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<
< Help file for PFP.EXE (this file named PFP.HLP)
<
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<INDEX
Help Index

Select the planner you need help with:

  [MORTPLAN Mortgage planner]
  [LOANPLAN Loan planner]
  [BUDGET Budget planner]
  [INVEST Investment planner]

Or the miscellaneous topic:

  [FILES Data files]
  Recalling [PREV previous] data values
  [PRINT Printing] planner information

  [ABOUT About PFP]

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<FILES
Saving data

Within each planner, you can save the current data, plus a copy of
the Notes, in a file of your choice.

To do so, press the F7 key, then type in the name of the file you
want the data stored in.

If you [FILES2 loaded] the data from a file, the name of that file 
will come up by default.  You may change it if you want to create
a new file, or leave it alone if you want to update the old one.

Whenever you make a change to any of the data or the [NOTES Notes], a
"*" will appear on the top line of the screen.  This is to let you
know that the current data has NOTE been stored on disk.

[INDEX Help index]
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<FILES2
Loading data

If you have previously [FILES saved] the data & Notes for a planner, you can
reload that data into the planner.

To do so, press the F8 key, then type in the name of the file you
want to load from.

You may also specify a directory name, or a name which includes 
wild cards (such as "\PFP\STORAGE" or "*.DAT").  PFP will then open
a window and show you a list of the files, allowing you to select 
the one you want.

If you select a file which was not created by the current planner,
an error message is displayed and no data is loaded.

[INDEX Help index]
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<NOTES
Notes

Each planner has a 5-line notepad in which you can store 
miscellaneous information.

To view or edit the notepad, press the F2 key while in the planner.

[INDEX Help index]
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<PREV
Recalling previous data values

As a convenience, as you work with each planner, PFP keeps track of
the last 9 values used for each item.  To easily change an item back
to one of its previous values, press the F6 key, then select from
the list.

[INDEX Help index]
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<ABOUT
About PFP

[INDEX Help index]
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<PRINT
Printing planner information

From within any of the planners, you can use the standard Print
Screen (or PrtScr) key found on any IBM PC-type keyboard.

Note that sometimes you must hold down the Shift key while pressing
the Print Screen key.

Note also that because PFP uses the Print Screen key, you cannot
do an ordinary (DOS-style) screen print.  Sorry.

[INDEX Help index]
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<MORTPLAN
Mortgage planner Help page #1 of 2

You supply these values:

  [M_OLDPRICE Old house selling price]
  [M_REALTORPCT Realtor's percentage] on sale of old house
  [M_SELLERPTS Seller's discount points] on sale of old house
  [M_MORTBAL Mortgage balance] on old house

  [M_NEWPRICE New house purchase price]
  [M_AMTDOWN Down payment] on new house
  [M_BANKPTS Bank points] on new house loan
  [M_TITLEINS Title insurance] on new house loan
  [M_CLOSCOSTS Closing costs] on new house loan
  [M_MISCOSTS Miscellaneous one-time costs] (moving expenses, etc.)
  [M_INS Semi-annual Insurance] on new house
  [M_TAX Annual real-estate tax] on new house
  [M_INTRATE Interest rate] on new house loan
  [M_YEARS Length in years] of new house loan

[MORTPLAN2 Computed values]
[INDEX Help index]
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<MORTPLAN2
Mortgage planner Help page #2 of 2

PFP computes these values:

  [M_COMM Realtor's commission] on sale of old house
  [M_NET Net profit] from sale of old house
  [M_PCTDOWN Percentage down-payment] on new house
  [M_TOTCOSTS Total costs]
  [M_CASHLEFT Remaining cash]
  [M_LOANAMT Loan amount]
  [M_PAYMNT Payment]
  [M_INTEREST Total interest paid] (finance charge)

[MORTPLAN Values you supply]

[INDEX Help index]
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<M_OLDPRICE
Old house selling price

Since, in many cases, when you buy a house you also sell
your old one, PFP allows the sale of your old house to be
factored into your financial planning.

The Old house selling price is the price for which you sell
your old house.  This is the gross price, before commission,
FHA discounts, etc.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_REALTORPCT
Realtor's percentage

Since, in many cases, when you buy a house you also sell
your old one, PFP allows the sale of your old house to be
factored into your financial planning.

