Kira Dulu: calculators for everyday Malaysian money questions

What you will build

A "calculate first" routine for money decisions, built around Kira Dulu, the free calculator site I built for Malaysian money questions. Before you commit to a van on hire purchase, a home loan or a card payoff plan, you run the numbers from real quotations, write down the inputs and results, use AI only to explain terms and prepare questions, and then take those questions to the bank or your adviser.

You end with a one-page money check you can bring to any meeting, and a clear record of what the estimate said and what the bank actually offered.

Before you start

The decision you are weighing, in one sentence.
Real numbers from official sources: the bank's product page or a written quotation, the seller's price, your own income and commitments.
A browser. Kira Dulu runs in your browser with no signup, and its FAQ says the calculators do not pull CCRIS or CTOS.
Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini, only for explaining terms and drafting questions.
A notes page for your money check.
About 30 minutes.

How it works

A calculator gives you an estimate from the numbers you enter. That is useful before a meeting, because you arrive knowing roughly what a monthly payment or ratio looks like and which questions to ask. It is not an approval and not advice. Kira Dulu says so on its own pages: its results are indicative planning estimates, and a bank still makes the final decision.

The routine follows the Desk pattern. The calculator does the arithmetic from official numbers. The AI explains terms and drafts questions, and is told not to recommend anything. You, with the bank or a licensed adviser, decide. Every input and output is written down so you can compare the estimate with the real offer later.

Write the decision as a question.
Collect real numbers from official sources.
Pick the right calculator.
Run it and record inputs and results.
Read the limits of the estimate.
Use AI to explain terms and prepare questions.
Take your questions to the bank or adviser and record the answers.

Step 1: Write the decision as a question

Write what you are checking, not what you have already decided. A question keeps you open to the numbers.

TEXT

MONEY CHECK
Decision: [e.g. Can the business carry a van on hire purchase alongside current commitments?]
Why now: [e.g. current van is costing more in repairs]
Deadline for the decision: [date]
Who decides: [you / you and partner]
Who I will ask: [bank officer, accountant, licensed financial adviser]

If the decision involves both personal and business money, write that down. It changes which numbers matter and whom you should ask.

Check

The decision is written as a question.
The people who decide and advise are named.
The deadline is realistic.

Step 2: Collect real numbers from official sources

Estimates are only as good as the inputs. Kira Dulu's FAQ is direct about rates: use the current rate shown on the bank's official product page or quotation.

TEXT

INPUTS AND SOURCES
Price of the item: RM [ ]   Source: [seller quotation, date]
Down payment: RM [ ]        Source: [your plan]
Rate: [ ]%                  Source: [bank product page or quotation, date]
Tenure: [ ] years           Source: [quotation]
Monthly income: RM [ ]      Source: [your own records]
Monthly commitments: RM [ ] Source: [list of current loans and cards]

Write the source and date beside every number. A rate from a friend's loan last year is not an input.

Check

Every input has a source and a date.
Rates come from the bank's page or a quotation.
Commitments include every loan and card, not only the big ones.

Step 3: Pick the right calculator

Kira Dulu lists these tools on its homepage:

DSR Calculator: your debt-service ratio and monthly headroom.
Loan Eligibility: lender planning scenarios.
Home Loan: reducing-balance instalments, total interest and required income.
Car Loan: Malaysian flat-rate hire-purchase monthly payments and an effective-rate estimate.
KWSP/EPF Compound: a projection of your balance to age 55.
Investment Compound: future value, contributions and growth.
Calculator Lab: several models in one place, including affordability, repayment schedules and card payoff.

Start with the calculator that matches your question. If your question is "can I carry one more instalment", the DSR Calculator is often the first step, with the new instalment from the Car Loan or Home Loan calculator added to your commitments.

Check

The calculator matches the question.
You know which second calculator, if any, you need.
You have the inputs that calculator asks for.

Step 4: Run it and record inputs and results

Enter your inputs and write down exactly what went in and what came out. Screenshots help, but a written record is easier to compare later.

TEXT

CALCULATOR RECORD
Date:
Calculator:
Inputs: [each field and value, as entered]
Results: [each result shown, as displayed]
Notes shown on the page: [any warnings or explanations]

For example, the Car Loan calculator asks for car price, down payment, flat rate and tenure, and shows estimated monthly instalment, loan amount, total interest and total payable. The DSR Calculator asks for gross monthly income, deductions and total monthly commitments, and shows your current DSR, income base used, estimated net income and headroom.

Run one or two "what if" versions too: a bigger down payment, a shorter tenure. Record each one separately.

Check

Inputs are written exactly as entered.
Results are copied exactly as displayed.
Each "what if" run has its own record.

Step 5: Read the limits of the estimate

Every calculator makes simplifying assumptions. Kira Dulu writes them on the page. Read them before you rely on a number.

Examples from the current pages:

The Car Loan calculator uses the flat-rate method and says its effective-rate estimate uses flat rate times 1.8 as a rough educational shortcut, not a lender's quotation.
The DSR Calculator says its 70% line is a planning reference, not a bank rule, and that deductions are estimates, not a bank payroll calculation.
Both say the result is not bank approval.

