Over 1,000 Windows 95 Programs/Over 1000 Windows 95 Programs (Microforum) (Disc 2).iso/0981/readme.txt

Text File | 1997-04-15 | 9.8 KB | 200 lines

                                          Financial Planner 1.3

Contents:

1. General Help.
   a. Requirements.
   b. Background.
   c. Data entry.
   d. Printing/Saving.
2. Loan Amortization.
3. Retirement/Investment Accounts.
4. PayOut Account.
5. Legal stuff and registering.


1.  General Help:

REQUIREMENTS:

Financial Planner requires Windows 3.1 or Windows95, less than
1 meg of hard disk space, and a mouse.

To install Financial Planner, run the 'install.exe' file on the floppy
disk and follow the instructions.

Financial Planner was written to be as simple and easy to use as possible.
Basically, data is entered for the desired program through a dialog box
displayed by pressing the appropriate button in the left column, and the
resulting schedule displayed by pressing the corresponding button in the
right column.  That's it!

BACKGROUND ON FINANCIAL PLANNER:

This application was not originally designed to be utilized as shareware,
it was written for my personal use.  I found myself requiring an
application that could model retirement/investment accounts and predict
how much money I would have to save and for how long.  Not being able to
locate software that would do this, I developed Financial Planner.
After sharing Financial Planner with family and friends, it became
apparent that this was a program most people can find useful.  Don't
expect any flashy output from Financial Planner, the application was
designed to generate useful information, not to entertain.

Keep in mind while using Financial Planner that it was designed as a
guide, not to predict to the penny what the payment will be for a loan
or what the balance of an investment account will be in ten years.
The program was written to give an individual an idea how much
money he/she can afford to borrow or how much per paycheck needs to be
saved  to reach a goal.  Rounding and other factors can cause
differences between the results generated by Financial Planner and
those of a bank or financial institution.

There are some applications, shareware or otherwise, that perform a few
of the same functions as the individual programs in Financial Planner
but none (that I'm aware of) that include all in the same application
and certainly not for $15!  Good luck investing and I hope Financial
Planner can help you plan your investment decisions.

DATA ENTRY:

You can move through the data fields with the tab key or the mouse.  Once
you are satisfied with the data, press the 'Accept' button and display the
corresponding schedule.  All data fields have restrictions on the type of
data that can be entered.  Enter decimals for interest rates, not
fractions.  All programs will accept data typical for the type of account
in question.  If you enter data outside the acceptable ranges, the
program will advise you what range you are outside of and allow you to
re-enter that data.  Some accounts have an 'Asset Allocation' button which
allows you to calculate an overall interest rate based on the allocation
and type of investment options you have chosen.  To transfer the calculated
rate to the account data entry window, click on the 'Get Rate' button.

PRINTING AND SAVING SCHEDULES:

All schedules can be printed from the window displaying the schedule with
the 'Print' button.  Files can be saved from the same window by using
the 'Save' button and entering a name for the file.  Files will be saved
in the directory Financial Planner is run from/installed to.


2.  Loan Amortization:

The loan amortization data input window has two basic areas.  The left side
requests the basic loan data and calculates the payment.  The right side
is optional and is where any additional principal data is input.

You'll notice a data field for the number of days between the date of
the loan and the first payment.  This was included in version 1.2 to more
accurately calculate loan payments.  Typically, home loans don't include
this but most auto (and other similar loans) do.  The interest on the loan
during this period is spread over the term of the loan for auto loans
and is paid in closing costs for home loans.  Input into this data field
is optional, enter whatever applies to your loan situation.

After pressing 'Accept', you can display the amortization schedule.  In
the amortization schedule, the effect of any additional principal data
on the term of the loan and the total interest paid is displayed in the
lower right corner of the window below the schedule.  Remember, the input
data above the schedule indicates the data that was input, the actual
term and interest paid are displayed in the lower right.  Of course, if no
additional principal data is input, the term will not change.  The rest
of the schedule is fairly straightforward and self-explanatory.