Realtor's percentage is the amount of commission, in percentage
of sale price, that you're paying to a Realtor for the sale
of your old house.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<M_SELLERPTS
Seller's points

Since, in many cases, when you buy a house you also sell
your old one, PFP allows the sale of your old house to be
factored into your financial planning.

Seller's points are discount points which you must offer the
buyer due to the nature of the transaction (such as FHA),
in percentages of the sale price.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_MORTBAL
Mortgage balance

Since, in many cases, when you buy a house you also sell
your old one, PFP allows the sale of your old house to be
factored into your financial planning.

Mortgage balance is the amount which you must pay the bank or
mortgage company to pay off your old house.  If you own your old
house outright, this amount would be zero.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_BANKPTS
Bank discount points

This is the number of points, where 1 point = 1 % of loan
amount, which the bank or mortgage company charges as part of
the service or finance charge for giving you a home loan.

The other parts of the service charge are the [M_CLOSCOSTS Bank closing costs]
and the [M_TITLEINS Title insurance].

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_TITLEINS
Title insurance

This is a fee charged for insurance on the title on the new home.
It is normally a certain amount per thousand dollars of the loan
amount (such as $3.50 per $1000 borrowed).

The other parts of the service charge are the [M_CLOSCOSTS Bank closing costs]
and the [M_BANKPTS Bank discount points].

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_CLOSCOSTS
Bank closing costs

This is a fixed amount which the bank or mortgage company charges
as part of the service or finance charge for giving you a home loan.

The other parts of the service charge are the [M_BANKPTS Bank discount points]
and the [M_TITLEINS Title insurance].

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_MISCOSTS
Miscellaneous one-time costs

This item is a "catch-all" which allows you to include various fixed
expenses, such as moving costs, into the financial plan.  This amount
directly subtracts from your cash balance.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_INS
Annual insurance premium

This is the annual insurance premium paid on your new home.
This is used to compute the insurance portion of you PITI payment 
(PITI stands for Principle, Interest, Taxes, Insurance), which is 
the total payment due each month.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_TAX
Semi-annual real-estate taxes

This is the semi-annual real-estate tax on your new home.  
This is used to compute the taxes portion of you PITI payment 
(PITI stands for Principle, Interest, Taxes, Insurance), which is
the total payment due each month.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_NEWPRICE
New house purchase price

This is the full purchase price you plan to pay for the new house.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_PCTDOWN
Percentage down-payment

This is the percentage of down payment you plan to put on the new house.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_INTRATE
Interest rate

This is the interest rate charged on your mortgage.  
PFP will only handle fixed-rate loans.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_YEARS
Length of loan

This is the length of the mortgage in years.  Typically, this is
either 15 or 30.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_COMM
Realtor's commission

This is the amount of commission, in dollars, which you will
pay the Realtor for the sale of your old home.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_NET
Net from sale of old house

This is the cash remaining from the sale of your old home, after
paying the Realtor, seller's points, and the mortgage balance.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_AMTDOWN
Down payment

This is the amount you plan to pay as down-payment on the new house.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_TOTCOSTS
Total costs

This is the total cash amount required to cover closing costs plus
any misc. costs.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_CASHLEFT
Cash remaining

If this amount is larger than zero, then it's the the total amount 
of cash you have left from the sale of your old house, after 
paying off all the old house debts, the new house down-payment, 
and the new house fixed costs.

If this amount is smaller than zero, it's the amount of cash you
must come up with to complete the purchase.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_LOANAMT
Loan amount

This is the total amount financed.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_PAYMNT
Monthly payment

This is the PITI monthly payment.  PITI stands for Principle,
Interest, Taxes, and Insurance, all of which are included in this
payment.

For the amortization schedule (selected with the F9 key), only the
Principle and Interest portions are considered.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<M_INTEREST
Total interest paid

This is the total amount of interest you will pay if you keep the
house long enough to pay off the mortgage.

[MORTPLAN Mortgage planner index]
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<LOANPLAN
Loan planner Help page

You supply these values:

  [L_TRADEAMT Trade-in on old car]
  [L_LOANBAL Pay-off on old car]
  [L_NEWPRICE Purchase price]
  [L_SALESTAX Sales tax rate]
  [L_AMTDOWN Down-payment]
  [L_INTRATE Interest rate]
  [L_INSURANCE Monthly loan insurance]
  [L_MONTHS Length in months] (i.e. number of payments)

PFP computes these values:

  [L_TAXPRICE Price after tax]
  [L_PCTDOWN Percentage down-payment]
  [L_LOANAMT Amount financed]
  [L_PAYMNT Monthly payment]
  [L_INTEREST Total interest paid]

[INDEX Help index]
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<L_TRADEAMT
Trade-in on old car

The LOAN planner assumes that you're taking out a loan on a purchased
item, such as a car.

