Questions

If you have a question about the calculator or about amortization, attach a comment to this page. But please, be sure you’ve checked the FAQ Page first. (You’ll need to create an account to post a comment.)

199 Replies to “Questions”

  1. Hi, James. In fact, the calculator does show up on a search for ‘Mortgage Calculator’, but it’s buried back a few pages. There’s a lot more competition with those particular search terms. The calculator can’t be everything for everybody, so I’m content to let the calculator stay within its particular niche.

    Thanks for looking out for me!

    Bret

  2. Hi, Bret. Nice tool.

    I used it a few days ago but couldn’t find it after I closed my browser. Finally, I remembered that I had originally searched for ‘amortization’ but was now searching ‘mortgage calculator.’ Maybe you’d get more hits if you included the word ‘mortgage’ on your calculator. I’m sure the Google ad dollar$ will roll in.

    Take care!
    James
    Houston, TX

  3. Hehe, I have already gone to the companies’ websites and sent messages that I was attempting to filter their ads because of the annoyance factor. Maybe they’ll reconsider their strategy.

    It is interesting to me that, in one sense, the ad is effective because it draws attention. But it doesn’t take long before it has the opposite effect. Though I’m not a violent person, I begin feeling compelled to slap that screaming, bobble-headed woman, and I don’t think I’m alone in that sentiment. 😉 (For those who haven’t a clue what we’re talking about, here’s a link to the ad: http://www.fetcharate.com/cre/4/scream.swf)

    Bret

  4. Great news! Here is yet another approach. Perhaps you could forward our comments (Phil’s and mine) to the company which posted the obnoxious ad. When they see how people are reacting, perhaps THEY will pull the ad, themselves. On the other hand, you have to wonder about someone or someones who created that obnoxious thing in the first place.

    If they realized the negative effect their ad was having on people – i.e people navigate away from the site BECAUSE OF this very ad, they might think twice about retaining it. As I said, it is a serious blemish on an otherwise very nice site.

  5. Hi, LEB. I agree. After Phil’s similar comment, I tried to see if there was a way to filter that particular ad, but I was unsuccessful. Recently, Google has provided a way to preview ads, but this particular ad was not listed. After digging around some more, I think I may have found a way to filter this particular advertiser, so I hope to have this annoying image purged soon.

    Bret

  6. Bret,

    Your loan amortization utility is quite handy. It is the first one which comes up on a Google search so I am guessing that is why so many people find your blog. The more people who use it, the more it will come up first on any future search.

    Here is the problem. The advertisement with the lady screaming (re loans) was SO absolutely, incredibly obnoxious and annoying that I could hardly stand to finish the download I was doing. It took every ounce of effort not to go off to another site for the calculations. It was bad, Man.

    I mean we are not just talking annoying here or even mildly obnoxious. We are talking majorly, industrial strength obnoxiousness as in a really, really BAD ad ….. on an otherwise perfectly nice site. I’d look into that and put some restrictions on what they can put up there by way of advertising. To say that this ad got on my nerves while I was downloading would an understatement of the order of saying that the bomb when dropped on Hiroshima created a little disruption to the routine daily business
    LEB

  7. Hi, Phil. Until now, I had no problem with the Google Ads that had been placed automatically on the calculator page. But I think I just saw the ad to which you’re referring, and I agree, it is obnoxiously distracting. I don’t know if there’s a configuration option that will allow me to dial down the obno factor, but I’ll take a look!

    Bret

  8. I really like your calculator and use it almost daily for my work. However, that boggle-head ad for the mortgage rates is so distracting that I can’t keep the page up. I know you need to offer advertising to fund your work, but that particular one is pretty bad. Thanks

  9. Hi again, Mo. Yes, the calculator does indeed round each interest payment to the nearest whole penny. (Maybe banks can pay each other off in fractional pennies, but the rest of us mere mortals are constrained to whole cents.) Because each interest payment has been rounded, the final payment may be larger or smaller than the standard periodic payment.

    Bret

  10. Its okay. We’ve decided to put particular issue aside. I do however, have another question.

    It seems like your calculator rounds the interest amounts when calculating the payments. Do you round the numbers? If so, which decimal do you round it to? Im currently truncating the numbers, totaling them up and adding them to the last payment. The result is variable, but we seem to be a few cents + or – every time.

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