 
                                Introduction to
 
                                   $DEFENDER
 
              (C) Copyright 1991-1992 by Conrad Button's Software
 
                               TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
         SUBJECT                                          PAGE NUMBER
         ____________________________________________________________
 
         Overview ...........................................  2
 
         Installation .......................................  7
 
         Getting Started ....................................  8
 
         Important User Notes ............................... 10
 
         Copyright & Registration ........................... 14
 
    [To view a selected page, press "#", then type and enter page number]
    [To print this file, press <Alt><H>]
    OVERVIEW                                                       Page 2
 
    $DEFENDER is a financial analysis program which uses both menus and
    easily understood questions to guide you through your calculations.
    $DEFENDER contains seven frequently used financial tools: Loan
    Amortization, Annuity, Fixed Investments, Periodic Investments, U.S.
    Savings Bonds, Mutual Fund Performance Analysis, and Retirement
    Planning.
 
    1.  Loan Amortization - The options for a fixed rate loan include:
    required monthly payment, amount which can be borrowed, highest
    affordable interest rate, true interest when points are charged, years
    required to repay loan, balloon payments, accelerated payments (both
    interim or for the duration of the loan); a schedule (monthly or
    annual) for cumulative interest paid, principal paid, and remaining
    balance can either be printed to the screen or to a printer.
 
    2. Annuity - The options for an immediate annuity (withdrawals start
    immediately and continue until the annuity is depleted) include:
    income, required amount, life of the annuity, rate of interest earned;
    an annualized schedule of interest earned and remaining balance can
    either be printed to the screen or to a printer.
 
    [Press PgDn]
                                                                   Page 3
    OVERVIEW (continued)
 
    3. Fixed Investment Growth - Options for a lump sum investment include:
    value of investment at maturity, required initial investment, years
    required to reach goal, or interest rate required (the interest can be
    compounded daily, monthly, quarterly, semiannually or annually).   An
    annualized schedule of interest earned and current value can either be
    printed to the screen or to a printer.  Comparisons of tax free, taxed
    deferred, and fully taxed investments can also be performed.
 
    4. Periodic Investment Plan - Investments can be made weekly, biweekly,
    monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually. Options include: value
    of all investments at maturity, required periodic investments, years
    required to reach goal, required interest rate; interest can be
    compounded daily, monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually; an
    annualized schedule of interest earned and current value can either be
    printed to the screen or to a printer.
 
 
 
 
 
    [Press PgDn]
                                                                   Page 4
    OVERVIEW (continued)
 
    5. U.S. Savings Bonds - The options for savings bonds include:
    create or edit a file of currently owned EE Bonds (serial numbers,
    denomination, and purchase date); evaluate your savings bond portfolio
    (current or future value) based on U.S. Treasury guaranteed minimum
    interest rates; print (to screen or printer) your portfolio of bonds,
    including minimum value of each bond and a total minimum value for the
    entire portfolio.
 
    6. Mutual Fund Analysis - Evaluates the performance of a mutual fund
    over a user-specified time period.  Three measures of performance are
    produced:
 
      a. Growth of Annual $1000 Investments
      b. Growth of an Initial $10,000 Investment
      c. Average Annual Compounded Return
 
    Data, readily obtainable from the mutual fund's prospectus, is entered
    by the user and then analyzed by $DEFENDER to generate the performance
    measures for each year of the desired time period.  Output may be
    directed either to the screen or to a printer.
    [Press PgDn]
                                                                   Page 5
    OVERVIEW (continued)
 
    7.  Retirement Planning - Inflation during your retirement years must
    be considered in your retirement planning.  This program allows you to
    test various rates of inflation to determine the lump sum investment
    that you will need at retirement, the amount that you can withdraw each
    year from an anticipated pool of money, or the number of years until
    your investments are depleted.  A schedule, showing your required
    income, annual withdrawals, remaining balance, and interest earned, may
    either be printed to the screen or on a printer.  All of the above
    calculations are automatically adjusted for inflation.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    [Press PgDn]
                                                                   Page 6
                            ** ADDITIONAL TOOLS **
 
 
    [F1]  A help file, with example calculations, is just a keystroke away;
    this file may be accessed from within the program by pressing the F1 key.
 
    [F2]  A pop-up DATE INTERVAL CALCULATOR allows you to determine the
    number of days, the number of weeks, and the number of months between
    any two selected dates.
 
    [F3]  A pop-up DIRECTORY LISTER displays the files you have previously
    created under the U.S. Savings Bonds or the Mutual Fund Performance
    options.  Now you can review your bond or fund file names without
    exiting the program.
 
    [F4]  The DOS Shell lets you return temporarily to the DOS command
    level, where you can execute other programs and DOS commands.
    $DEFENDER remains in memory so you can return to it, without reloading
    it.
 
 
 
 
                                                                   Page 7
 
    INSTALLATION
 
 
    There should be six files on this diskette:
 
             README.BAT   - How to start
             INTRO.COM    - Introduction to $DEFENDER
             $DEFEND.EXE  - The main program
             SOMEHELP.EXE - Text for Examples
             $D2.OVL      - Overlay file
             REGISTER.ME  - Shareware registration form
 
    Copy these files to a backup diskette (COPY A:*.*  B:).  Then either
    use the backup when running $DEFENDER or copy these files to your
    hard drive (COPY A:*.*) and then run $DEFENDER from your subdirectory
    of choice.  CAUTION: The files $D2.OVL and SOMEHELP.EXE must reside
    on the same drive and in the same directory as $DEFEND.EXE.  When
    running $DEFENDER from a floppy drive, first change to that drive (e.g.,
    type A: then press enter).
 
