Loans & Finance

These tools cover the cost of borrowing and the value of saving. A loan or mortgage calculator shows the monthly payment, the total interest, and how much of each payment goes to principal — usually the number people are actually looking for. The savings and retirement tools work the other way, projecting what regular contributions grow into.

Interest in Tanzania is normally quoted as a monthly rate on a reducing balance, which is not the same as an annual rate divided by twelve; the loan interest guide sets out the difference. Rates, fees and insurance requirements vary by lender, so treat every result as an estimate of the particular offer in front of you.

The two ways of quoting interest are what make loan offers hard to compare. A flat rate is charged on the full amount borrowed for the whole term, so a 20% flat rate over two years costs far more than a 20% reducing-balance rate over the same period — the reducing-balance charge is worked out on what is still owed, which falls every month. Two lenders quoting the same percentage can therefore be offering loans that differ substantially in cost, and the only honest comparison is the total interest each one charges.

Fees and insurance sit outside the interest rate and are easy to miss when comparing offers: arrangement or processing fees, a mandatory insurance premium on the financed amount, valuation and legal costs on a mortgage, and sometimes a ledger fee. On a mortgage in particular, the deposit plus these upfront costs is the cash needed before anything is borrowed, and it is usually the number that decides whether a purchase is possible.