GetRealTerms builds small, focused calculators for decisions where the headline number hides the real answer — a salary that looks bigger but costs more to live on, a bonus that isn't worth what it seems once it's spread over time. We start from public data — tax brackets, official loan rates, cost-of-living indices — and show our work at every step, then explain the terms behind it so you leave understanding more than just a number.
Who we are
We're a small team, not a financial institution — and we think that's worth being upfront about. GetRealTerms grew out of two decades spent as a systems analyst and developer: building government integration systems, academic platforms, and managing a solar energy project from the ground up. None of that makes us tax attorneys or financial planners. What it does mean is two decades of practice turning complicated official processes into something a real person can actually use to make a decision.
That's the skill this site is really built on: not financial expertise, but the habit of taking a system nobody explains clearly and rebuilding it so it makes sense. Every calculator here is checked against official sources — IRS brackets, Freddie Mac rates, College Board data, and more — before it ships. When a default goes stale or we get something wrong, we fix it.
How we build these
A few principles guide every calculator here:
- Fair time horizons. We compare choices over the same timeframe — a 15-year loan's freed-up payment gets invested for the years a 30-year loan is still running, for example — so neither option gets an unfair head start.
- Realistic defaults, not best-case ones. Where we can, defaults reflect what's actually typical (like the real spread of mortgage rates people are currently locked into), not a theoretical best case or today's headline rate.
- Every input is yours to change. Defaults are a starting point, not a verdict — change any number to match your own situation and the comparison updates with it.
More than a calculator
A number by itself doesn't teach you much. So alongside each calculator, you'll find the key terms that come up when you're comparing — explained plainly, not in legal language — and a short quiz if you want to check what stuck. Related calculators in the same category (Career, Housing, Auto, Education) are grouped together, so if you're weighing one decision, it's easy to see the others worth thinking about too.
The goal isn't just an answer. It's leaving with a slightly wider view of the decision than you came in with.
What this isn't
The calculations here are estimates for guidance, not formal tax, legal, or financial advice. We're not licensed advisors, and we don't pretend otherwise — for anything with real money on the line, talk to someone qualified to look at your specific situation.
GetRealTerms is an independent site. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with the IRS, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Freddie Mac, the Federal Reserve, College Board, the US Department of Education, or any other source cited throughout the site — we simply use their published, public data to build these calculators, and say so on every page that uses it.
These models also generally don't account for things like the adequacy of your emergency fund, whether you're carrying higher-interest debt that should come first, your eligibility to itemize deductions, an employer's retirement match, or your own tolerance for risk — all real factors a full financial picture would include.
With care,
The GetRealTerms team
Contact
Questions, corrections, or a calculator you'd like to see? Visit our Contact page.