Rapid Debt Payoff / Snowball Calculator Spreadsheet
| Creator/Developer: | ExcelGeek |
| Date/Version: | April, 2008 (Version 3.0) |
| System Requirements: | Windows (NT, 2000, ME, XP, Vista) or Mac OS X |
| Software Requirements: | Excel 2000 or later (Windows); Excel 2004 (Mac) |
| Other Requirements: | VBA/Macros Enabled in Excel |
| Price: | $9.88 |
Looking for a spreadsheet that will create your debt-paydown plan?
Heard about the "Debt Snowball," but now you want to see exactly what it could do for your family?
Want a clean, efficient way to print and monitor your plan as you make monthly progress?
Well, ExcelGeek (creator of his widely-popular Freedom Account spreadsheet) has stepped up to the plate. He's now released his "Rapid Payoff Calculator."
It takes care of all the issues above, and then some. Here's a quick batch of screenshots:
...and that's just the first worksheet! Here's more:
If you're thinking to yourself, Wow, that's some serious spreadsheet action right there! ... well, you're absolutely right. It is!
Spreadsheet Requires Excel 2000 or Later
Before we go much further, it's important to understand what this spreadsheet requires. ExcelGeek's Rapid Payoff Calculator isn't a stand-alone program. It's an Excel spreadsheet, which means it requires that you have Microsoft Excel (at least Excel 2000) installed on your PC for it to operate.
As far as operating system requirements, it should work on Windows 98 and all later versions.
Mac Users: Yes, the RPC will now work on Macs! Requirements are Mac OS X and (at least) Excel 2004 for Mac.
- At least Windows 98, and
- At least Excel 2000, and
- Macros enabled in Excel. (See below!)
OpenOffice Users: No, the Rapid Payoff Calculator will not work with OpenOffice.
Mac Users: Yes! It will work on Macs (OS X and Excel 2004 for Mac required).
* Spreadsheet Utilizes Macros *
ExcelGeek's Rapid Payoff Calculator cannot function without macros being enabled in Excel. By default, macros are disabled in Excel, but enabling them isn't difficult. You can find my step-by-step instructions for doing this at my How to Enable Macros in Excel page.
In the case of the Rapid Payoff Calculator, macros are absolutely vital. They're used to build and rebuild the spreadsheet's formulas each time the spreadsheet opens, as well as to compress the file's size when it closes. Macros also automatically sort your data as you enter it.
IYM Article: How to Enable Macros in Excel
Rapid Payoff Calculator Features
Here's a quick rundown of the Rapid Payoff Calculator's features:
For lots more details, just keep reading!
What's the Price?
We're selling the Rapid Payoff Calculator spreadsheet for $9.88. Of this amount, ExcelGeek gets $8, and IYM gets $1.88 (minus any fees).
Following your electronic payment via Paypal or Google Checkout, you'll be able to download the spreadsheet instantly.
Carries a Full 30-Day Guarantee
Like all of my for-pay spreadsheets, ExcelGeek's Rapid Payoff Calculator is guaranteed.
If you're not happy with it for some reason, just contact me within 30 days of purchase, and I'll refund your money.
Plan a Paydown for Up to 15 Debts
ExcelGeek's Rapid Payoff Calculator can build a paydown plan for up to fifteen debts!
In the method similar to that suggested by Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps and Debt Snowball plans and Mary Hunt's Rapid Debt Reduction Plan, your Rapid Payoff plan will be structured with debts being paid in order from shortest to longest payoff. The spreadsheet creates a Rapid Payoff Schedule (see below) which shows you exactly what amounts to send to which creditors on a monthly basis!
This latter plan has gained ground in recent years, thanks to personal-finance personalities like Dave Ramsey and Mary Hunt. Getting rid of high-interest debts first may save more money compared to other plans, but Ramsey and Hunt firmly believe (and I agree) that your chances of becoming DEBT FREE increase dramatically when you can see yourself making progress — when you can quickly mark debts off of your list. Paying your debts in order of shortest to longest payoff (or smallest to largest balance) accomplishes this.
"The Debt Snowball is designed the way it is," Ramsey writes in Total Money Makeover, "because we are more concerned with modifying behavior than correct mathematics. Sometimes motivation is more important than math. This is one of those times." Thus, for Ramsey and Hunt, it's all about motivation — getting entire debts crossed off your list quickly and then rolling each paid debt's payment into the next one. The Rapid Payoff Calculator is set up to mimic this: Your debts' balances are generally more important than their interest rates.
ExcelGeeks Talks About the Rationale
Behind His RPC
I asked ExcelGeek to talk a little bit about all the fancy number-crunching that his Rapid Payoff Calculator does. Here's what he had to say:
In addition, a double-whammy, faster-payoff effect occurs when they add a Monthly Booster amount!
Case in point: In the spreadsheet, the Demo example sorts MasterCard before Visa, even though the Visa balance is lower (screenshot). Using a "Fixed" payment plan, the MasterCard (even though its balance is higher) would normally be paid off earlier. This is due to its lower interest rate and higher monthly payment. Because its payoff time is shorter, the RPC bumps it up one spot higher in the snowball.
I hope it's helpful for users to have a decent understanding of the RPC's algorithm. Behind the scenes, as you input your figures, the RPC actually performs a pre-calculation on a fixed-payment basis, factoring in all user-entered variables before it does the automatic sorting. When folks purchase the spreadsheet, they can try this with my sample data: Gradually increase the monthly payment on one of the debts. See what happens!
