How it works · Methodology
How our tools work
Understand what goes into an estimate, what comes out, and where the model stops. Start with the overview, then inspect the tool that answers your question.
At a glance
Your inputs. Stated assumptions. Limited scope. The nine public tools cover mortgages, savings and monthly money. Your Finances is a separate manual view of current assets and debts. None provides personalized advice.
Read an estimate in three steps
- Start with your question. Choose the tool whose scope fits it.
- Inspect the assumptions. A labelled example is a way to try a tool, not a recommended amount or return.
- Compare and verify. Change an assumption, then check the limits and relevant provider or official source before acting.
The tools use different models for different questions. A default is not universally conservative. A result can be mathematically consistent with its inputs and still differ from what happens in real life.
The current tools, question by question
These are the nine tools in the public Tools collection, followed by the separate Your Finances household view. Open a tool to read the assumptions beside its results.
| Tool and question | How to interpret the result |
|---|---|
| Home-Buying Budget PlannerWhat cash remains to close, and what would the home mean for the month? | BasisOne chosen resale home; explicit down payment, deposit, closing-cost checklist and retained reserve. Separate supported CMHC Purchase / Home Start premium scenarios or confirmed no-borrower-premium assumption; monthly fixed Canadian semiannual P&I via FIN2 1.2.0, half-up cents.What it meansKnown unpaid cash subtotal with missing items; housing and remainder using take-home income and full condo fees. Optional lender references use gross income, qualifying-rate P&I, tax, heat and half condo fees; CMHC 39%/44% are references, not approval.LimitsUnknown costs remain unknown. No provincial transfer-tax engine, new-build rebate, maximum-price solver, lender decision or lifetime-rate forecast. Premium tax is cash-only; a confirmed quote overrides an estimate. Québec uses the premium payment date: 9% through December 31, 2026 and 9.975% afterwards. Unknown date/applicability requires a quote; Ontario automatic tax is unavailable pending usable provincial evidence. Deposit and paid fees reduce their unpaid line once; cash now is already net of past payments. Reserve stays separate. All-cash arithmetic makes no mortgage qualification inference. Inspect the checklist, sources and limits. Entries remain unsaved page memory. |
| Mortgage PaymentWhat payment could follow from a price, down payment, rate and amortization? | BasisA cent-rounded monthly reference; semiannual Canadian or selected monthly compounding. Standard monthly, twice-monthly or every-two-weeks payments.What it meansPayment, interest through modelled payoff, and a monthly equivalent with entered ownership costs.LimitsNo accelerated payments, lender approval, dates or fees. Optional insurance is a limited base-premium illustration; eligibility and premium sales taxes are excluded. |
| Mortgage PrepaymentWhat could a recurring extra monthly payment change? | BasisOne constant rate, semiannual compounding and monthly payments, with extra principal after the regular payment.What it meansBaseline and extra-payment payoff durations and interest; the difference is an illustration.LimitsNo lump-sum schedule, lender prepayment privileges or penalties. Full-payoff results require completion within 480 months. |
| Mortgage RenewalWhat could my renewal payment and balance at term end be? | BasisEntered balance, remaining amortization, fixed rate, term and payment frequency; Canadian semiannual compounding and cent-rounded schedules. Optional cash at renewal is applied before interest. A separate hypothetical repayment-plan model compares changed amortizations.What it meansScheduled principal and interest, interest and principal within the entered term, and the balance at term end. Fixed offers use the exact shorter term as a shared horizon when representable; otherwise the comparison is limited. A lower payment does not necessarily mean lower interest or less remaining debt.LimitsNo lifetime unchanged-rate projection, live rates, offer ranking or lender approval. Fees, penalties, qualification and future renewal rates are excluded. Zero rates are supported; unsupported timing fails closed. Verify actual lender terms. |
| TFSA GrowthHow could starting funds and regular deposits grow? | BasisStarting balance and lump sum at the outset; deposits at month end; the entered annual return divided by 12 for monthly compounding.What it meansContributed funds and assumed growth, shown separately in a future balance.LimitsNo room or tax-eligibility check, withdrawals, fees, inflation or market variability. |
| RRSP GrowthWhat balance could be illustrated at a chosen retirement age? | BasisStarting balance and end-of-month deposits at a constant assumed return, compounded monthly over the entered age horizon.What it meansAccount balance before withdrawal tax, separating starting funds and deposits from growth.LimitsNo spendable retirement-income estimate, room check, refund reinvestment, withdrawal tax, drawdown, fees or inflation. |
