MS Office Cost Calculators & Templates
While I am not so fond of the Microsoft sometimes, (Ruined my Friday night once and the PM for the product that ruined the evening later grabbed my ass at a party.) I love Excel. Seattle Simplicity has posted up free template tools for personal finance. They look pretty neat. I should probably get the 401(k) one. The only problem is that I have MS Works at home, not Office. I didn’t feel like splurging for Office. The extra expense wasn’t worth it to me.
I prefer to do the math myself, but I’ve always had problems with exponents, which are the foundation of calculating the present value of money. Oh one day, I guess I’ll post about that too. Simple calculators available online from places like Kiplinger’s work pretty well, but I like being able to open a spreadsheet and calculate different scenarios side by side. That used to be one of my favorite features in Quicken until they stripped it out of the 1996 basic version and stuck it in the Deluxe package instead.
Why does a cost calculator matter? They matter because when you go to spend your hard earned dollars, you want to spend them wisely and get as much value as you can.
Knowing when to rent and when to buy a house is as important as figuring out if you should lease a car or buy it. Often these calculators ask you questions you may not have considered. I actually know someone who did not consider the cost of car insurance when he purchased a vehicle!
Fly! Be free! And use a cost calculator when planning a major purchase! Choose your investment allocation by knowing your rate of return!
franky wrote:
A Microsoft PM grabbed your ass. Damn. I remember when I interviewed with them all they did was make me feel stupid. Sorry to hear that.
Posted on 12-Apr-06 at 3:36 pm | Permalink
mapgirl wrote:
It’s ok. It was a house party, a social affair. The host was the PM’s brother. I was cheesed off that night, but it’s a funny story now.
Posted on 12-Apr-06 at 3:38 pm | Permalink