Category: Financial Calculators

TI BA II Plus: Best Value in a Financial Calculator


TI BA II Plus

The Texas Instruments BA II Plus provides the best value in a financial calculator because it has all of the functionality of its competitors but comes at a lower price. TI created the first pocket calculator and the BA II Plus is a long way from their first offerings. The advances that TI has made over the years have created a great machine at an affordable price. This calculator provides the most bang for your buck.

The BA II Plus is one of two calculators allowed on the CFA exam so if you are a budding finance professional you can be confident that this calculator has the necessary functionalities that you will need for finance exams in college and beyond. The TI BA II Plus is a cheap financial calculator that doesn’t skimp on calculations and speed.

I have owned a TI BA II Plus for 15 years. I bought the calculator as an undergraduate and continue to use it as a finance professional. It served me very well in professional exams and I feel confident enough to take it to the car dealership to figure out the implied interest rate on a loan. I bought it because it was cheap and easy to use. At the time, I didn’t feel comfortable using the Reverse Polish Notation operating system that you have to learn for the HP 12C. The TI BA II Plus uses the standard Algebraic Operating System that is familiar to anyone who has used a pocket calculator. I have no regrets. It has served me well.

What Calculations Does the TI BA II Plus Perform?

Loan Interest
Loan Payments
Present Value of a Lease
Perpetual Annuity
Present Value of an Annuity
Value of a Lease with Uneven payments
Bond Price, Yield to Maturity, and Accrued Interest

I’ll stop there but here is a link to the owner’s manual so that you can figure out if it does what you need. I’m confident that this financial calculator has what you need.

Besides the financial functions, you’ll also find statistical functions for logs and regressions.

The user manual is an excellent resource. It will teach you how to perform the functions and help you logically walk through the calculations, teaching you how to quickly and effectively organize a problem and then find the solution. (I used to take it to class with me).

TI BA II Plus User Manual and Guidebook

You can’t go wrong with the TI BA II Plus. It’s the best value in a financial calculator.

Buy the TI BA II Plus from Amazon by clicking on the link below.

All the best in your financial pursuits.

HP 17BII: Buy The Ultimate Financial Calculator For The Finance Professional

Every finance professional carries a calculator through the day. Normally simple addition is all that is needed, however when the deal team is gathered in a conference room and the lead banker is demanding answers, you will be glad that you have the HP 17BII, the ultimate financial calculator for the finance professional. The power of the HP 17BII demands that you study its functions in order to be able to use it well, but after mastery, you will not be disappointed. The comprehensive functionality means that you will not get stuck in complex deal matters. This calculator allows you to enter a formula and set variables to enter and then solve for a missing variable, effectively solving algebraic problems for you.

The real beauty of this calculator lies in the easy to use menu that is displayed on the screen. After some practice with the great user guide provided by HP, you will be able to handle functions like Net Present Value, Loan Payments, and Interest Rates.

This is not a calculator for the novice. Rather it is designed for practitioners of finance, but can be used by anyone looking to do-it-yourself. It is fast and technical. You will struggle to find a problem that it cannot solve either by using the built-in functions or through programming on your own.

Here are the specifics:

Standard algebraic entry methodology

Performs more than 250 business and statistical functions including loan payments, amortization, interest rates and conversion, internal rate of return, net present value, bond price and yield, depreciation, and percentages.

Instruction booklet clearly walks the user through sample calculations and usages.

8,000 bytes of RAM.

Two line display screen that shows menu options as you calculate, which means great complexity in calculations.

The 17BII is fast and rugged and I haven’t yet found something I can’t solve either through the built in functions or by programming it.

Durable frame.

Tactile entry that clearly allows you to feel that you pressed a button.

This calculator is not accepted on the CFA exam.

Purchase the HP 17BII from Amazon by clicking the link below:

HP 17BII Financial Calculator