Financial Calculators: Purpose, Features & Brands

As someone who works in the area of complex daily calculations, you know how important it is to own a good financial calculator that will help you along the way. I know you can do simple calculations without the use of it, but as a worker in the vast area of finance, you know it is impossible to move forward without having to buy financial calculator that will be your right hand. Although there are formulas to help you work out all the mathematical problems you may have, sometimes you just need to do it in a fast and secure manner. Doing it quickly yourself in some cases may not exactly be a promising solution. So, why bother when you can buy financial calculator and get it over with.

One of the few reasons to decide to buy a good financial calculator would be the mere fact that a basic model simply cannot perform complex calculations like calculating interest rates and taxes. Another one would be the lack of some standardized functions on some financial calculators, which implies that buyers are proficient in performing simple mathematical tasks, and would use the calculator only as additional help.

Financial Calculations

Purpose of a Financial Calculator

This leads us to the purpose of a financial calculator. Before they were invented, mortgage and loan repayments, interest rates, income and council tax rates, predictions on fuel costs and learning how to reduce credit card payments were done by hand, using formulas and hours-long calculations. This was time consuming for sure, plus the entire process of making financial decisions would last for hours, days and even weeks.

Today, with the help of a financial calculator, which is a device designed to specifically address solving financial problems, that process is cut down to a few hours, even minutes, considering the complexity of the problem. Bottom line, what once required a whole notebook, a pencil and hours of thinking and calculating, is now done with the push of a single button. Technology sure knows how to make things easier.

TI BA II Plus Financial Calculator

What Distinguishes a Basic Calculator From a Financial Calculator?

Its features mainly. A financial calculator has buttons that can perform some features a basic one cannot. Some of the special buttons of financial calculators are:

  • Interest and return generated – I;
  • Number of payments – N;
  • Payment – PMT;
  • Future or potential future value – FV;
  • Present value or current loan amount – PV.

Once you enter the needed variables, you instantly get the result. Moreover, advanced financial calculators also have the following features:

  • Multi line display – handling two or more sets of calculations separately at one time;
  • 10 digit display;
  • Additional gadgets like an instruction booklet and a protective case designed for that specific model.

Choosing a Brand

There are a lot of companies that manufacture financial calculators with different features and performances. You just need to determine two things before you buy financial calculator: what will you use it for, and the budget you are willing to spend on it. Once these things are settled, you can choose from the wide range of brands including: Texas Instruments, Casio, Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Flair, Claro and many others.