loan-interest

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I mean, who doesn't like to look at mortgage amortization tables? Me and my family like to sit around and quiz each other by saying stuff like "What is the monthly payment on a 30 year fixed interest mortgage of $135,000 at 8.25%?" We've even set it up in "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" format with lifelines and what have you and we have a real blast!

When we want to take a break, we just pull out the book on the calculation of Pi to 150,000 places and see who can recite the farthest. Then we have a group hug!

You may not use it often, but this book will come in very handy when planning to borrow money. I've been an investment professional since 1988, and this is the most borrowed book on my shelf. I also owned the previous edition, and this version has been improved with the inclusion of rates down to 2% and the expansion of loan amounts to $300,000 in the primary table.

The book is conveniently organized in four tables, ordered from most-commonly to least-commonly used (as it happens, largest to smallest). Table 1 (monthly amortization) is where everyone spends the most time. Just turn to the interest rate page, then read across for "loan amount" and down for "years in term," and you've got your monthly payment to the penny. For non-round numbered loan amounts, you can avoid having to interpolate by grabbing a calculator and turning to Table 2 (required payments for monthly, quarterly, etc.), where you can look up the multiplier (per $1000) corresponding to the rate and term of a given loan (yep, that's how your mortgage lender does the math). Less frequently used are loan progress charts and proration data, Tables 3 and 4, respectively.

This book is straightforward, convenient, and travels well. My favorite of its kind.

This book is a great source of information for anyone buying a car or house or applying for a loan. Monthly payments (withing a few dollars) can quickly be determined. This is a must have business/investment reference. I've purchased it as a gift for several family members and friends.

I purchased this book over 8 years ago and use it for reference on a continuous basis. The section I use the most is "monthly payment needed to repay a loan". It has tables ranging from 1 year to 40 year loans and interst rates from 5% to 25%. It also gives easy to understand info on obtaining student loans, home mortgage guidelines, second mortage financing, mortgage refinancings, car leasing, consumer credit, point discount tables and load progression charts.

Pretty much everything that was said in this book was in my first choice (Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life). If I would have known the book as going to be more than 80% tables, I would have never ordered it. Most of the information contained in this book can easily be found on the web. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with this book. I guess that's what happens when you buy online as opposed to in a bookstore. I could have flipped through this book in 20 or 30 seconds and realized that most of the pages were tables that needed more detail. What I found funny is that I received this book 2 whole days before I received my first choice and that's because my first choice supposedly was shipped before my second choice.

Here is what this book says. Paying your mortgage off faster than your payment schedule will save you tens of thousands of dollars. True, but what is the time value of that money you spent on your mortgage? Could you have "made" more in the stock market or somewhere else?

Yet the author belabors the point ad nauseam, giving examples about how much you can save paying a little more per month.

Basically, he does not give the full story. When you pay off your loan early, you are also paying a net higher interest rate. Scim this book at the bookstore. The best secret is not buying this book!

This book provides excellent advice on what were until now--to many--secrets of the financial industry.

Just a note on a previous review: many banks say they will NOT accept prepayment. I know of a way that every bank approves up, that saves homeowners thousands in unnecessary interest and cuts years from their mortgage. I'll gladly call or email anyone who sends an email on this subject.

This book was a total disappointment. I received betterinformation from an introductory finance college-level course thanfrom this waste of time.