# About CalcCottage
CalcCottage is a free online resource for two of the biggest financial decisions Americans make: buying a home and powering it efficiently. We build calculators that turn confusing math into clear numbers, and we explain the assumptions behind every result so you can trust what you’re looking at.
Why CalcCottage Exists
Most online calculators either oversimplify (a single mortgage payment number with no breakdown) or drown you in jargon (forty fields, no explanation). We sit in the middle: enough detail to be useful, plain enough language to be readable on your phone at an open house.
CalcCottage was launched in 2026 to give US homebuyers, homeowners, and renters honest answers to questions like:
- How much house can I actually afford on my salary?
- What does that 0.25% rate change really cost me over 30 years?
- Will rooftop solar pay back faster than a high-yield savings account?
- How much will charging my EV at home really cost?
- Is a heat pump cheaper than my gas furnace once I include the electric upgrade?
If you’ve ever felt like you needed a spreadsheet just to understand a Zillow listing, this site is for you.
Who Runs the Site
CalcCottage is independently owned and operated as a sole proprietorship out of Queens, New York. Our team is small by design — one editorial lead supported by freelance writers and reviewers with backgrounds in mortgage lending, residential real estate, and home-energy retrofits.
We are not a bank, broker, financial advisor, contractor, or solar installer. We don’t sell your data to anyone. We make money in two transparent ways: display advertising (Google AdSense) and affiliate commissions when a reader chooses to apply for a service through one of our partner links. More on that below.
How We Build Our Calculators
Every calculator on CalcCottage goes through the same process:
1. Source the Formula
We start with the underlying math from authoritative sources — the standard amortization formula for mortgages, federal energy guidelines for solar payback, IRS publications for tax-related figures, and utility-published rate schedules where available. We cite our sources at the bottom of each calculator page.
2. Validate Against Real Data
We test every calculator against published examples and, where applicable, against the calculators of established institutions (the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s mortgage tools, NREL’s solar estimators, EnergyStar’s heating cost tools). If our numbers diverge, we find out why before we publish.
3. Update on a Schedule
We refresh rate-sensitive inputs (average mortgage rates, average electricity prices, federal tax credit values) on at least a quarterly schedule, and immediately when a major change occurs (a Fed rate move, a new IRS guidance, a change to the federal solar tax credit). Each calculator page shows the date of its most recent update.
4. Disclose Assumptions
Every calculator lists the assumptions baked into its math — for example, that we assume a 30-year fixed mortgage with monthly compounding, or that solar production estimates use the national average of 4.5 peak sun hours per day unless you enter your zip code. You should always read these before relying on a result.
Our Commitment to Accuracy
We will make mistakes. When we do, we’ll fix them quickly and note the correction on the affected page. If you spot an error, please email us at merajprovat2332@gmail.com — we genuinely appreciate it.
We also commit to:
- Never adjusting a calculator’s math to favor an advertiser or affiliate partner
- Never accepting payment in exchange for editorial coverage
- Never publishing content written entirely by AI without human review
- Always disclosing when content has been sponsored or when a link is an affiliate link
How We Make Money (Financial Disclosure)
CalcCottage is funded by two revenue streams:
1. Display advertising. We run ads served by Google AdSense. These ads are clearly labeled and we do not control which specific ads you see. We may in the future move to an ad-management platform like Ezoic, Mediavine, or Raptive — when we do, we’ll note it here.
2. Affiliate commissions. When you click certain links to financial services (such as LendingTree, Credible, or SoFi) or home-energy companies (such as SunPower), and you complete a qualifying action like requesting a quote or opening an account, CalcCottage may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only partner with companies we’d be willing to recommend to a family member, and our calculator outputs are never influenced by these partnerships.
You’ll see a clear affiliate disclosure near the top of any page that includes affiliate links, consistent with U.S. Federal Trade Commission guidelines.
What We Are Not
To be very clear:
- We are not licensed as mortgage brokers, financial advisors, real estate agents, attorneys, accountants, or contractors.
- Our calculators are estimates, not quotes. A lender, contractor, or tax professional must give you actual numbers.
- We do not store the inputs you enter into our calculators (with the exception of aggregate, anonymous analytics — see our Privacy Policy).
Editorial Feedback and Corrections
Found a typo, broken calculator, or outdated number? Please tell us. Reach out via our Contact page or email merajprovat2332@gmail.com. We aim to acknowledge corrections within five business days and to update affected pages within ten.
Get in Touch
- Email: merajprovat2332@gmail.com
- Mail: CalcCottage, Queens, NY 11423, United States
- Privacy questions: see our Privacy Policy
- Legal questions: see our Terms of Service
Thank you for visiting. We hope CalcCottage saves you some time, some money, and a little bit of math anxiety.