If you are trying to get your head around investments, mortgages and other financial transactions, there are some great tools available on the internet to help you to calculate correctly.
It can be a mine field trying to work it out if you are not an expert, so make full use of these little gadgets to make your life a little easier.
Tools such as an annuity calculator can be very useful as they really illustrate the difference on your retirement income if you receive even a slightly better deal – this way you can see clearly the benefits of switching your annuity to a higher rate.
Mortgages too are notoriously difficult to calculate if you are not experienced, but there are some nifty tools out there from some of the top banks which mean that you can easily see how much you will have to pay out each month and what will happen if the interest rate goes up or down.
These tools are only to be used as a guide and should never replace professional advice but they allow you to take some control over your own finances by allowing you to check out different scenarios and different rates, so that you will be able to understand better what your bank manager is discussing with you at your appointment.