Fall is a natural time to look ahead, revisit your financial goals and make sure your plans still reflect what matters to you. Here are seven calculators that can help.
October 1, 2026 | 6 min read
September is a natural reset time for many people, meaning it can feel a little like a second new year. Summer is ending, children are returning to school and many of us are settling back into regular routines. It’s a useful time to have a think about your finances, too.
Khalsa Credit Union’s seven financial calculators are a great way to inform decisions, help you explore your options and identify questions and decisions to potentially discuss with an advisor.
Calculators like these are all about testing different possibilities and scenarios. For example, you can change a loan amount, contribution or timeline to see what changes.
However, don’t look for answers from them. The calculators depend on the figures and information you enter, including interest rates, rates of return, future costs and other variables. A calculator can help you start planning, but it can’t factor in your overall financial situation or predict the future.
With that in mind, here are seven tools you can try.
When you’re thinking about buying a home or renewing your mortgage, the mortgage calculator can help you estimate how much you could borrow and what your payments might be.
The best approach is to enter a possible mortgage amount, interest rate and amortization period (the length of time to pay back the loan including interest). You can then use the calculator to:
If you’ve ever taken out a loan for a home renovation, a new vehicle or another big buy, you’ll know the significant effect on your monthly budget. The personal loan calculator lets you estimate the payments on a particular loan amount before you borrow. You can also start with a monthly payment you think you can manage within your budget, and use that to estimate how much you may be able to borrow.
You can compare different loan amounts and repayment periods and get a good picture of how much you can afford to borrow, how long you would need to pay it back and how much interest you might have to pay.
A Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) helps you save money for your retirement years. RRSP contributions are tax deductible and can be claimed against your income tax return, enabling you to lower your annual taxes.
The retirement calculator can help you estimate how much you may need to save to have the retirement you want. You can explore questions such as:
While you may not need to use a loan, mortgage or other calculator that often, using the retirement calculator to regularly see whether you’re on track or if adjusting your contributions, retirement date or expectations could make a difference.
Example:
Harjit is 45-years-old and hopes to retire at 65. He has built up some retirement savings and contributes to his RRSP each month, but isn’t sure if he’s saving enough. Entering his current savings, regular contributions, expected retirement age and estimated retirement income into the retirement calculator suggests there may be a gap between his current plan and the income he wants.
He uses the calculator to try different monthly contribution amounts and a later retirement age to see this affects things. While the calculator doesn’t make a decision for him, it does give Harjit a better picture of his options and some good questions to ask his advisor.
A Tax-Free Savings Account, or TFSA, lets eligible Canadians save or invest without paying tax on the income and growth earned. Withdrawals are also tax-free, but contributions are not tax deductible like RRSP contributions.
The TFSA calculator can show you the potential benefits of tax-free growth. After entering your current TFSA balance, planned contributions, contribution frequency, number of years, an estimated rate of return and your annual income, you can compare how a TFSA can boost your savings compared to taxable investments.
Tip:
Try comparing smaller regular contributions with larger ones. It lets you see how consistent contributions can add up over time.
A Registered Education Savings Plan, or RESP, helps families save for a child’s post-secondary education. Your investment income earned in an RESP can grow without being taxed while it’s in the plan. Your contributions may also qualify for government grants to add extra money to a child’s education savings.
The RESP calculator can help you estimate post-secondary tuition and living costs and how much you may need to contribute to save enough to help your child.
For example, you can enter:
The calculator projects potential education costs and shows how your personal contributions, estimated investment earnings and government grants could help you achieve your savings goal.
A Registered Retirement Income Fund, or RRIF, is a way to turn RRSP savings into retirement income. With an RRIF, you must withdraw at least a minimum amount each year, based on your age and the fund’s value.
The RRIF calculator can be very helpful if you’re approaching retirement and are thinking about how to turn your savings into regular retirement income.It helps you estimate your minimum annual withdrawal to see how it could contribute to your overall retirement income.
Planning a trip, sending money abroad or making an international purchase? The foreign exchange calculator lets you convert Canadian dollars into a range of popular foreign currencies—the British Pound, US Dollar, Australian Dollar and Euro—or convert those currencies back into Canadian dollars.
Tip:
Because exchange rates change, always check the current rate.
These seven calculators are here when you need them, whether it’s a one-time loan or a regular check-in on your retirement savings plan. The best approach to getting the most from them is to try a few different scenarios and write down any questions that come to mind.
Remember, the results you get aren’t answers. They give you a starting point for discussing things like a loan, mortgage options and adjusting your retirement savings with a KCU advisor.
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