| RESP PlannerWhat might contributions and basic CESG build by a goal month? | BasisMonth-end contributions and a constant assumed return. Basic CESG mode uses entered all-plan history and confirmed conditions; contribution-only mode is an explicit alternative.What it meansStarting balance, future contributions, received basic grant and growth; accrued but unreceived grant is separate.LimitsAdditional CESG, CLB and provincial benefits are excluded. No withdrawals, fees, inflation or tax model. Opening records and eligibility need promoter verification. |
| Family Budget PlannerWhat remains after the income and costs I enter? | BasisMonthly income minus fixed costs, variable spending, savings and debt allocations. Blank categories remain unknown.What it meansA partial or complete monthly budget, with valid entries saved in this browser.LimitsNo payroll, tax or benefit calculation, bank feed or prediction of future spending. |
| Cash Flow SnapshotWhat remains after this month’s entered outgoings? | BasisIncome minus housing, fixed costs, debt payments, savings and flexible spending.What it meansEntered monthly totals and remainder; committed-outgoings share needs positive income.LimitsNo payment calendar, bank feed or automatic transfer to Your Finances. These entries are not saved. |
| Your FinancesWhat do my current assets and debts add up to? | BasisManually entered current assets minus current debts, with browser-local saved snapshots.What it meansA current net-worth picture and changes between intentionally saved snapshots.LimitsNo live accounts, forecast, score, optimization or recommended action. |
Mortgage rates, payments and rounding
Mortgage Payment and Prepayment hold the entered rate constant through their illustrated payoff. Renewal is term-bounded. Home-Buying Budget estimates the scheduled monthly payment only; it does not publish lifetime interest or assume a future renewal rate. Canadian semiannual compounding is converted to an effective rate for each payment period. Mortgage Payment also lets you explicitly select monthly compounding.
Mortgage Payment first rounds the monthly reference to cents, then converts it to the selected standard frequency: 12, 24 or 26 payments a year. It does not model accelerated biweekly payments. Ledgers round interest and payments half up to cents and stop at natural payoff, which can include a small final payment beyond the reference amortization. Incomplete full-payoff results are withheld at each tool’s computation ceiling.
Rate conventions, insurance, payment dates and privileges in a lender’s contract can differ from a simplified illustration. See the Mortgage Payment assumptions and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s mortgage information.
Savings assumptions and program rules
TFSA and RRSP growth use the return you enter, divided into monthly periods. Contributions arrive at month end. The smooth growth path is an assumption, not a prediction of market returns; neither tool calculates your contribution room or personal tax position.
The RESP tool distinguishes market balance from contribution and grant history across plans. In basic CESG mode, it models grant receipt at December end, after that month’s deposit, with no earlier growth on that grant. That timing is a planning convention, not a government payment promise. Contribution-only mode does not add future grants. Unsupported histories or schedules need reconciliation with the promoter.
Inspect RESP assumptions, Canada Education Savings Grant information, and the CRA’s TFSA and RRSP information. Official rules and your records determine eligibility; a tool result does not.
Checking calculations and handling data
Automated calculation checks compare outputs with stated model expectations; some mortgage and RESP checks also use independently prepared numerical references. These are checks of calculation behaviour, not professional approval or a guarantee about future outcomes.
Calculations run in the browser. Budget and Your Finances can save entries on the same browser and device; there is no FinForFam financial-profile account or bank connection. Contact submissions and optional analytics are separate from financial storage. See Privacy for details and controls.
Our editorial approach explains AI-assisted preparation, source checking and correction requests. A source-check date records an inspection; it is not the date a law takes effect or a professional sign-off. For wider next steps, see tools and their limits.
Help us inspect an apparent error
Use Contact with the page URL, relevant field labels, a nonsensitive description of the result and a public reference if available. Use fictional or sanitized examples. Please do not send statements, account identifiers, balances or a full set of private household inputs.
We review reports and respond when a reply is appropriate. Reporting an issue does not promise an immediate correction. You can also email hello@finforfam.ca.