LoanExplorer Help

Know What Is. Explore What If.

LoanExplorer helps you understand a loan and compare ways to repay it. Start with your current loan, then keep named Extra Payments and Refinance plans connected to it.

Quick Start

1. Open Solver and enter an origination date and currency.
2. Enter three of the four loan values: amount, monthly payment, annual interest rate, and term. Choose Solve Amount, Solve Payment, Solve Rate, or Solve Term for the missing value.
3. Choose Save Loan, give the loan a useful name, and save it.
4. Open Snapshot to see a scheduled balance on a chosen date.
5. Open What If to compare extra payments or refinancing. Save each useful proposal as a named plan.
6. Open Schedule to inspect the current loan or a saved plan, jump to a payment, or export its schedule.

LoanExplorer models fixed-rate loans with monthly payments. It assumes scheduled payments were made on time; it does not connect to a lender or read your transaction history.

Find Your Way Around

On Mac and roomy iPad layouts, a sidebar groups saved loans with their What If plans. On other layouts, choose Saved Loans. Open Settings for language, sync information, Siri access, and app information. Some compact actions appear in Actions.

Solve a Loan

Enter the fixed nominal annual interest rate, not an APR that includes fees. Use the actual loan amount, monthly principal-and-interest payment, and term when they are known. Taxes, insurance, and escrow do not belong in the monthly payment field.

Choose Months or Years for the term. Changing that display choice preserves the loan’s exact number of months. Editing a decimal number of years may require rounding to a whole month; the app explains that conversion.

The first payment is one month after origination. Later payments retain the original due-day anchor: a day near the end of a month adjusts for shorter months and returns to the original day when possible.

An invalid or non-amortizing combination needs correction before it can be saved as a current result. A very small payment may not repay the loan within the supported term.

Currency and Precision

Select the compact flag/currency control beside or below Origination Date. LoanExplorer supports 26 named currencies and None. Currency selection changes the denomination and rounding; it does not convert amounts using an exchange rate.

Named currencies use their standard minor units. For None, Settings → No Currency → Decimal Places offers zero through six places, with two as the default. Saved loans retain their own currency and precision. Interface language, regional number formatting, and loan currency are separate choices.

Save and Update Without Extra Copies

Save Loan creates a named base loan. Reopening and editing that loan keeps its identity. Recalculating a named loan normally saves the new solved values automatically.

If new financial terms would invalidate a connected plan, LoanExplorer asks before saving the base change. Choose Update This Loan to save the changed terms, or Cancel to leave the saved base unchanged. The plans remain connected; affected plans show Needs Recalculation.

Use Edit Details to change a name or notes. A name or notes change alone does not invalidate plans.

Use the normal update controls to keep working on the same record. Save as New Loan, Save as New Comparison, and duplication are explicit choices for an independent copy. They are not needed for ordinary edits.

On Mac, Command-S follows the loan or comparison currently displayed. In Schedule, it follows the selected Schedule for source.

Understand Saved Status

These labels describe the saved result. The separate sync status tells you whether iCloud has caught up; Comparison Saved does not by itself mean another device has received it.

Read a Snapshot

Select Snapshot and choose As Of. A payment due on that date is included; dates between payments use the last scheduled payment before that date. The snapshot summarizes scheduled progress, outstanding balance, and payoff information.

This is a projection based on the saved loan terms. It is not a lender payoff quote or confirmation that a payment was actually made. Daily interest, missed payments, and lender-specific processing may produce a different real balance.

Compare Extra Payments

1. Open a solved base loan in What If and choose Extra Payments or New Extra Payments.
2. Choose an effective date. The extra principal begins with the next scheduled payment after that date.
3. Enter Extra Monthly Principal and choose Compare Payments.
4. Review the total monthly payment, interest saved, earlier payoff, and eliminated payments.
5. Save the comparison with a useful name. If prompted, Save Loan First keeps your entered proposal while you save its base.

The original rate and regular payment stay unchanged. The fixed extra amount reduces principal each month. The last payment is adjusted so you do not pay beyond the remaining debt. One-time or changing extra payments are not modeled.

Example: An Extra $250 Each Month

The example Home Loan is $300,000 at 6.5% for 360 months, originating January 15, 2026. Its modeled regular payment is $1,896.20.

With $250 extra principal starting after origination, the modeled monthly total is $2,146.20. Payoff moves from January 15, 2056 to November 15, 2047, 98 months earlier, with $120,339.02 less interest. These are fictional assumptions, not a current rate offer or a prediction of an individual lender’s results.

Compare Refinancing

1. Open What If and choose Refinance or New Refinance.
2. Choose the effective date and enter the proposed annual rate and term.
3. Enter Upfront Fees paid at the start and Financed Fees added to the new loan separately.
4. Choose Compare Loans and review the payment, total future cost, payoff date, and sustained break-even information.
5. Save the comparison as a named plan connected to the same base loan.

A lower monthly payment can still cost more overall, especially if the term is extended or fees are substantial. LoanExplorer’s break-even comparison considers payments, fees, and remaining debt. An advantage must remain favorable through the comparison period; a temporary crossing is not enough.

