Q. Sometimes when I am looking at a car, boat or motorcycle I want to figure an approximate payment in my head. How do I do that? What is the formula for figuring payments?

A.A good rule of thumb at today's interest rates is to assume you'll pay $20 a month for every $1,000 you'll borrow with a five-year (60-month) loan. If you're considering a $10,000 bike, for example, and you're going to finance the entire thing over five years, expect your monthly payments to be about $200 a month. (At 8% the exact payment would be $203.)

The easiest way to make such calculations is to use the "Simple loan calculator" you'll find on our “Auto Loans” page. You just enter the amount you want to borrow, how long you want to borrow it for, and several different interest rates. It will calculate your

Q. I owe approximately $21,000.00 on a truck and would like to purchase a home that is selling for $20,000.00. Is there a loan that will put these into one loan with one monthly payment?

A.We don't know of any loans that routinely wrap money for a home and a vehicle together. If you really wanted to pay for both with a single loan, you could probably get a personal loan for $41,000, pay off the truck and the home, and then have one payment to the bank or finance company.

But here¹s why we don't think that's a good idea:

We don¹t know how much interest you are paying on your truck loan, but hopefully it isn¹t more than 9% or 10%. It could be less. And as far as the home goes, current mortgage rates are in the 6% range with good credit.

Reputable (and I stress the word "reputable") finance companies, such as Beneficial and  American General would be able to give you a personal loan for $41,000, assuming your credit is good enough to qualify. But that could cost you 18%, 25%, or more in annual interest.  Some banks offer a personal line of credit, which might cost you in the 16% range (depending on your credit score), but we couldn¹t find an unsecured line of credit for more than $20,000.

We  would suggest that you shop for personal loans and that you shop for a mortgage. When you find the best deals available, have the lender figure out your costs: what would be your monthly payment on your personal loan that would require only one check; or what would your monthly payment on a mortgage loan be plus what you pay on your truck?

There will likely be a substantial difference between the two.

Have a question about your finances? Ask us at editors@interest.com.

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