey Franco Collective offers seven educational calculators covering budgeting, net worth, illustrative loan comparisons, interest-rate scenarios, offset-account scenarios and borrowing preparation. Choosing between them starts with identifying the figures or financial topic you want to explore rather than selecting the calculator with the broadest description.
Organise Everyday Income and Spending
The Smart Money Toolkit Budgeting Calculator covers a broad range of everyday budgeting categories. It is designed to provide a consolidated record of income, expenses and savings figures entered by the user.
This calculator may be useful when the topic being explored is everyday income, spending and savings tracking. Users can enter their own figures and review the information recorded across the available budgeting categories.
Manage a Household or Family Budget
The Busy Mums Budget Planner Calculator covers similar budgeting fundamentals but frames them around family life. It focuses on household income and expenses, bills, spending and savings goals for mums, families and households managing several household expenses, bills and savings categories at once.
The choice between the two budgeting calculators may therefore come down to the context you prefer. The Smart Money Toolkit provides a general record of income, expenses and savings figures, while the Busy Mums calculator organises similar budgeting categories around household and family expenses.
Measure Your Overall Financial Position
A monthly budget records money moving in and out, while a net worth tracker provides a separate record of assets and liabilities. The Net Worth Tracker Calculator compares assets with liabilities so you can calculate your current net worth and monitor how that figure changes over time.
This tool records assets and liabilities at different points in time, allowing users to record and observe changes in their calculated net worth. It can provide a consistent record for monitoring changes in assets and liabilities over time without focusing solely on income or savings.
Compare Several Loan Options
Advertised interest rates do not show every difference between loans. The Loan Comparison Calculator is designed to place rates, fees, loan terms, repayments and total repayment costs beside one another so the figures entered for different loan scenarios can be viewed side by side.
The calculator does not assess lender eligibility, product suitability, comparison rates, all fees and charges, lender-specific conditions or whether a particular loan is appropriate for the user.
Users may enter different illustrative loan scenarios in the same format so the rates, fees, terms and estimated repayments entered can be viewed side by side. The calculator does not identify a preferred, recommended, best or suitable option.
Test the Effect of Changing Interest Rates
The Rate Sensitivity Calculator addresses a different question from the Loan Comparison Calculator. Instead of comparing separate products, it allows homeowners, investors and variable-rate borrowers to illustrate how different interest-rate assumptions may change estimated repayments and household cash-flow figures.
Results are estimates based on the assumptions entered and are illustrative only. They are not forecasts of future interest rates or repayments.
Explore the Potential Effect of an Offset Account
The Offset Calculator uses the figures entered for a home loan and offset balance to illustrate how an offset balance could affect estimated interest calculations.
Results depend on the figures and assumptions entered and may not reflect lender-specific calculation methods, fees, account conditions, changes in balances or future interest rates. The calculator does not assess whether an offset account is appropriate for the user or recommend that the user obtain, retain or change an offset account or home loan.
Prepare Before a Home Loan Conversation
The Borrowing Estimate Preparation Calculator allows users to organise income, expense, debt and commitment figures commonly considered during a home-loan discussion and generates an indicative borrowing estimate. Any estimate is illustrative only and should not be relied upon as an indication that finance will be approved.
Its result is not a loan approval, formal lender assessment or indication of the amount the user will be able to borrow. The calculator provides a preparation point for first-home buyers, people upgrading their home and property investors who want a more organised picture before speaking with a mortgage broker, authorised credit representative or lender.
Choose the Question Before the Calculator
Different calculators may be relevant to different questions at different times. Users can select the tool that relates to the figures they want to explore.
The tools are provided in Microsoft Excel format, and most allow users to edit figures and categories based on the information they choose to enter. They can be viewed on some mobile devices, although Tracey Franco Collective recommends a laptop or desktop computer for stronger functionality and a better editing experience.
Match the Tool to the Topic
Selecting the calculator that relates to the figures you want to explore may assist users to organise the information they wish to examine.
Review the available Financial Calculators and select the tool that relates to the topic or figures you want to explore. Review the individual product description before purchasing and entering your information.
Important information: Tracey Franco Collective calculators are general educational tools only. They do not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs and do not provide financial product advice, personal financial advice, financial planning advice, taxation advice, legal advice or credit assistance. They do not recommend any particular financial product, loan, lender, offset account, repayment arrangement, refinancing strategy or investment. The calculators do not identify or rank any option as preferred, recommended, best, appropriate or suitable for the user. Any loan, interest-rate, repayment or offset scenarios are illustrative only and are not intended to promote or recommend a specific financial product, lender or provider. Results are estimates based on the figures and assumptions entered by the user. They may not reflect lender-specific policies, eligibility requirements, all fees and charges, comparison rates, future interest rates, changes in account balances or formal credit assessments. Calculator results should not be relied upon as an indication of borrowing capacity, loan approval, savings, interest reductions or future financial outcomes. Seek assistance from appropriately qualified financial, legal, taxation or credit professionals where required.
