Break-even is not a profit, and my calculator said it was
Refinance a 200,000 mortgage. Current rate 7%, 300 months left. New rate: 7%. New term: 25 years. Closing costs: 4,000. That is not a refinance. It is the loan you already have, plus a bill for four thousand. My calculator, in green: Save $0.00/mo The number is right. The word is not. One ternary, three answers tag : monthlySave >= 0 ? { text : ' Save ' + fmt ( monthlySave , 2 ) + ' /mo ' , level…
The source material discusses a calculator used to analyze mortgage refinancing options. The calculator incorrectly labeled the result of break-even as a profit, showing "ROI Profit 0.00" in green, even when no real profit was made. Out of eight comparisons made by the calculator regarding financial scenarios, only one accurately identified a break-even situation as such, without any coloration.
The calculator failed to provide a clear indication for this null result, instead opting for a neutral grey label that lacked any distinguishing color. This oversight led to confusion, as the reader had no visual cue to differentiate a true break-even outcome from merely a pure zero value, which could have been mistaken for a saving or cost.
To address this issue, it was proposed to introduce a dedicated "neutral" category for null results, presented in a grey color. This change would clearly signal to users that the result was not a profit or a loss, but rather an absence of any financial gain or loss, thereby improving the transparency and accuracy of the calculator's output.
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