 
 
                                                                   Page 8
    GETTING STARTED
 
    1. Change to the drive and directory containing your $DEFENDER files.
 
    2. Type and Enter $DEFEND
 
    3. The opening screen will display the main menu.  This menu
    has seven choices.  Select your choice by first pressing your UP or
    DOWN ARROW KEYS to highlight your choice; then press the ENTER KEY.
 
    4. Another screen, containing a second menu, will then appear.  This
    menu will display the options now available to you.  Select an option
    by again pressing your UP or DOWN ARROW KEYS to highlight the option;
    then press the ENTER KEY.  You will then be prompted for the data
    required to make the calculations for the selected option. At each
    prompt (question), type and enter the numerical data appropriate to
    that question.
 
 
 
 
 
    [Press PgDn]
                                                                   Page 9
    GETTING STARTED (continued)
 
    $DEFENDER will then display the calculated answer on your screen.
    Schedules can also be directed to your printer; a message will be
    displayed when the printer option is allowed.
 
    5. We recommend that you review the example in the Help File before you
    select your option from the second menu (press [F1]).  The example will
    help you to understand the types of data that are required as inputs
    for the option.  The Help File contains an example for each of the
    options contained in $DEFENDER.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                   Page 10
    IMPORTANT USER NOTES
 
    LOAN AMORTIZATION - Assumes your loan is at a FIXED rate of interest.
    For variable rates, a two step process is required:
    1. Find the principal remaining at the end of the first period by using
    the Balloon Payment option.
    2. Then treat this amount as the beginning of a new loan with a
    shortened life and different rate.
 
    ANNUITY - Assumes that you start monthly withdrawals one month after
    the annuity is activated and that you continue withdrawals until the
    annuity is depleted (Immediate Annuity).  For a fixed-rate annuity
    where no withdrawals are made, use the Fixed Investment Growth option.
 
    PERIODIC INVESTMENT PLAN - Assumes that your first investment is made
    on the day the plan is initiated and that your LAST investment is made
    ONE PERIOD PRIOR TO CESSATION OF THE PLAN.  NOTE: Some financial
    calculators assume that your LAST investment is made on the LAST DAY OF
    THE PLAN.
 
 
 
    [Press PgDn]
                                                                   Page 11
    IMPORTANT USER NOTES (continued)
 
    U.S. SAVINGS BONDS - When evaluating the current or future value of
    bonds, the guaranteed U.S Treasury MINIMUM interest rates are used.
    For EE Bonds purchased before November, 1986, the rate is 7.5%; after
    that the rate is 6.0%.  However, for bonds held less than 5 years, the
    rate varies from 4.1 to 5.76% (based on the Treasury's sliding rate
    schedule).  The real value of your bonds will be somewhat higher,
    dependent upon the everchanging Treasury Bond rates.
 
    MUTUAL FUND ANALYSIS - Assumes that your initial investment is made on
    the FIRST day of the year and that all distributions from the fund are
    made on the LAST day of the year.  As some mutual funds may make their
    distributions earlier in the year, the tables generated by $DEFENDER
    may differ from similar tables printed in the fund's prospectus.
    However, experience has shown that the differences are relatively
    minor.
 
 
 
 
 
    [Press PgDn]
                                                                   Page 12
    IMPORTANT USER NOTES (continued)
 
    RETIREMENT PLANNING - Your income for each year is comprised of the
    following:
    (a) Semiannual interest earned during the last half of the previous
        year.
    (b) Semiannual interest earned during the first half of the current
        year.
        If the combined interest from above exceeds your annual income
        requirement, the residual portion is placed into savings to draw
        further interest.
    (c) If required, the cashed value of a previously purchased Treasury
        bond or Certificate of Deposit.  The required cash value is shown
        in the "Principal Withdrawn" column of your printed schedule for
        each year.
    In the first year of your plan, you will have no interest earned from
    the previous year.  Therefore, you withhold from your investment pool
    sufficient funds, which, when combined with the semiannual interest
    received in mid-year, satisfy your first year's income requirements.
    The amount to withhold is shown in the "Principal Withdrawn" column,
    for Year 1, in your printed schedule.
 
    [Press PgDn]
                                                                   Page 13
    IMPORTANT USER NOTES (continued)
 
 
    WHAT DOES THAT 'E' NEAR THE END OF A NUMBER MEAN?
    When using very large numbers on the order of a million or greater,
    the computer's answer may contain an E followed by a plus sign and two
    digits (for example, 1.655E+06).  This is computer 'shorthand' for 10
    raised to a power; thus E+06 means 10 raised to the sixth power or one
    million; 1.655E+06 translates into 1.655 times 10 to the sixth power or
    1.655 million.  E+07 is 10 million, E+08 is 100 million and so on.
    You are indeed a fortunate person if you encounter the 'E' in your
    answers!
 
    THE ARROW KEYS WON'T RESPOND!
    On extended keyboards, the dedicated arrow keys will NOT operate if
    BOTH the CAPS LOCK and NUM LOCK keys are turned on.  However, the arrow
    keys on the keypad portion of the keyboard will always respond.
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                   Page 14
 
    COPYRIGHT and REGISTRATION
 
 
    $DEFENDER is (C) copyright 1991-1992 by Conrad Button's Software.
 
    If you are not a registered user and have decided to retain $DEFENDER
    for current or future use, a registration fee of $25.00 (U.S. funds)
    should be sent to:
 
                          Conrad Button's Software
                           13807 S.E. 282 Street
                               Kent, WA 98042
 
    You will receive a FREE COPY of the registered version and will be
    permitted to purchase all additional upgrades at discounted prices.
    Please use REGISTER.ME (or a facsimile) when registering.
 
 
    ** Site Licenses are available, please contact us for details. **
 
 
 
