Tuesday, November 11, 2008

You have to have Excel on your computer to run it.


http://www.download.com/Debt-Reduction-Calculator-for-Excel/3000-2057_4-10770226.html?part=dl-DebtReduc&cdlPid=10770227


A debt snowball means that you pay the minimum amount on each bill except the ones with the highest priority. Each time you pay off a bill, you take the amount you paid on it and apply it to the next bill on your list the following month.

The common belief is that you should attempt to pay off the debts with the highest interest rate first so that you end up spending more on the principal than on interest. Some people, such as Dave Ramsey suggest you pay the debt with the smallest balance first because of the emotional factor; as the smaller bills disappear, you get a feeling of accomplishment that will keep you motivated.

This calculator allows you to enter up to 20 different debts with their associated APRs, and the total amount you want to spend per month servicing your debts, and it'll work out the order in which you should pay them together with the monthly payments.

If you're considering a consolidation loan, think carefully about it. It's almost always cheaper to snowball your debts, and often people who consolidate their debts end up in more debt because they haven't addressed the main issue: when money comes easy; it goes easy. The real problem with debt is our spending habits.

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