• About
  • Mortgage Basics
  • $40K Challenge
  • Aunt Doris
  • Grandfather Says
  • Privacy
  • Archives

Len Penzo dot Com

The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

Pigly: My New One-Stop Shop for Free Personal Finance Tools & Calculators

By Len Penzo

Last month, with interest rates plumbing all-time lows, I decided to refinance my home mortgage. As you might expect, a good portion of my pre-refinance research required me to map out the various combinations of loan periods and interest rates and their associated monthly payments. The good news is, now that I’m out of school, nobody expects me to come up with the answers all by myself — and show my work to boot. Not that I can’t do the math on my own; I can, but that takes time — and my time is extremely valuable.

Yes, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Anyway … in my desire to take the lazy way out by finding an Internet-based mortgage refinance calculator, I stumbled upon the one at a nifty new website called Pigly. I found the calculator to be much more helpful than the generic mortgage calculators found elsewhere on the net. That’s because, by quickly calculating monthly payment and net interest savings, as well as the number of months it takes to break even on the closing costs, the Pigly refinance calculator was better able to help me decide whether or not it was really worth refinancing my current mortgage at a lower interest rate.

Here is a screen shot of the Pigly refinance calculator inputs:

Once you input the information on your existing mortgage, you can evaluate different scenarios by inputting various interest rates, loan terms, points and other closing costs. Just be careful — when entering your mortgage balance, avoid using commas! Unlike a spreadsheet, doing so causes the Pigly calculator to immediately return to its default mortgage-balance entry of $200,000. It took yours truly several tries to figure that out; which is why I think it would be nice if Pigly either allowed comma entries — or at least notified users that commas are not allowed. But that is a minor nit that marred an otherwise excellent user experience.

Once you enter the data and click on the ‘calculate’ button, your results are immediately displayed below, as can be seen in the next shot:

Based upon your inputs, the refinance calculator outputs your new monthly payment, change in monthly payment, and total closing costs. It also shows the number of months required for your interest savings to offset the closing costs; just keep in mind that is not the same as the time required for your monthly payment savings to offset the closing costs.

As an added bonus, those who want more info can read a handy guide on refinancing that is included at the bottom of the page.

For those looking to withdraw some of their home equity in a cash-out refinance, Pigly has a loan-to-value refi calculator that allows you to see how much equity you can extract. Once that number is determined, you could then calculate your new loan payments using their cash-out refinance calculator.

By the way, Pigly isn’t limited to mortgage refinance calculators; they offer free interactive tools and calculators of all kinds that are designed to help people learn about personal finance — which is more important than ever with COVID continuing to strain many people’s finances. In fact, you’ll find a wide range of personal finance tools there for just about everyone — everything from savings, retirement planning, auto loans and mortgages, to personal loans and budget planning.

All of their calculators and personal finance tools are graphically similar to the refinance calculator I’ve shown here. As you can see, they’re pleasing to the eye and easy to use.

Oh … and best of all, Pigly is not only free to use — it’s ad free too. I urge you to check it out.

Photo Credits: Pigly

2 Comments September 29, 2020

Comments

  1. 1

    Lauren P. says

    I’ve used Dinkytown for years now; lots of free calculators and it’s fun to play around with them. I’ll have to check out Pigly; thanks for the info, Len!

    Reply
    • 2

      Len Penzo says

      Awesome! I think you’ll really like it, Lauren.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Question of the Week:

What did you do with your latest COVID stimulus check?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Recent Posts

  • 7 Signs That Tell Smart Stock Market Investors It’s Time to Sell
  • I’m Stumped: 7 Perplexing Money Questions Without a Good Answer
  • Black Coffee: A Land of Confusion
  • Which Sectors Got a Real Boost in 2020?
  • The Top 10 Ways to Quickly Make $500 in 2021
  • How Home Crowdfunding May Let Millennials Live the American Dream
  • 3 Important Tax Deduction Rules You Should Always Remember
  • 5 Ways You Can Save Money on Groceries This Week
  • Economic Collapse 101: How to Prepare for Water Supply Disruptions
  • Black Coffee: Painting the Town Red

Disclaimer

This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and the content herein should not be mistaken for professional financial advice. In fact, making investment decisions based on information published here, or any other website for that matter, is more than unwise; it is folly. This website accepts advertising in the form of monetary and other compensation; as such, topics of discussion are occasionally influenced by these advertisers. Sometimes, an article may also include affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, this blog earns a commission if you click through and make a purchase (for example, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases). Remember, you and you alone are responsible for the decisions you make in life, so please contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your unique personal situation.

Sign up for the weekly Len Penzo dot Com newsletter
Len Penzo dot Com Delivered Weekly
Join more than 30,000 readers and fans who enjoy personal finance and macroeconomics with an offbeat twist!
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing!

Popular Now:

  1. 1. A Simple Test to Know If It’s Better to Rent or Buy a Home
  2. 2. My Cola Taste Test: Is Coke Really Better Than Pepsi?
  3. 3. My 10 Commandments of Personal Finance
  4. 4. The Best Personal Finance Book I’ve Ever Read
  5. 5. Planning a Wedding? Here Are 9 Ways to Ensure You’ll Pay Too Much
  6. 6. 5 Things Nobody Tells You About Being Poor — for Good Reason
  7. 7. 4 Good Reasons Why Some Quarters Are Painted Red
  8. 8. 3 Great Hobbies That Are Investments Too
  9. 9. 10 Red Flags That May Signal You’re In Serious Financial Trouble
  10. 10. Are Gas Clothes Dryers Worth the Extra Money?

All-Time Most Popular:

  1. 1. 19 Things Your Suburban Millionaire Neighbor Won’t Tell You
  2. 2. Dear Friend: Here Are 41 Reasons Why I’m NOT Lending You the Money
  3. 3. Why Your Expensive Luxury Car Doesn’t Impress Smart People
  4. 4. If You Can’t Live on $40,000 Annually It’s Your Own Fault
  5. 5. 21 Reasons Why Corner Lots Are for Suckers
  6. 6. 4 Smart Reasons Why College Isn’t for Everyone
  7. 7. 18 Fast Facts About Social Security Numbers
  8. 8. My Ketchup Taste Test: Upset! Guess Which Brand Topped Heinz
  9. 9. Why I Prefer a Spreadsheet to Track Expenses and Manage My Finances
  10. 10. Here’s a Simple Trick for Getting Credit Card Interest Charges Waived

Copyright © 2021 Len Penzo dot Com · All Rights Reserved · Designed by Nuts and Bolts Media

Copyright © 2021 · Penzo on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in