Answers
One question, one answer, one calculator
Every page here answers a specific question someone actually asked, with the tool that settles it built into the answer. If yours isn't here yet, the calculators cover most of the ground on their own.
Loan offers
$25,000 at $520 a month — what interest rate is that?
A payment on its own tells you almost nothing. Here's how to get from the number they quoted to the rate they didn't mention.
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How do you work out the interest rate from a monthly payment?
There's no simple formula — the rate has to be solved for. Here's what you need, how it's done, and a check you can do in your head.
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Someone called offering me a loan. Is it a scam?
One rule settles most of these. Here's that rule, the warning signs behind it, and how to check whether a lender is real.
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What is a balloon payment, and how do I spot one?
Small payments, then one large lump nobody mentioned. Here's a real one priced out, and the arithmetic that reveals it in a quote.
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