Hi Michael, I’ll take a look at the video, but it’s better if you ask a direct question to get a more prompt answer. My work is backed up and I’m not sure when I’ll get to YouTube again.
Thomas Brooks says:
Is there a way to save the inputs in the calculator? If I have to make changes in the future, I don’t want to have to input all those payments again. Thank you.
Karl says:
No. That’s the reason for considering either the purchase of C-Value! ($49.95) or SolveIT! ($69.95). Both programs run on Windows computers. C-Value! is one calculator and you can save your inputs. SolveIT! has over 40 calculators, including the C-Value! calculator and you can save from several of the calculators, but not all of them.
Dinh Han says:
Which calculator is best suited for dividend reinvestment?
Karl says:
You can use this calculator. Scroll down the page to the tutorials. I think you’ll want to use the percentage step special series to represent the dividend cash flow.
Jeff Robert says:
Have used the Ultimate Financial Calculator on a number of occasions and been quite impressed. Decided to purchase the C-value calculator so I could save my work. I’ve been disappointed and frustrated since. While it’s stated that it has the same capabilities, which I’m sure it does…the look and feel…at least to me isn’t nearly as user friendly.
I’m entering my loan from my bank line for line and can’t get the numbers to match up. Granted, the first year of payments were interest only, I’ve followed the instructions. It removes the amounts and replaces it with “interest only” but when I look at the Amortization schedule it may or may not be correct from one line to the next and seems to change every time I look at it. I do it on one line and it list it as all interest, do it on the next and it doesn’t, redo it and it changes the first….Grrr frustrating!
Also, why isn’t there an Xtra-payment option in the drop down like online. Here again, try to follow the instructions but it just seems awfully cumbersome and difficult. I want to believe I have to be missing something – have read through a few of the tutorials without much luck…hoping you can offer some guidance and clarification as to why I’m having so much trouble.
Karl says:
Jeff, I’m sorry you’re finding C-Value! to be difficult and frustrating.
A couple of things….
There will be some differences between C-Value! and the online UFC. The UFC was the last calculator to be updated.
With respect to the Xtra Payment, C-Value has it. It’s just implemented differently. On a payment row, open up the Special Series window and select the "Principal First" tab and activate it. The UFC has this feature too. All the Xtra Payment selection in the dropdown does is save the user the trouble of opening the Special Series window. I didn’t have the idea of the dropdown extra payment option at the time C-Value! was last updated.
The interest-only options should be the same between the two calculators. Or put it this way, I can’t think of anything that would cause a difference.
When you say you can’t get the numbers to match up, do you mean between C-Value! and UFC or C-Value and the lender? Does UFC match the lender? Each line needs to be set to interest-only (for either calculator) if that’s what they are. Without the specifics, it’s hard for me to offer specific advice.
Did you see how you can save a file in C-Value! and then drag-and-drop it on the UFC page and UFC will read the file? This is a beta feature, and you may need to tweak or reset some setting in UFC.
Of course, if ultimately, you are not happy – I’ll refund your purchase price.
Also, I should have a version of the UFC ready later this year that will let users save their data. This will be available via a subscription service (UFC as is, will remain free.)
Jeff Robert says:
Karl, Thanks for the response – Appreciate the offer of a refund, but honestly would much prefer to just figure out what I’m doing wrong and use the product. Hopefully you can get me there with minimal pain on your end and you won’t be offering to pay me to leave before we’re done..LOL!
To clarify – I’m having trouble getting C-Value to match what my bank is showing, as well as UFC for that matter. But let’s eat this elephant one bite at a time. First, I’m noticing that UFC allows me to have Principal First payments with a Normal Calculation method. However, If I try to mark a payment as principal first in C-Value, I’m getting the following warning: “A principal first series is only allowed with the U.S. Rule compute method. You can change the compute method in the compute setup window. Would you like the compute method changed to U.S. Rule now? Yes/No”
Karl says:
Let’s see where this road takes us. I’m certainly ok with the approach.
Are you familiar with U.S. Rule? What it means is, interest won’t be calculated on prior unpaid interest. In UFC, when a user sets XPmt, the U.S. Rule is applied automatically to the one row as that’s a requirement for Principal First (basically, a borrower wants all the extra payment amount applied to Principal).
