Borrowing money.  Nothing defines the modern consumer quite like this activity - so much so, in fact, that we've chosen our tool for calculating basic loan payoff data to launch our first single-tool specific post for our outpost here at Townhall.com!  Here's a short list of the data you'll need to use our simple loan payoff tool:

• Amount Borrowed ($USD)
• Annualized Percentage Interest Rate (APR)
• Term of the Loan (in Years)
• Frequency of Payments (Select from Annual, Semi-Annual, Quarterly, Monthly, Bi-Monthly, Bi-Weekly or Weekly)
• The Date the First Payment Is Due
• An Arbitrary Date for Paying Off the Loan

Now, here's what the tool will help you determine:

• The Amount of Your Loan Payment (Principal + Interest)
• The Total of Payments You Will Make Over the Full Term of the Loan
• The Total Amount of Interest You Will Pay Over the Full Term of the Loan
• The Balance Due on the Arbitrary Date You Chose for Paying Off the Loan in Full

Other Tools You Might Use (Elsewhere on the Internet)

Bankrate.com has a similar tool that will find the amount of your regular loan payment and can also generate an amortization table.  It will also consider several possible scenarios for making increased payments for the purpose of paying the loan off sooner, such as an increased monthly payment, an extra annual payment or, like ours, a specific early payoff date. 

The Bankrate tool is nice in that it let's you easily find what interest rates for loans are available in your area, although one annoying feature of the Bankrate calculator is that the page will reload each time you click the "Calculate" button.