Example: A Lower Rate

Five years into the same fictional $300,000 Home Loan, after 60 scheduled payments, the remaining balance is $280,833.26. Refinancing that balance on January 15, 2031 to 5.5% for 15 years, with no fees, gives a modeled payment of $2,294.64—$398.44 more each month. Payoff moves from January 15, 2056 to January 15, 2046, ten years earlier, with $155,828.93 less future interest. The comparison excludes the first five years of payments and interest, which have already been paid. Real refinance fees and the actual effective date can change that result.

Update a What If Plan

Open its saved name, edit the proposal, and calculate again. Review Unsaved Preview, then choose Update Comparison to update the same plan. Changing to the other What If mode creates a separate comparison when saved, rather than replacing a plan of a different kind.

When the base loan changes, choose Recalculate Plan to load its updated assumptions while retaining the plan’s proposal inputs. Choose Compare Payments or Compare Loans, review the new result, and update the comparison. Recalculation alone does not accept the new comparison as saved.

Old results are retained as history, but an out-of-date plan cannot be shown or exported as a current calculation. A source labeled Saved Loan Assumptions describes the historical terms used for that result.

Inspect Charts

Select a point or use the inspection controls to read exact values. Where available, expand the chart data for a text/table view. A solid yellow path identifies the current loan; proposed comparisons also have direct labels and a different line treatment.

In What If, choose a chart measure such as remaining principal, cumulative cash outflow, cumulative interest paid, or payments plus debt benefit. Fees affect cash and benefit comparisons; fees are not counted as interest. Show Earlier Payoff or Show Payoff moves the inspection to the relevant payoff point.

Explore in Space on Apple Vision Pro

On visionOS 26 or later, a calculated Extra Payments or Refinance proposal can offer Explore in Space. It opens a separate, read-only visualization of the selected loan and proposal so you can compare the cost of borrowing over time.

Use Play and Pause to control playback. A full playback takes about 20 seconds at Normal speed, regardless of loan length. Choose Slower or Faster under Animation Speed: to adjust the pace. The timeline slider is below the speed selector; use it to inspect a point in the schedule. The playback controls stay in place when you expand comparison details.

The animation moves smoothly between monthly points; numeric values show the last completed scheduled payment. A smaller final payment can create a visible bend near payoff because the path follows the scheduled balances.

Move the spatial window using its system move handle below the controls. Close it with the system close control or the visualization’s Close action. Moving, closing, or inspecting it does not save or change the loan or plan.

If you close the main LoanExplorer window while the visualization stays open, choose LoanExplorer in the visualization toolbar to bring it back. Selecting the app in Home may leave only the visualization visible. Choose Close in the visualization toolbar to close only that visualization.

If you change the proposal, calculate the new result and open it again for that comparison. Spatial availability does not change the ordinary What If charts on other devices.

Use the Payment Schedule

Choose Schedule for to select Current Loan or a named connected plan. Verify the source before inspecting or exporting.

Enter Payment Number and choose Jump. Row 0 is the opening balance. The maximum is the actual final payment in the selected schedule, including an earlier payoff. Jumping changes the inspected row; it does not change the Snapshot or What If effective date.

Payment = Principal + Interest + Additional Principal. Principal is repaid through the regular payment; Additional Principal is the extra amount. A proposed future schedule starts at its effective date with its own opening row 0 and future payment numbering.

Export to Numbers, Excel, or CSV

Open the export preview and confirm the record name, saved/preview status, and schedule source.

• Excel (.xlsx) contains loan information and the complete payment schedule. A valid What If calculation can add a comparison sheet with both paths and assumptions.
• CSV (.csv) contains the complete selected payment schedule, including opening balance and additional principal.

Choose a destination in Apple’s save interface. Numbers can open the XLSX workbook; you may then save it as a Numbers document. LoanExplorer does not generate a native .numbers file. Spreadsheet edits do not run LoanExplorer’s calculation engine.

Notes and recovery drafts are excluded from exports. The displayed record name and financial assumptions can be included, so check the preview before sharing. Deleting a saved loan does not delete files you have exported.

Sync with iCloud

Supported signed release builds synchronize saved loans and What If plans through your private iCloud account by default. Use the same Apple Account on your devices and enable iCloud access for LoanExplorer in Apple’s Settings. LoanExplorer does not create a separate account or share loans with other people.

Open Saved Loans or Settings → Saving and sync to see sync status and Sync Now. Updates can take time, especially after background use, an interruption, or Apple’s service delays. Keep the app open and connected while checking another device. Sync Now requests another attempt; it cannot override connectivity problems or Apple’s retry limits.

If iCloud is unavailable, local edits remain saved on the device. No local saved loans yet. refers to the local library; it does not mean earlier iCloud loans were deleted. Restore access to the same Apple Account to see its retained library again. Existing local saved loans can join that account when iCloud first becomes available. Recovery drafts remain device-local.