C-Value! will do this as well, but:
1. The user has to select the U.S rule option as a compute method (from the settings menu, compute setup). 2. The setting applies to the entire loan, not just the one payment. The impact of this for C-Value! is if a payment is late, and a 0 pmt amount is entered to indicate a late or missed payment, this will cause interest to be accrued and added to the balance. This then means, since the U.S rule is select, the accrued interest will not be part of the balance and no interest will be calculated on the unpaid interest. These details are shown in both calculators in the expanded schedule layout (more columns).
So, bottom line, depending on the specific cash flows and how they are entered, the UFC and C-Value! can have different results if UFC is not set to U.S. Rule for all payments. C-Value! does not allow just setting U.S. Rule for one line.
While this may be important for you, I suggest trying a few entries just so we can understand exactly how much of a difference there is between the two.
Jeff Robert says:
Karl, Thanks for the response – No, I did not know the particulars of the U.S. Rule, so thanks for the detailed explanation. Went back to work on my C-Value sheet double checking and redoing my entries. Got past my first year of entries which included Interest only payments as well as extra principal payments and my balance was spot on. When I try to enter my first “regular” payment (including principal and interest) it seems to get off track….If need by, can I send you the file to see where I’m going wrong.
Assuming I get past that, the next problem I anticipate is I’ve had a reduction in interest rate, which I’ve seen there is a method for entering…However, they left my monthly payment the same in-spite of the reduction in rate. So, I’m not sure how I will have to input that information.
Karl says:
Yes, sure, you can send me the file. Email address on the contact page.
What’s off track? The payment amount calculation? If so, you can enter the payment amount you want to use? Or the interest calculation. In that case, check that the days per year options are set the same for both calculators.
You can enter a rate change event in C-Value!, followed by the payment amount that matches the lender. If the payment amount did not drop following the interest rate decrease, then that just means more is being applied toward the principal each period and the loan will be paid off faster, than if the payment dropped too. Whether this is right or wrong depends on the terms of the loan or what the lender and borrower agree to at this point.
usama says:
Dear Sir, I want to make a blogging website (commercial for adsense) in wordpress related to different calculators, can i use your plugins, i am new in blogging so i dont know how it works in terms of your charges? is there anything else i need to do to get your plugins?
Kind Regards, Usama
Karl says:
If your site uses WordPress download the WordPress plugins found on this site. There is no charge, even when you consider your site to be commercial in nature.
Kay Ak says:
regarding the FC loan calculator, is there a way to make the Annual Rate a monthly rate? For example, we want to show 3% a month vs 36%.
Karl says:
The plugin includes all the source code. Any JavaScript programmer should be able to make the necessary modifications for you.
Nancy Spady says:
Hi. I purchased C-Value some time ago and it’s been a great tool for our partnership loans. I don’t see a version number for the latest software, but I’m guessing there may have been updates since 2017! What is the current version and do I need to purchase a new update? Not that I mind, since it’s a great product and I appreciate that it’s a one-time license. Thanks.
Karl says:
Hello, glad you have found C-Value! useful.
The Windows version has not received an update since 2/18/2017. However, the free, online version has had a continuous series of updates.
You may want to try the Ultimate Financial Calculator. You can use it on any device and it will open your saved C-Value! files, should you need to do that.
K King says:
I’m looking for a “backwards” calculator — I have information on an investment that includes some, but not all years of a thrift savings plan’s earnings. The managing company no longer has records, and I lucked out when the former employer was able to locate some (but not all) records. The earlier years of the investment’s earnings are missing and I’m trying to determine what the probable earnings for those years would have been. I have 14 years’ worth of earnings from records that were found. Is there a way to back into the likely earnings for prior years?
Karl says:
Not that I know of. Even if you knew an average annualized rate of return, it wouldn’t help. One of the missing years could be a big down year and another missing year could be a big up year. Or both years could be up years but at or near the average return. There’s just no way of knowing.
Michael says:
Hello Karl,
Do any of your calculators allow for comprehensive real estate analysis like outlined in this youtube demo?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR7yahESd5o
If not, would you consider creating one?
