Decisions
Start with the question, not the tool
A calculator tells you what a number is. Most real questions need three or four numbers read in the right order — and knowing which order that is. Each decision below walks through the DayCents calculators that answer it, and says what the combined result does and does not settle.
Can I afford this house?
Work out what a home actually costs you each month — payment, taxes, insurance, PMI — and whether a lender would approve it. Four calculators, in the order they matter.
5 calculators
Should I rent or buy?
Compare the full cost of owning against renting over your actual time horizon, including the costs of buying and selling that make short stays expensive.
4 calculators
Should I refinance my mortgage?
The break-even test everyone teaches can approve a refinance that costs you more than doing nothing. Here is the comparison that actually decides it.
4 calculators
How do I get out of debt?
Order your debts, find the extra payment that actually moves the date, and price the shortcuts. The method matters far less than most advice suggests.
5 calculators
Should I pay off debt or invest?
Compare a guaranteed return you cannot lose against an expected one you might. The answer is clear at both extremes and genuinely close in the middle.
4 calculators
How much do I need to retire?
Turn the spending you want into a number, check whether your current saving reaches it, and see what Social Security and a later claiming age take off the total.
5 calculators
Roth or traditional — which should I use?
The usual framing asks whether your tax rate is higher now or later. That is correct but incomplete, and it hides the reason a Roth is often the better account even at identical rates.
5 calculators
What will I actually take home?
Turn a salary offer into the number that reaches your account, then check what a raise, a contribution change or self-employment does to it.
5 calculators
Am I saving enough?
Check your savings rate, size your emergency fund on lean spending rather than income, and see whether the total is on track for what you want later.
5 calculators
Can I afford this car?
The payment is the smallest part of what a car costs. Work out the financing, the running costs, and whether leasing changes the arithmetic.
5 calculators