A Brief Outline of How are Bond Repayment Calculated
Nearly everyone who has come to a point in their life where they are looking to acquire a bond for the purpose of making a large purchase runs into the same problem. Most people simply don’t understand how the bond repayment is calculated. The truth is that it may seem fairly complex and somewhat confusing but it is actually quite simple. The monthly payback is figured using a fairly simple formula which is based on a few factors.
Without a doubt, the factor which plays the largest role in what the monthly payments will be on a bond is the amount of the bond. If you take out a large bond you can expect to have relatively high monthly payments while a smaller bond can lead to lower monthly payments. The term length of the bond is also a major factor which affects the monthly payments on the bond. Bond’s are readily available for 10, 15 and even 20 years. In some rare cases a 30 year bond may also be available. Obviously, with longer bond terms you receive lower monthly payments because you are spreading the loan out over a greater period of time. The down side to longer loan terms is that it leads to paying out more money in the end than a shorter loan term. This is because you are paying interest over a greater period of time.
Another factor which directly affects the monthly payment on a bond is the interest rate itself. This interest interest rate is calculated by taking into account factors such as your credit score, work history, current employment status, income, and even age. The more favorable these figures are the better your interest rate will be. Higher interest rates not only mean higher monthly payments but they also mean that you will have paid more at the completion of the loan by a significant margin. In fact, a 1% increase in the interest rate can lead to thousands of extra dollars in expenses over the course of the loan.
Once this is all considered the next step is to determine what your actual monthly interest rate is going to be. The interest rate supplied by the bank for the bond is actually what is known as an APR or annual percentage rate. The interest you will actually be paying is calculated on a monthly basis so you are actually paying a monthly interest rate. To figure this out banks simply divide your APR by 12. As an example, if you have an interest rate of 10% then the banks will divide .10 by 12 which will give you a monthly interest rate of .0083 or .83%.
Once they have this information the banks use a simple mathematical formula to determine the actual monthly payback you will have on the bond. This formula is far easier than many people believe and will quickly give you your payback. There are also many online bond calculators available freely which will allow you to easily take figures and determine what kind of monthly bond rate you will have. There are also some reverse calculators which allow you to input how much you can afford per month and they will output how much of a bond you can really afford.
