Day 24 · Thursday, 27 August 2026
From the archive
Back into the interest rate a financing offer never quotes
RATE works the loan formula backward — from a known payment to the rate that produces it.
Task:
You handle purchasing at a mid-size manufacturing company evaluating a lease-to-own offer on a warehouse forklift. The equipment dealer will finance $18,500, repayable in 60 monthly installments of $365 — but the offer sheet never states an interest rate, and procurement wants one before they can compare it against the company's bank line at 8% APR. Work out the rate the dealer is actually charging: the monthly rate in B5, and the annual rate it implies in B6.
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