---
title: "Money and Home Project Guides | MCC Solutions"
description: "31 plain-language guides on car loans, refinancing, down payments, paint, flooring, tipping and more, each with worked numbers and a free calculator."
url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/tools/guides"
---

Guides

# Plain-language money and home project guides

## Overview

Worked examples, common mistakes and a free calculator for each: car loans, refinancing, down payments, paint, flooring, tipping and more.

[GUIDE ### How Much Car Payment Can You Afford? Work backward from a monthly budget to a price you can finance, and see how loan length changes the total you pay. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-much-car-payment-can-you-afford)[GUIDE ### How Car Loan Interest Works, Month by Month See why early payments are mostly interest, how each payment splits, and what an amortization table tells you. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-car-loan-interest-works)[GUIDE ### Is Refinancing Worth It? Find Your Break-Even Divide closing costs by monthly savings to see how long a refinance takes to pay for itself, and what the simple math leaves out. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/is-refinancing-worth-it)[GUIDE ### How Much Down Payment Do You Need? See what a down payment looks like at 3%, 5%, 10% and 20% of the price, and how it changes the loan you take on. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-much-down-payment-do-you-need)[GUIDE ### How to Compare Two Loan Offers Compare payment, total interest and term side by side so a lower monthly payment does not hide a higher total cost. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-compare-two-loan-offers)[GUIDE ### How to Calculate Stacked Discounts Correctly A 25% sale plus a 10% coupon is not 35% off. It is 32.5%. See the formula for stacked discounts, worked examples and a free calculator that does it for you. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-calculate-stacked-discounts)[GUIDE ### How to Tip and Split a Bill Fairly Figure the tip, the total and each person's share, plus simple ways to handle uneven orders. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-tip-and-split-a-bill)[GUIDE ### How to Figure Gas Mileage and Trip Fuel Cost Measure your real miles per gallon from one fill-up to the next, then estimate the fuel cost of a drive. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-figure-gas-mileage-and-trip-cost)[GUIDE ### How Much Paint Do I Need for a Room? Figure wall area, subtract doors and windows, multiply by coats and divide by coverage so you buy the right number of gallons. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-much-paint-do-i-need)[GUIDE ### How Much Flooring or Tile Should You Buy? Measure the floor, add a waste allowance, divide by the piece size and round up to whole boxes. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-much-flooring-or-tile-to-buy)[GUIDE ### How to Split Rent With Roommates Fairly Compare an equal split with one based on income or room size, and settle utilities before anyone signs. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-split-rent-with-roommates)[GUIDE ### How to Convert Hours and Minutes to Decimal Hours Turn 8 hours 20 minutes into 8.33 hours for timesheets and invoices, and convert decimals back. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-convert-hours-and-minutes-to-decimal)[GUIDE ### How Much House Can You Afford? Budget to Price Turn a monthly housing budget and your other debts into a price range, and see why a lender's maximum is not the same as comfortable. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-much-house-can-you-afford)[GUIDE ### Closing Costs First-Time Buyers Should Plan For A plain list of the fees due at closing, who usually pays them, and how to compare your Loan Estimate with the Closing Disclosure. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/closing-costs-first-time-buyers-should-plan-for)[GUIDE ### How to Build a Monthly Household Budget in Six Steps List income, fixed bills, variable costs and yearly expenses, then give every dollar a job, with one worked household example. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-build-a-monthly-household-budget)[GUIDE ### How Big Should Your Emergency Fund Be? There is no single right number. Multiply your essential monthly costs by the months you choose, then see how long saving takes. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-big-should-your-emergency-fund-be)[GUIDE ### Total Cost of Owning a Car: Compare Two Cars Price is only the start. See how tax, interest, fuel, insurance, upkeep and depreciation add up over five years for two example cars. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/total-cost-of-owning-a-car)[GUIDE ### Debt-to-Income Ratio Explained, With an Example Learn how to calculate your debt-to-income ratio, what counts as debt, the difference between front-end and back-end, and how to lower it. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/debt-to-income-ratio-explained)[GUIDE ### How to Split Shared Expenses Fairly With Roommates Compare equal, by-room and by-income splits for rent, then handle utilities, groceries, settling up and what happens when someone moves out. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-split-shared-expenses-fairly-with-roommates)[GUIDE ### How to Set a Holiday Budget and Stick to It Add up gifts, travel, food and events before you spend, work backward to a monthly amount, and see what putting it on a card really costs. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-set-a-holiday-budget)[GUIDE ### Year-End Household Money Checklist A plain year-end checklist: compare budget to actual, check sinking funds, trim subscriptions, review coverage, gather records and set next year's budget. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/year-end-household-money-checklist)[GUIDE ### The 50/30/20 Budget Rule, With a Worked Example Split take-home pay into needs, wants and savings, see the rule on a real number, and what to do when your needs come to more than half. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/the-50-30-20-budget-rule)[GUIDE ### Zero-Based Budgeting: Give Every Dollar a Job How a zero-based budget works, a full worked month where income minus the plan equals zero, and how to keep it from breaking mid-month. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/zero-based-budgeting-explained)[GUIDE ### Sinking Funds: Save Monthly for Yearly Bills What a sinking fund is, how to work out the monthly amount, and a worked example that turns three yearly bills into one steady number. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/sinking-funds-explained)[GUIDE ### Debt Snowball vs Avalanche: Which Pays Off Faster? Both methods put extra money on one debt at a time. A worked example shows how the payoff order, the months and the interest differ. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/debt-snowball-vs-debt-avalanche)[GUIDE ### How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt: The Numbers Why minimum payments take years, a worked example of paying more each month, and the steps that cut the interest. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-pay-off-credit-card-debt)[GUIDE ### Pay Yourself First: Save Before You Spend Why saving first works better than saving what is left, how to set it up, and what $200 a month becomes in five years. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/pay-yourself-first-savings)[GUIDE ### How to Budget With an Irregular Income A budget for freelancers, gig workers and anyone paid by commission or tips: plan on your low month and build a buffer from the good ones. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-budget-with-irregular-income)[GUIDE ### How to Find and Cut Subscriptions You Forgot About Find every repeating charge in your statements, add up the yearly cost, and decide what to keep, with a worked example. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-find-and-cut-subscriptions)[GUIDE ### How to Track Your Net Worth (and Why It Matters) Add up what you own and what you owe, see a worked example, and why the trend over time matters more than the number. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-track-your-net-worth)[GUIDE ### How to Budget as a Couple: Splitting Bills Fairly Three ways couples split shared costs, a worked example of splitting by income, and how to keep money talks from turning into fights. Read the guide →](/tools/guides/how-to-budget-as-a-couple)

Looking for just the numbers? See all [free tools](/free-tools).

Reach families handling estates, aging parents and life changes who read this guide: [advertise here](/advertise#family).

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## Need help with your business finances?

[Contact us](/contact)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)