Turning off iCloud access is not the same as deleting data already stored there. Changing Apple Accounts selects a different account’s saved library; libraries are kept separate to prevent one account’s loans being sent to another. Avoid using copying as a routine refresh method because it creates an independent item.

Resolve Conflicting Versions

If two devices edit the same saved record before receiving each other’s changes, Review Versions may appear. Open Saved Loans → Review conflicting versions and expand the details to compare the full terms and notes.

Choose Keep this version to resolve the record under its existing identity. Choose Keep Both only when you intentionally want independent recovery copies. You can leave the versions for later review. A plan whose base needs version review may also need attention until the base is resolved.

Recover Work or Restore a Deleted Item

Unfinished edits are saved separately as local recovery drafts. In Saved Loans → Recoverable local drafts, choose Resume Edits to continue a draft on that device. Drafts are not named saved results and do not sync to other devices. Separate windows may have separate recovery drafts without creating extra named loans.

Deleting a saved loan or plan moves it to Recently Deleted, where it can be restored for up to 30 days. Deleting a base loan leaves its plans accessible under Source Unavailable; restoring the base reconnects them. A restored plan keeps its identity.

Delete Permanently cannot be undone in the app. Deletions synchronize when iCloud is active. Exported files and answers already returned to Siri or Shortcuts are separate copies and are not removed by deleting the saved record.

Use Siri and Shortcuts

1. Save the base loan in LoanExplorer.
2. Open Settings → Siri and Shortcuts and enable Allow Saved Loans. This is off by default and applies on that device.
3. In Shortcuts, add LoanExplorer’s Open Saved Loan or Show Loan Snapshot action. Enter the saved base loan’s name; the snapshot action can also take an As of Date.
4. Run the shortcut while able to authenticate on the device. You can give it a distinct name, such as Open Home Loan, and ask Siri to run that shortcut.

Open Saved Loan displays saved terms in a separate read-only result. Show Loan Snapshot uses the saved terms and assumes scheduled payments. Neither action changes the editing window, saves a revision, or uses an unfinished recovery draft. What If plans are excluded.

Loan names are resolved during your authenticated request. LoanExplorer does not add saved loans to Spotlight or passive Siri suggestions. Turning Allow Saved Loans off stops new access and hides open results; it cannot erase answers already returned to Siri or Shortcuts. See Privacy.

Change Language

The interface follows your preferred supported app language; numbers and dates follow your device region. LoanExplorer supports English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese.

Online Manual follows the app’s selected supported language, which can differ from your browser’s language. Spanish (Spain) uses the Spanish edition. Portuguese (Portugal) uses the Brazilian Portuguese edition; a separate European Portuguese translation is not provided. A language the app does not support falls back to a supported preference or English. Changing the interface language does not change the loan’s currency or financial values.

Choose Settings → Change Language. On iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, the app opens its Apple Settings page where supported. If Language is missing, add a second preferred language under General → Language & Region while keeping your existing primary language.

On Mac, open System Settings → General → Language & Region → Applications, add LoanExplorer, choose its language, and relaunch. You can change the app language without changing the Mac’s primary language. LoanExplorer saves recovery work before its Change Language handoff; if saving fails, resolve that error first.

Model Assumptions and Limits

LoanExplorer uses fixed nominal annual interest, monthly periods, and fully amortizing loans. Interest is rounded half up each month to the selected currency precision. The final payment adjusts to clear the remaining balance and may be slightly higher or lower than the regular payment.

The model excludes daily accrual, taxes, insurance, escrow, late or missed payments, variable rates, interest-only periods, balloon contracts, prepayment penalties, and lender-specific payment processing. Extra Payments supports one fixed recurring monthly amount. Results help compare assumptions; use your loan agreement and lender’s payoff quote for actual obligations.

Troubleshooting

A change has not reached another device. Confirm the same Apple Account and LoanExplorer iCloud access on both devices. Open Saved Loans on each, inspect the message and last successful sync, and try Sync Now. Allow time for the other device to receive the update. Do not duplicate the loan or erase the app to force a refresh.

A saved plan says Needs Recalculation. Recalculate against the current base, calculate the comparison, review it, and update that same plan.

I see Unsaved Preview. The new calculation has not updated the saved comparison. Choose Update Comparison after review.

The snapshot differs from my lender. Check the date, rate, term, payment, and model assumptions. The app does not read real payment activity or daily lender interest.

Shortcuts cannot find a loan. Check Allow Saved Loans, authentication, the exact saved base name, and that the correct account library has loaded. A draft or What If plan is not an eligible base loan.

The app is unresponsive or reports a save error. Avoid repeated taps or deleting the app. If you must reopen it, check Recoverable local drafts. Contact support with your app version, device/OS version, and steps to reproduce, using fictional values where possible.

Get Help

Find the installed version in Settings → About → Version. Contact [email protected] or visit LoanExplorer Support. Please do not send Apple Account passwords, financial account identifiers, or unredacted private loan files.

WealthProof LoanExplorer is published by Dezota LLC. WealthProof is a brand of Dezota.