Directions for using the Loan Calculator:

 

Step 1:  The loan calculator already has some default numbers entered.  Simply click on a number next to any of these three titles:  Amount Borrowed, Length of Loan, and Interest Rate and change them to whatever you’d like:

 

 

 

 

Step 2:  Note how the Monthly Payment, and Total Interest Paid, amounts change in response to the changes you make to the Amount Borrowed, Length of Loan, and Interest Rates numbers:

 

 

If all you want to know for a given loan scenario is the monthly payment and/or the total interest paid that’s all you need to do with this calculator.  If you would like to explore the effects of making extra principle payments to a loan follow the directions below:

 

Step 3:  Click this button:    (which is the Export to Excel icon) found at the top of the loan calculator menu bar.  Clicking the button will move the loan calculator directly into Microsoft Excel. 

 

Line Callout 3: Click this button.

 

 

Step 4:  Now that the application is running in Excel instead of on the web, you can quickly add Extra Principle payments.  Start by typing in an amount, say $25.  Now let’s repeat this extra payment of $25 until the loan is done.  Begin by clicking on the $25 payment that you just typed-in.  Now move the cursor over to the little box located on the lower right corner of the highlighted cell when it changes from a large white plus sign to a smaller black plus sign, click with the left mouse button and hold it down.  Now “drag”  straight downward.  This will fill-in more of the Extra Principle cells.  Stop the process when the Ending Balance changes from a positive number to a negative.  This represents the end of the loan.

 

Line Callout 3: Position your cursor here, then click and drag downwards to fill-in more Extra Principle cells.

 

 

In this example, $25 extra was added until payment #322, at that point the loan is paid off.  Note that this is 38 months ahead of the original schedule.  It means this person would be done with their loan 3 years and 2 months sooner.  If you go back to the top of the page you’ll note that the amount of interest paid has dropped from the original amount of $127,544.49 down to $111,565.18.  This represents a savings of $15,979.31

 

Line Callout 3: The loan is done as of Payment #322. This is 38 ahead of schedule. Line Callout 3: The loan is done at this point since the Balance Owed has gone from positive to negative.