This is the final post in a four-part series spotlighting Checkpoint by RIA.
Checkpoint has a variety of useful calculators. They are divided into a series of topics such as auto, credit card, loan, and tax. Each topic contains several calculators that allows the user to enter data into labeled boxes and the calculator will compute the entered information into an easy-to-interpret results page.
To access the calculators click the “Tools” tab on the top bar, and select “General” under the “Calculators” section of the drop down menu.
Under Personal you will find calculators such as Checkbook Balancer, Home Budget, Student Budget, and Credit Assessment. Under Tax you will find a 1040 Tax and a 1040EZ Tax Estimator calculator. The Savings sections contains calculators for Lunch Savings, College Savings Plan, and Savings Goals.
As an example, let us look at the “Lunch Savings” calculator under the “Savings” section.
The calculator prompts you to enter the price of an “eat out lunch” and a “bagged lunch.” Next, enter the amount of bagged lunches to bring from home each month (average is 20), and the number of years you are going to save your lunch money. Finally, enter your expected rate of return on investment (the definitions section provides that the current S&P 500 annual rate of return of 7.76%).
Click “Calculate.” The calculator predicts that the lunch savings over the next four years could be $6,734 or $120 per month.
Access to Checkpoint by RIA database is available through the Texas Tech Law Library website under the Electronic Databases tab.
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