When you trade in an old car to the dealer where you're buying
a car, you only pay sales tax on the difference between the
trade-in amount which the dealer credits you and the 
[L_NEWPRICE Purchase price] on the car you're buying.

PFP allows you to enter the trade-in allowance, and automatically
computes the sales tax on the difference.  NOTE that although this
is how it works in Ohio, it may or may not be true in other states!

Any difference between the Trade-in amount and the [L_LOANBAL Pay-off] amount
on your old car is applied toward the down-payment on the loan (it is
added to the cash [L_AMTDOWN Down payment].

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_LOANBAL
Pay-off on old car (loan balance)

This is the remaining balance owed on the car you're trading in.
In particular, this is the amount which you would have to pay the
bank on the day you buy the new car in order to pay off the old
car loan (usually referred to as the "pay-off" amount).

If the [L_TRADEAMT Trade-in] allowance you receive is larger than
the Pay-off, the difference is added to the cash [L_AMTDOWN Down payment]
(and will show up as part of the computed "% down (with trade)" 
value).

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_NEWPRICE
Purchase price

The LOAN planner assumes that you're taking out a loan on a purchased
item, such as a car.

The Purchase price is the price before sales tax of the item.

The total amount needed to buy the item will also include
sales tax (see also [L_SALESTAX Sales tax rate] and [L_TAXPRICE Price after tax]).

To figure out the payments on a plain bank loan of some amount,
enter that amount as the Purchase price, and set the Sales tax
rate to zero.

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_SALESTAX
Sales tax rate

This is the local sales tax rate which is due on the purchase.  This
is used to compute the [L_TAXPRICE Price with tax], which is the total
amount of money you'll need.

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_PCTDOWN
Percentage down-payment

This is the total percentage down-payment which will be applied to
the loan, including any profit from the trade-in of your old car.

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_INTRATE
Interest rate

This is the annual interest rate for the loan.

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_INSURANCE
Monthly loan insurance

Most lending institutions offer some sort of loan insurance, which 
pays off the loan in case of your death or disability.  Typically 
this adds a fixed amount to the monthly payment.

The value you enter for Monthly loan insurance is simply added into
your monthly payment, so you may also use it to take into account 
other fixed monthly costs.

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_MONTHS
Length of loan in months

This is the number of months (i.e. payments) over which you plan to
pay on the loan.

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_TAXPRICE
Price with tax

This is the full price of the item you wish to purchase, after the
[L_SALESTAX Sales tax] has been added to the [L_NEWPRICE Purchase price].

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_AMTDOWN
Down payment amount

This is the cash amount you plan to put as down-payment toward 
the purchase.

If you've entered the [L_TRADEAMT Trade-in] and [L_LOANBAL Pay-off] amounts
for a car which you're trading in, PFP will automatically factor in 
the profit (or loss) from the trade; you should NOT include the
profit (or loss) in the Down payment amount you enter.

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_LOANAMT
Amount financed

This is the total amount which you borrow.  It is equal to the
[L_TAXPRICE Price with tax] minus the [I_AMTDOWN Down payment].

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<L_PAYMNT
Monthly payment

This is the amount of your monthly payment, including the fixed
[L_INSURANCE Monthly loan insurance] (if any).

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<L_INTEREST
Total interest paid

This is the total amount of interest you will pay over the life 
of your loan, assuming you don't pay it off early.

This amount is often called the "finance charge", although the 
"finance charge" paid to a bank or finance company may include other 
one-time costs.

You can use the Amortization schedule to see the gradual effect of
the interest, and the savings possible with early payoff.

[LOANPLAN Loan planner index]
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<BUDGET
Budget Planner

The budget planner allows you to create two lists.
One list includes all your Income, the other your Expenses.

The F3 key selects the Income list, F4 the Expense list.
Each list can have up to 30 items.

Each item in a list includes a [B_DESC description], the [B_VALUE amount],
and the [B_PERIOD period] covered by the item.