Just so everyone knows, when I was building the RPC, I ran the numbers so many different ways it made my head hurt. But ultimately, I determined that this method would be better and more flexible. With the RPC, depending on how aggressive users want to get with their monthly payments, they can bring their interest savings very close to, or better than, the "high interest first" method. And they can still experience the gratification of watching their low-balance debts fall off faster.
On the flip side, for those users paying minimums across all their debts, none of this logic really enters the picture. The RPC simply becomes a traditional, Ramsey-like Debt Snowball.
And there you have it — straight from the guy who's forgotten more about Excel than I'll probably ever know.
Create Two Kinds of Printable Progress Charts
Here's what I believe to be the single best feature of the Rapid Payoff Calculator: Once you've input your debts and your Monthly Booster payment (if any), the spreadsheet creates printable payoff progress charts.
Here's a look at the printable RAPID PAYOFF SCHEDULE worksheet, which shows your plan broken down by each month's payment:
Tape it to your refrigerator ... your desk ... your dresser mirror ... whatever! Whenever you make a payment, cross it off the schedule. Watch yourself get closer and closer to your ultimate DEBT FREEDOM!
The second printable worksheet — the RAPID PAYOFF BALANCE — lets you see an estimate of your remaining balances by month:
Stop taking on new debt, make those Rapid Payoff payments, and watch those balances drop!
See Comparisons of 3 Paydown Plans
The Rapid Payoff Calculator shows you the results of following three different paydown plans: Falling, Fixed, and the (turbocharged!) Rapid Payment Plan.
A "Falling" payment plan is what the suits at the credit-card companies would love to see you undertake. In a Falling Plan, your payments are based on a percentage of your outstanding balance; therefore, your minimum payment decreases as your balance decreases. In case you're wondering, the goal of a Falling Plan like this is to keep you in debt — and paying sweet, sweet interest — for as long as possible.
Here (with some sample data) is what the spreadsheet shows you regarding the Falling Payment Plan (which, of course, you're never going to use, right?):
NOTE: Since most of us also have debts (like auto loans, personal loans, and such) whose payments don't decrease as the balance decreases, the data generated in the Falling Payment Plan won't be exact. But it certainly gives you a picture of the financial damage so often caused by creditors and their "easy, affordable" terms.
The "Fixed Payment Plan" shows what happens when you keep your payments at a fixed level — that is, you keep making the same payments that you're making now, regardless of what your creditors request.
Now this is why you bought tickets to the show! Compare what happens with your total interest paid (and payoff time) when you simply utilize the Rapid Payoff Calculator's "snowball" plan. The difference will be ... well, enriching:
To close out the comparisons, you get a summary section, like this:
Questions? Comments? Contact Us!
Got a question or issue? Don't hesitate — contact either me by email or ExcelGeek by email. We'll get back to you as soon as possible!
Ready to Purchase?
I hope you're convinced that ExcelGeek's Rapid Payoff Calculator is just the tool to help you with your quest for financial freedom. Just click one of the payment buttons below to purchase your copy!
Downloading the Rapid Payoff Calculator couldn't be easier! Simply pay with either PayPal or Google Checkout, and then download the Rapid Payoff Calculator instantly! (Credit/debit cards work great; no sign-up required.)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Sure can! The RPC will handle variable-rate debts just fine, so long as you re-enter your current balances and rates at least every couple of months or so (or anytime you simply feel like doing it). I recommend doing this anyway, actually, since I'm one of those dorky guys who REALLY likes my spreadsheets to be as accurate as possible at any given time.
Whenever you see a rate change in one of your debts, all you need to do is open up your RPC spreadsheet, enter the new rate (as well as its current balance — you're in Super Debt Payoff mode, so you're a stickler for details, right?), and reprint your plan. I haven't yet run into a card that changes its rate every month ... but I have no doubt that they're out there.
And even if they are, then you and the RPC will happily crush them, too.
Fantastic! Apply the money to the first debt on your list. Then update all your balances in the Rapid Payoff Calculator, and reprint your plan!
Yes, but not in the way you might think. Make whatever extra payment you wish, then update your debt balances (at the top of the spreadsheet) to reflect the new balances after your extra payment. Then reprint your plan. If you wish to see the effect the extra payment had on your debt paydown, simply compare the new printout to your old one.
Both of these things constitute a change in your Rapid Payoff plan. And that's fine — change happens. Of course we would all prefer to experience positive change, but that's just not how Life works. In any case, when things like this happen, it's a good idea to look up all your debts' current balances and re-enter them into the spreadsheet. Then adjust your Booster payment, and reprint the plan as necessary.
You just need to enable macros in Excel. Once that's done, the spreadsheet's calculations will adjust and will be correct!
Your message probably looks like this:
Just verify that you've entered the correct figures. The RPC's calculated scenarios max out at 100 years or 1,200 months. If you've entered the correct figures for your debts, it's most likely that the card companies have you EXACTLY where they want you: If you stick to their "Falling" payment plan, where payments decline as your balance declines, you'll be paying them for a hundred years or more.
If nothing else, this should emphasize the need for you to dramatically restructure your debt payoff plan — but that's precisely why you purchased the RPC, isn't it?
Sure can. Once you purchase the RPC spreadsheet, contact either me by email or ExcelGeek by email. We'll send you the version of the RPC which uses GBP instead of dollars.