Write the limits into your money check so they travel with the numbers.

TEXT

LIMITS OF THIS ESTIMATE
- [copy each note from the calculator page]
- Actual approval, rate and terms come from the bank.

Check

You read every note on the calculator page.
The limits are written beside the results.
Nothing in your notes calls the estimate an approval.

Step 6: Use AI to explain terms and prepare questions

AI is useful here for two things: explaining terms in plain words, and turning your estimate into good questions. It is not the right tool to tell you whether to borrow. Say so in the prompt.

TEXT

I am preparing for a meeting with a bank about a hire-purchase loan in Malaysia.
Do not recommend whether I should take the loan. Do not give financial advice.

1. Explain in plain words: flat rate, effective rate, tenure, total payable, DSR.
2. Using the calculator record below, list questions I should ask the bank about the rate, total cost, fees, insurance, early settlement and what happens if I miss a payment.
3. List anything in my record that I should double-check with the bank before relying on it.

CALCULATOR RECORD (no personal details):
[paste inputs and results]

LIMITS OF THIS ESTIMATE:
[paste]

Check the AI's explanations against the bank's own documents and the calculator's notes. If the AI states a rule or rate as fact, treat it as a question to ask, not an answer.

Check

The prompt contains numbers only, no documents or identity details.
The AI explained terms and listed questions, without recommending.
You marked any "fact" from the AI as something to confirm.

Step 7: Take your questions to the bank or adviser and record the answers

Bring your money check to the meeting: the question, inputs with sources, calculator results, limits and your list of questions. Ask for written figures where possible. After the meeting, record what you were told next to your estimate.

TEXT

ESTIMATE VS OFFER
Item | my estimate | bank's figure | source (quotation, email, letter) | difference explained?
Monthly instalment |  |  |  |
Total payable |  |  |  |
Fees and charges |  |  |  |
Other conditions |  |  |  |

Decision: [your decision, date]   Decided by: [name]

The decision is yours, made with the bank's real terms and, where needed, a licensed adviser. Nothing is signed, paid or submitted because a calculator or an AI said so.

Check

Every bank figure has a written source.
Differences from your estimate are explained or asked about.
The decision is dated and owned by a person.

Worked example

This example is made up for teaching. The business, prices and rates are invented and are not market figures.

The owner of a small delivery business in Kajang wants to replace an old van. The decision question: "Can the business carry a new van on hire purchase alongside current commitments?"

The owner collected a seller quotation for a van at RM 90,000 (made up) and planned a RM 9,000 down payment. The bank's product page, checked that day, showed a flat rate the owner entered as 3.5% (made up), with a seven-year tenure from the quotation.

The Car Loan calculator record:

TEXT

Inputs: car price 90,000; down payment 9,000; flat rate 3.5%; tenure 7 years
Results: loan amount 81,000; total interest 19,845; total payable 100,845; estimated monthly instalment about 1,200.54 (made-up example, worked with the flat-rate formula the page describes)
Page notes: flat-rate method; effective-rate estimate uses flat rate x 1.8 as a rough educational shortcut; estimate, not bank approval

The owner then added the new instalment to monthly commitments in the DSR Calculator, recorded the current DSR and headroom it displayed, and copied the note that 70% is a planning reference, not a bank rule.

The AI prompt, with numbers only, produced plain explanations of flat and effective rate and a list of questions: the exact effective rate on the offer, processing and documentation fees, insurance requirements, early settlement terms and late payment charges. It did not recommend anything, as instructed. One AI line stated a specific rebate rule for early settlement as fact. The owner moved it to the questions list instead.

At the bank, the officer gave a written offer with a slightly different rate and a list of fees. The owner filled in the estimate-versus-offer table, asked the business's accountant about the effect on cash flow, and made the decision a week later, with the written offer in hand.

Common mistakes and fixes

Entering a rate from memory or a friend's loan → use the bank's product page or a written quotation, with the date.
Treating the estimate as approval → copy the calculator's own notes into your record: estimate, not approval.
Forgetting small commitments → list every loan and card before running DSR.
Pasting bank statements into AI → never. The AI only needs general terms and your numbers.
Asking AI "should I take this loan?" → ask it to explain terms and list questions, and tell it not to recommend.
Comparing an effective rate with a flat rate → ask the bank for comparable figures in writing.
No record of what the bank said → fill in the estimate-versus-offer table right after the meeting.

Take it further

Business numbers: pair this with A weekly business report you check instead of write, so your income and commitments come from checked records.
Receipts: clean expense records make your inputs more reliable. See Sort a pile of receipts into a clean expense table.
Safety: the privacy habits in Before you paste anything into AI: a two-minute safety check apply doubly to money documents.
Habit: before any commitment above an amount you choose, run a money check and keep it with the offer letter.

Quick checklist

Decision written as a question, with who decides and who advises.
Inputs from official sources, each with a date.
The right calculator for the question.
Inputs and results recorded exactly.
Calculator limits copied beside the results.
AI used only to explain terms and draft questions.
No personal documents in any AI tool.
Estimate compared with the bank's written offer.
Decision dated and owned by a person.