The handy currency tool that calculates everything from Discounts & Sales Tax (1) to Money Exchange (2) to Payments (3) and Amortizations.

Discounts and Sales Tax

You can figure discounts and sales tax by using this calculator. You can use the Percent Discount menu (4) by picking a preset amount or by choosing Other and typing a number.

Pick a Sales Tax (5) from the drop down menu or by choosing Other and typing a number.

Enter a number into the Amount field (10) by either clicking that field or the Compute Total from Amount button (8). All the other fields will automatically be filled in.

You can also enter a fixed discount by clicking the Discount field (11). After entering a new discount amount a new total will be calculated. Clicking the Fixed discount instead of percent button (7) performs the same function.

Normally tax is computed on the Sub Total amount, but sometimes you may want the tax computed on the original amount. If this is the case, uncheck the Compute tax on Sub Total button (6). A new total will be calculated.

Use the Compute Amount from Total button (9) to calculate the amount, discount and sales tax from a specified total. After clicking this button, you will be asked for a total and then all the other fields will automatically be filled in. You can also perform this function by clicking the Total field (14).

Money Exchange

With the Currency Calculator you can convert any currency to any other currency. All you need to provide is the amount and the exchange rate.

Enter the number of dollars (or other currency) that you want to convert into the $ Amount field (1).

Click the Exchange rate field to enter an exchange rate. For instance, if you get 4.5 of the other currency for each dollar, enter 4.5 into the Exchange rate field (2). Click the Rate Info button (2a) for a link to current exchange rates.

The Other Amount (3) will be automatically entered after completing step 1 or 2.

You may also enter a number in the Other Amount (3) field to calculate the number of dollars. The $ Amount field (1) will automatically be updated.

Enter the Currency type if desired (4).

You can keep notes about exchange rates, etc. in the Notes field (5).

To explore the Number, Dates, Times, and Measurement Calculators click the buttons at the top of this screenshot.

Payments

You can calculate loan payments and future values of investments with this calculator. You can also figure the total number of months before an amount is paid off.

To calculate Monthly Payments, fill in the Loan Amount (1), the number of Years (2) or Months (3) to pay, and the Annual Interest Rate (4). The Monthly Payments (5), Total Payments (6) and Total Interest (7) will be automatically calculated.

Choose either Simple or Compound interest by clicking one of these (8) radio buttons.

You can change the Loan Amount or length of the loan and then click the Payments button (12) to get a new calculation.

Click the Show Schedule button (9) to see a list of the payments and how fast the balance changes.

If you want to know how long it will take to pay for (amortize) an investment, enter the Initial Cost (1), any Interest paid (4) and how much per month you are paying (5) and the Months to Pay (3) will be calculated. You can change the Loan Amount or Monthly Payments and then click the Months button (11) to get a new calculation.

For example, I'm considering purchasing a solar electricity package for my home. If I know the initial cost is $20,000 and my Monthly Payments average about $300 then if I figure 7% interest for the loan, I can find out that it will take me 85 months to pay for the new equipment.

You can also find out how much an investment will be worth in the future. Just fill in any Initial Value (1) the number of months (3) into the future you want to project, and the amount you'll contribute to the fund each month (5). Then click the Amount button (10).

For example, if you have a mutual fund that has $2000 in it (Initial Amount) and you get an average return of 12% (Annual Interest Rate) and you want to know what it will be worth in 10 years (enter 10 in the Years field and press Enter) and you add $100 a month to the fund (Monthly Payments), when you click the Amount button, you will discover that the fund will have a Future Value of over $45,200.