At the bottom of the screen, the average monthly totals
for Income and Expenses are listed, along with the balance
(this is how much you should, in theory, have left each month,
on average, after paying your bills).

Use the ARROW keys to move to each part of each item, or to
move to another item in the list.

[INDEX Help index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<B_DESC
Income/Expense Description

The description column is labeled "Income" and "Expense",
depending on which list is displayed.

The description indicates the source of the Income or
destination of the Expense.

[BUDGET Budget planner help]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<B_VALUE
Income/Expense Amount

The Amount column indicates the amount of each Income or
Expense item.

Note that the Amount may be a weekly, bi-weekly, twice-monthly,
monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual amount.  This is
specified by the [B_PERIOD period] selection.

[BUDGET Budget planner help]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<B_PERIOD
Income/Expense Period

The Period specifies how often the Income item is received or
the Expense item is paid.

The choices are:
      None (this turns the item off)
      Weekly (once a week)
      Bi-weekly (once every two weeks, 26 times per year)
      Twice-monthly (twice a month, 24 times per year)
      Monthly (once a month)
      Quarterly (once every 3 months)
      Semi-annually (once every 6 months)
      Annually (once a year)

To select the period, press the first letter of the desired
setting ("W" for Weekly, "M" for Monthly, etc.).

[BUDGET Budget planner help]
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<INVEST
Investment planner Help

You supply these values:

  [I_SEED Initial investment]
  [I_FEED Periodic investment]
  [I_FEEDPER Investments per year]
  [I_RATE Annual Interest rate]
  [I_RATEPER Compoundings per year]
  [I_LENGTH Number of years] to project

PFP computes these values:

  Number of [I_PI Periodic investments] added
  [I_TOTFEED Total periodic] investment amount
  [I_TOTAL Total investment] amount
  [I_VALUE Final value]
  [I_NET Net gain]

[INDEX Help index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<I_SEED
Initial investment

This is the amount, in dollars, that you initially place into
the investment.

For example, if you opened an IRA account and placed $3000 into
it, the Initial investment would be $3000.00.

[INVEST Investment planner index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<I_FEED
Periodic investment

This is the amount, in dollars, that you add to your investment
at the rate specified by [I_FEEDPER Investments per year].

For example, if you added $2000 to an IRA each year, you'd set
the Periodic investment to $2000.00, and the Investments per year
to 1.

[INVEST Investment planner index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<I_FEEDPER
Investments per year

This is the number of [I_FEED Periodic investment]s that you add
each year.

For example, if you invest $100 into an investment account each
month, you'd set the Periodic investment to $100.00, and the 
Investments per year to 12.

NOTE that if the Investments per year value doesn't match the
[I_RATEPER Compoundings per year] value, PFP must compute using an
iterative technique, which might slow the response somewhat.

[INVEST Investment planner index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<I_RATE
Annual interest rate

This is the annual rate of growth of the investment.  The actual
compounding rate is specified by the [I_RATEPER Compoundings per year]
value.

[INVEST Investment planner index]
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<I_RATEPER
Compoundings per year

This is the number of times per year that interest is compounded.
The annual rate is specified by the [I_RATE Annual interest rate] value.

NOTE that if the [I_FEEDPER Investments per year] value doesn't match the
Compoundings per year value, PFP must compute using an iterative 
technique, which might slow the response somewhat.

[INVEST Investment planner index]
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<I_LENGTH
Number of years

This tells PFP how many years into the future it should project
your investment.

[INVEST Investment planner index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<I_PI
Periodic investments

This is the number of periodic investments made (i.e. the number of 
times you will have added to your investment).

[INVEST Investment planner index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<I_TOTFEED
Total periodic investment

This is the total amount of money, in dollars, that you will add to
your investment.

[INVEST Investment planner index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<I_TOTAL
Total investment

This is the total amount of money which you will have invested.

It equals the [I_SEED Initial investment] plus the [I_TOTFEED Total periodic investment].

[INVEST Investment planner index]
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<I_VALUE
Final value

This is the total amount of money which your investment will be worth
after the specified number of [I_LENGTH years].

[INVEST Investment planner index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<I_NET
Net gain

This is the return on investment.

[INVEST Investment planner index]
<---------------------------------------------------------------------
<end of PFP.HLP