Thanks,
Michael
Karl says:
Hi Michael, I’ll take a look at the video, but it’s better if you ask a direct question to get a more prompt answer. My work is backed up and I’m not sure when I’ll get to YouTube again.
Thomas Brooks says:
Is there a way to save the inputs in the calculator? If I have to make changes in the future, I don’t want to have to input all those payments again. Thank you.
Karl says:
No. That’s the reason for considering either the purchase of C-Value! ($49.95) or SolveIT! ($69.95). Both programs run on Windows computers. C-Value! is one calculator and you can save your inputs. SolveIT! has over 40 calculators, including the C-Value! calculator and you can save from several of the calculators, but not all of them.
Dinh Han says:
Which calculator is best suited for dividend reinvestment?
Karl says:
You can use this calculator. Scroll down the page to the tutorials. I think you’ll want to use the percentage step special series to represent the dividend cash flow.
Jeff Robert says:
Have used the Ultimate Financial Calculator on a number of occasions and been quite impressed. Decided to purchase the C-value calculator so I could save my work. I’ve been disappointed and frustrated since. While it’s stated that it has the same capabilities, which I’m sure it does…the look and feel…at least to me isn’t nearly as user friendly.
I’m entering my loan from my bank line for line and can’t get the numbers to match up. Granted, the first year of payments were interest only, I’ve followed the instructions. It removes the amounts and replaces it with “interest only” but when I look at the Amortization schedule it may or may not be correct from one line to the next and seems to change every time I look at it. I do it on one line and it list it as all interest, do it on the next and it doesn’t, redo it and it changes the first….Grrr frustrating!
Also, why isn’t there an Xtra-payment option in the drop down like online. Here again, try to follow the instructions but it just seems awfully cumbersome and difficult.
I want to believe I have to be missing something – have read through a few of the tutorials without much luck…hoping you can offer some guidance and clarification as to why I’m having so much trouble.
Karl says:
Jeff, I’m sorry you’re finding C-Value! to be difficult and frustrating.
A couple of things….
There will be some differences between C-Value! and the online UFC. The UFC was the last calculator to be updated.
With respect to the Xtra Payment, C-Value has it. It’s just implemented differently. On a payment row, open up the Special Series window and select the "Principal First" tab and activate it. The UFC has this feature too. All the Xtra Payment selection in the dropdown does is save the user the trouble of opening the Special Series window. I didn’t have the idea of the dropdown extra payment option at the time C-Value! was last updated.
The interest-only options should be the same between the two calculators. Or put it this way, I can’t think of anything that would cause a difference.
When you say you can’t get the numbers to match up, do you mean between C-Value! and UFC or C-Value and the lender? Does UFC match the lender? Each line needs to be set to interest-only (for either calculator) if that’s what they are. Without the specifics, it’s hard for me to offer specific advice.
Did you see how you can save a file in C-Value! and then drag-and-drop it on the UFC page and UFC will read the file? This is a beta feature, and you may need to tweak or reset some setting in UFC.
Of course, if ultimately, you are not happy – I’ll refund your purchase price.
Also, I should have a version of the UFC ready later this year that will let users save their data. This will be available via a subscription service (UFC as is, will remain free.)
Jeff Robert says:
Karl,
Thanks for the response – Appreciate the offer of a refund, but honestly would much prefer to just figure out what I’m doing wrong and use the product. Hopefully you can get me there with minimal pain on your end and you won’t be offering to pay me to leave before we’re done..LOL!
To clarify – I’m having trouble getting C-Value to match what my bank is showing, as well as UFC for that matter. But let’s eat this elephant one bite at a time. First, I’m noticing that UFC allows me to have Principal First payments with a Normal Calculation method. However, If I try to mark a payment as principal first in C-Value, I’m getting the following warning:
“A principal first series is only allowed with the U.S. Rule compute method. You can change the compute method in the compute setup window. Would you like the compute method changed to U.S. Rule now? Yes/No”
Karl says:
Let’s see where this road takes us. I’m certainly ok with the approach.
