Crunching the numbers

There are a lot of financial calculators on the Internet, but DollarTimes gets points for creativity.

One of the site’s calculators, for instance, helps estimate how much you could save if you made your own coffee rather than going to Starbucks. Another calculator compares the cost of brown-bagging versus buying lunch. A third helps figure the savings if you quit smoking.

The site has 27 calculators, with some tackling more traditional personal finance tasks, such as estimating mortgage and car payments, or calculating the savings needed to retire.

Those concerned with gas prices will be interested in three DollarTimes calculators: One estimates commuting costs, one figures gasoline expenses for a road trip and a third shows how much you’d save with a more fuel-efficient car.

The site also offers a fill-in-the-boxes household budgeting tool that can be used to track your spending.

-- Scott J. Wilson