Many websites today make calculating mortgage payments simple. You input the loan principal, loan terms and interest rate, and the website’s calculator spits out the amount of monthly mortgage payments. In some situations, though, you might desire or need to calculate mortgage payments without the help of a website. With a calculator equipped with the proper keys, you can calculate the cost of a mortgage using a well-established formula.
Note the loan amount, interest rate and number of months during which you will make mortgage payments. For a typical 30-year mortgage, you will make 360 monthly payments. You can use the calculator to figure the number of payments required by multiplying the loan term in years by 12.
Divide the interest rate by 100 by entering the interest rate and pressing the division key, followed by 100. Then press the equals sign.
Press the division key, type 12 and press the equals key to divide the figure from Step 2 by 12. Write down the number on paper.
Press the plus key. Then press 1 and the equals key to add 1 to the figure from Step 3.
Press the exponent key. It is a key with either "y" to the "x" power or "x" to the "y" power on it. It is not the "EXP" key, which is used for another purpose. After pressing the exponent key, enter the number of mortgage payments needed to pay off the loan and press the equals key. Write down the number.
Press the multiplication key, enter the figure from Step 3 and press the equals key.
Press “AC.” This stands for “All Clear” and prepares the calculator for new figures.
Enter the figure from Step 5. Press the minus key, enter 1 and press the equals key.
Press the 1/x button, then press the multiplication button, enter the figure from Step 6 and press the equals key.
Press the multiplication key and enter the amount of the loan. Press the equals key. The figure on the screen is the monthly mortgage payment on the loan.
Things You Will Need
- Scientific calculator
- Rather than writing down a number, you can store it in the calculator's memory by pressing the key with the letter "M" followed by a plus sign. To recall the number, press the "MR," or memory recall, button.
- If your calculator cannot perform the functions, you can use an online scientific calculator.
- calculator image by Randy McKown from Fotolia.com