Are you familiar with U.S. Rule? What it means is, interest won’t be calculated on prior unpaid interest. In UFC, when a user sets XPmt, the U.S. Rule is applied automatically to the one row as that’s a requirement for Principal First (basically, a borrower wants all the extra payment amount applied to Principal).
C-Value! will do this as well, but:
1. The user has to select the U.S rule option as a compute method (from the settings menu, compute setup).
2. The setting applies to the entire loan, not just the one payment. The impact of this for C-Value! is if a payment is late, and a 0 pmt amount is entered to indicate a late or missed payment, this will cause interest to be accrued and added to the balance. This then means, since the U.S rule is select, the accrued interest will not be part of the balance and no interest will be calculated on the unpaid interest. These details are shown in both calculators in the expanded schedule layout (more columns).
So, bottom line, depending on the specific cash flows and how they are entered, the UFC and C-Value! can have different results if UFC is not set to U.S. Rule for all payments. C-Value! does not allow just setting U.S. Rule for one line.
While this may be important for you, I suggest trying a few entries just so we can understand exactly how much of a difference there is between the two.
Jeff Robert says:
Karl,
Thanks for the response –
No, I did not know the particulars of the U.S. Rule, so thanks for the detailed explanation. Went back to work on my C-Value sheet double checking and redoing my entries. Got past my first year of entries which included Interest only payments as well as extra principal payments and my balance was spot on. When I try to enter my first “regular” payment (including principal and interest) it seems to get off track….If need by, can I send you the file to see where I’m going wrong.
Assuming I get past that, the next problem I anticipate is I’ve had a reduction in interest rate, which I’ve seen there is a method for entering…However, they left my monthly payment the same in-spite of the reduction in rate. So, I’m not sure how I will have to input that information.
Karl says:
Yes, sure, you can send me the file. Email address on the contact page.
What’s off track? The payment amount calculation? If so, you can enter the payment amount you want to use? Or the interest calculation. In that case, check that the days per year options are set the same for both calculators.
You can enter a rate change event in C-Value!, followed by the payment amount that matches the lender. If the payment amount did not drop following the interest rate decrease, then that just means more is being applied toward the principal each period and the loan will be paid off faster, than if the payment dropped too. Whether this is right or wrong depends on the terms of the loan or what the lender and borrower agree to at this point.
usama says:
Dear Sir, I want to make a blogging website (commercial for adsense) in wordpress related to different calculators, can i use your plugins, i am new in blogging so i dont know how it works in terms of your charges? is there anything else i need to do to get your plugins?
Kind Regards,
Usama
Karl says:
If your site uses WordPress download the WordPress plugins found on this site. There is no charge, even when you consider your site to be commercial in nature.
Kay Ak says:
regarding the FC loan calculator, is there a way to make the Annual Rate a monthly rate? For example, we want to show 3% a month vs 36%.
Karl says:
The plugin includes all the source code. Any JavaScript programmer should be able to make the necessary modifications for you.
Nancy Spady says:
Hi. I purchased C-Value some time ago and it’s been a great tool for our partnership loans. I don’t see a version number for the latest software, but I’m guessing there may have been updates since 2017! What is the current version and do I need to purchase a new update? Not that I mind, since it’s a great product and I appreciate that it’s a one-time license.
Thanks.
Karl says:
Hello, glad you have found C-Value! useful.
The Windows version has not received an update since 2/18/2017. However, the free, online version has had a continuous series of updates.
You may want to try the Ultimate Financial Calculator. You can use it on any device and it will open your saved C-Value! files, should you need to do that.
K King says:
I’m looking for a “backwards” calculator — I have information on an investment that includes some, but not all years of a thrift savings plan’s earnings. The managing company no longer has records, and I lucked out when the former employer was able to locate some (but not all) records. The earlier years of the investment’s earnings are missing and I’m trying to determine what the probable earnings for those years would have been. I have 14 years’ worth of earnings from records that were found. Is there a way to back into the likely earnings for prior years?
Karl says:
Not that I know of. Even if you knew an average annualized rate of return, it wouldn’t help. One of the missing years could be a big down year and another missing year could be a big up year. Or both years could be up years but at or near the average return. There’s just no way of knowing.