Posted by Rolfe Kurtyka on July 23, 2001 at 20:45:12:
Jesse;
If available, the instruction manuels which come with the calculator are great resources.
Rolfe
Financial Calculator 101 - Posted by Jesse (MA)
Posted by Jesse (MA) on July 23, 2001 at 15:58:00:
Somebody posted awhile back on how to use the financial calculator for estimating payments, fv, etc. I was wondering if I could get a crash course or find some book that explains with examples how these operations are done.
Thanks!
Re: Financial Calculator 101 - Posted by Fran CA
Posted by Fran CA on July 24, 2001 at 11:21:31:
Jesse,
My partner wanted to learn the right way to use his financial calculator, so he invested some money in a couple of books by Jon Richards titled “Calculator Power” and “More Calculator Power”. You can buy these directly from his website at www.noteworthyusa.com.
Good Luck,
Fran
I use Excel when at home… - Posted by Dmitry_PA
Posted by Dmitry_PA on July 24, 2001 at 10:59:01:
Jesse,
I just posted a response to your question, and it disappeared a minute later! Probably because I used web-site links in it…
Anyway, here is what I think. I use both Texas Instruments BA-Plus and HP12C, and I like them both. However, when I am in front of my computer, I prefer using Microsoft Excel. It gives you more flexibility and it is easier to see all the numbers and play differnt what-if scenarios… You can either install an Excel template called LOAN from Microsoft ValuPack (found on your Office CD) [this template calculates loan amortization schedules), or create your own calculator using formulas in Excel, if you do not need a schedule. This is what I am using most of the time. If you want I can send you my file - nothing fancy, but it does the job.
As far as the calculators, check TI web site for online manuals. When on TI homepage, click on Educational and Productivity solutions in the lower right-hand part of the window. Then click on Search on top of the green screen. On the next screen select a product from a drop-down list and then select Product Guidebook from the next list down. Do a search. Products that you should look for are BA II Plus or BA Real Estate.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Dmitry_PA
PS. Oh, one more thing. I am sure you know this, but you have to use a financial calculator to do financial calculations. They have all fin functions programmed in already…
I use Excel when at home… - Posted by Dmitry_PA
Posted by Dmitry_PA on July 24, 2001 at 10:35:06:
Jesse,
I use both TI BA-Plus and HP12C calculators as well as Microsoft Excel (when I am at home). I like Excel better because it is easier to change numbers on the fly and play different what-if scenarios. There are two ways you can use it - 1) instal a template LOAN from Microsoft Office Valuepack (it’s on your Office CD) - this is a very simple but useful template that creates an amortization schedule; 2) you can create your own template for simple what-if calculations.
If you are interested, I can send you a copy of my file… No big deal, there are a few fields that allow me to calculate number of months, interest, total interest paid, etc.
Oh, one more thing. There is a shareware program out there, called Loan Spread Calculator - I highly recommend it. Very useful.
As far as calculators, you might want to check TI or HP websites for online versions of business calculator manuals. Please keep in mind that in order to perform financial calculations you DO NEED a financial calculator. They have all the necessary functions programmed in.
Check the following web sites:
http://education.ti.com/product/tech/baii/guide/baiiguideit.html
http://education.ti.com/product/tech/bare/guide/bareguideus.html
I haven’t been able to find onlive versions of manuals for HP calculators…
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Dmitry_PA