Other loan amortization programs don't always display the equity or
principal-to-date amount but I find it useful if contemplating a home
equity loan or determining the amount payable to me if I sell my house.

Experiment with the amount of additional principal and you will find that
you can turn a typical 30 year mortgage into a 20 year loan and save tens of
thousands of dollars with as little as $50 to $100 per month.  This effect
is clearly displayed by pressing the 'More Info' button.  This window
shows the difference in the interest paid and term of the loan due to added
principal payments.

This program is also useful when deciding whether to refinance your home,
buy a car, boat, or any other financed item.  Want to know how much per
month it takes to pay off your credit card in a year?  Want to know how
long it takes to recoup your closing costs when refinancing?  This program
is very useful and yet very easy to use.

Remember when adjusting the loan data to re-calculate the payment before
pressing 'Accept' so the payment reflects the new data.  The payment is used
to generate the schedule so if you forget to re-calculate your amortization
schedule may display some odd results!


3.  Retirement/Investment Accounts:

Do you know how much you need to save and for how long to retire at a certain
age?  At a given rate of return, what will the total balance of your
retirement account be in ten years?  In twenty?  The various investment
and retirement account programs included in Financial Planner were developed
to answer these questions.  They determine what the account balance of a
given account will be in the future based on how much is invested over a
certain period and at what rate.  Obviously the rate of return can only be
estimated, but the purpose of the program is to give someone an idea of how
much per paycheck needs to be set aside and for how long to reach a
retirement goal.

Most of the typical account types are included in Financial Planner and the
odd account that isn't present can usually be modeled with one of the
existing programs.  The accounts that typically are not tax-deferred allow
for the adjustment of the annual account balance for the tax liability
incurred during that year.  The account balance displayed in these cases
indicates the balance after taxes.  Want to adjust for federal, state, local
or any other taxes?  Just estimate your total tax liability by adding the
various taxes together into one rate.

The ability to account for taxes can be very important to after-tax investors
since income taxes drastically reduce gains.  Try displaying a mutual fund
schedule first without any tax adjustments and then with a 15% adjustment
for federal income taxes.  Quite a difference over ten years or more isn't
it?


4.  PayOut Account:

This is one of the most ignored aspects of retirement planning.  How long
will your nestegg last?  What effect will inflation have on your savings?
The payout account program in Financial Planner will answer both questions.
First, it will determine how long an account will last based on the amount
paid out annually and the estimated rate of return.  Second, the annual
payout selected is displayed in inflation adjusted dollars so you can see
what buying power this amount will be capable of in 10, 20 , or 30 years.

Try inputing an account balance of $500,000, an annual payout of $24,000,
and an inflation rate of 3%.  How much is that $24,000 worth after ten
years?  After twenty?  Surprised?  If your planning to live off your
retirement accounts for twenty years or longer, inflation can be the
single most important factor in determining your standard of living.


5.  Legal stuff and registering.

WINDOWS and WINDOWS95 are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

This application does not have the ability to delete or damage files,
memory, or anything else in your computer and the author is not responsible
for any such occurrences.  The author also stresses that certain types of
investment accounts involve substantial risks and that he is not
responsible for any losses incurred by users of the application.

This program is shareware and the user should decide if he/she
thinks the application is worthwhile and register it within 30 days.
Registering promotes the production of more and better shareware
and $15 isn't a lot to ask if the program is useful to you.  If the
application isn't worth $15 to you, don't use it!

The registration form can be printed from within the application or by
printing the 'register.txt' file in the directory you installed Financial
Planner.  This version may be distributed freely.

If you experience problems installing/running Financial Planner or have
suggestions/comments/complaints about the application, you can reach
the author, J. Hegarty, by mail at:

1437 W. 15th ST
Yuma,AZ 85364

or email, at [e-mail]  or [e-mail]