Finance 101 generally operates in color, however, if you want a
black & white display (often better for laptops or if no color card
or color monitor exist with your computer), simply hit "B". A black &
white display will begin with the global menu.
Global Menu
To select an option in Finance 101 select a letter, either
A, S, B, I, R or G, to access any one of the six financial segments.
This segment will be highlighted with a continuous encirclement.
Then hit any number between 1 and the highest number
within the segment to select the option you want to use.
Interface Screens
The very top line of the screen, the headliner, always tells you
what option you are running. If you are in an option accessed
through a second level menu, both the primary and secondary
descriptors are displayed in the headliner. Additionally,
some options have major sub-segments that are distinct from
other segments within the same option. In these cases, you may see
a descriptor in the headliner that informs you of what segment you
are in. Within A is B and within B is C. C is where you are currently.
The very bottom of the screen is reserved for "what do you want to do
next?" prompts. If you are finished with a particular calculation
you may be asked if you want to do "Another ? (Y/N)" (with a
blinking "?"), or if a table is being displayed you will be asked
whether or not you want to "Continue ?".
For convenience, practically any key other than ESC, "n" or "N"
will be accepted as YES. If a continuous scroll of information is
being displayed and exceeds the length of the screen, a
"Pausing - Hit Any Key" prompt will appear.
Lastly, if you are answering a series of questions, a prompt
indicating an up-arrow to "Re-ask questions" will appear.
If you hit the up-arrow key, PgUp or Home key, the questioning
sequence will start over and your previously entered entries will be
erased. In addition, you may recall up to 25 previous entries by
hitting the <space> bar.
Finance 101 displays its financial information between the top
headliner and the very bottom line of your screen.
The Friendly Q&A/Selection Approach
Finance 101 uses the "Q&A/Selection" approach making Finance 101
extremely "user friendly". When all questions are answered with
legal numeric entries, the calculation is performed immediately and
results displayed. Legal entries are any correct
representation of a number (if you find it represented that way in
most books, it is legal). For example, "2500" may be entered as
"$2500", "2,500", "$2,500.00" or any other normal representation.
As another example, eleven percent will be accepted as "11",
"11.00", "11%" or "11.00%".
Finance 101 is so friendly that it accepts any legal numeric
representation within 10 characters.
In addition, several options allow you to select what you would like
Finance 101 to calculate, simply by not answering the question.
For example, you may be presented with 3 questions - Years ?,
Loan Amount?, Payment Amount?, but asked to answer
only 2. The unanswered question which you left blank, by simply
hitting <RETURN>, will be calculated for you.
Unlike other financial packages, with Finance 101, you do not have
to exit the questioning sequence, enter into some compute mode,
and then tell the computer what to compute. Artificial Intelligence!?
Super Software !? ... no... just Finance 101's way of saving
time and adding convenience to your financial questioning and data entry. Thus, illustrating how 3 different financial calculations are combined into one, for more power, enhanced friendliness, and convenience.
NOTE: Because of FINANCE 101's unrestricted use of the display screen,
very large numbers (i.e. 10,000,000,000) may cause columns of data to
run into neighboring columns. If this occurs, you may avoid the
problem by dividing all non-percent numbers by 10 or 100 and re-enter.
Recommended Approach to Using Finance 101
Whether you are on the road using Finance 101 with your portable
computer, relaxing at home while planning your financial success,
or at the office evaluating certain "what ifs"... Finance 101
makes financial analysis fun, easy and worthwhile.
1) State Your Financial Question - How much will I have in 5
years if I deposit $313 twice a month in a savings deposit paying 8%?
2) Scan the Global Menu - You will quickly see what option you
want to use.
3) Select the option and read the description.
4) Answer the questions and review the results.
5) Perform "What Ifs" - re-run the option using different inputs.
Even though you may be satisfied with what you have learned by
viewing the results, it is a healthy exercise to change one or
more of your inputs and reproduce the results. Performing
"What If" analysis is often as educational as knowing the
right answer.
Finally, you can print anything that appears on the screen by
hitting "P" when prompted. Use this feature freely to produce
a hard copy of your questions, answers, and results for later review.
