About
Numbers, not persuasion
A set of free calculators and written guides for the money decisions that arrive with a deadline attached.
Why it exists
Most financial tools are built to sell something. The framing is chosen, the defaults flatter, and the figure that would give you pause is the one left off the page. That is not carelessness — it is the job those tools were built to do.
This one has the opposite job. Every assumption is on screen and editable. Every rule is named and linked to where it comes from — the statute, the IRS publication, the regulation. And the 58 calculators are built to show you the answer when the answer is no: the refinance that never pays itself back, the lease that costs more, the years you spend owing more than the car is worth.
The 58 guides do the same in prose — what a rule actually says, what it excludes, and where two readings are possible. The guides carry advertising, which is what pays for the site; it is bought by whoever buys it and is not a recommendation, and no calculator carries any. Nothing on the Site is sold by us, and no result is steered toward anyone. The numbers are the product.
No affiliation
ShouldIFinance is an independent personal project, built and maintained by one person who works in the mortgage industry. It is not operated by, for, or on behalf of any employer, and it speaks for none. It has no affiliation with any lender, broker or financial institution, and takes no referral fees.
Nothing published here is a quote, a pre-approval or a commitment to lend. The Disclaimer sets out the full position.