Advice on using/finding snowball calculator please!

pandapaws

(I recently posted this within another thread, but then lost it with a discussion about credit cards, so repeating to see if anyone can help - sorry if you've seen it before!)

All of my loan balances owed are calculated already INCLUDING the interest that will be paid, i.e. monthly payment multiplied by number of payments remaining, as that way I know exactly how much I still have to pay. This is mainly because I don't have a clue how to remove the interest without having to call each company and ask for a settlement figure.

My cards, on the other hand, are based on the actual balance at the moment, because I change them around all the time to keep the interest low.

I have used the calculator at whatsthecost, which is great, but I was just wondering how I should input these debts on that website with regard to the interest?

Or does anyone know of any other snowball calculators that would give me the option of saying whether the amount I was inputting was including or excluding interest? Or know an easy way to work back to remove the interest?

Thanks!
x

SunderlandBlackCat

pandapaws wrote: »

(I recently posted this within another thread, but then lost it with a discussion about credit cards, so repeating to see if anyone can help - sorry if you've seen it before!)

All of my loan balances owed are calculated already INCLUDING the interest that will be paid, i.e. monthly payment multiplied by number of payments remaining, as that way I know exactly how much I still have to pay. This is mainly because I don't have a clue how to remove the interest without having to call each company and ask for a settlement figure.

My cards, on the other hand, are based on the actual balance at the moment, because I change them around all the time to keep the interest low.

I have used the calculator at whatsthecost, which is great, but I was just wondering how I should input these debts on that website with regard to the interest?

Or does anyone know of any other snowball calculators that would give me the option of saying whether the amount I was inputting was including or excluding interest? Or know an easy way to work back to remove the interest?

Thanks!
x

Hi Panda

When i was using it I had a debt that had the interest "Front Loaded" & just got around that by setting the interest rate as 0%.

pandapaws

Thanks! So you mean just put in the full amount including interest and enter 0% as the rate?

But does that not mess it up slightly - because if I was paying off early, then the total owed would be reduced, whereas putting the full total in at 0% will mean that the snowball will keep that loan going until the full amount including interest has been repaid? Am I right here, or have I totally lost the plot with snowballing?!

JoeHel

pandapaws, I wouldn't worry too much about it because the only difference there could be will be in your favour (i.e. it'll be slightly cheaper than the snowball predicts). I'm setting my sights on the worst-case scenario and hoping that, with a bit of extra overtime here and there, I'll be done even quicker.

Mind you, with the Lombard loan I've got, I got a redemption figure last week and it wasn't any cheaper than if I carried on and paid the whole thing over the next 3 years.... Do check smallprint for early redemption penalties that make it no cheaper to clear the loan early!

pandapaws

JoeHel wrote: »

pandapaws, I wouldn't worry too much about it because the only difference there could be will be in your favour (i.e. it'll be slightly cheaper than the snowball predicts). I'm setting my sights on the worst-case scenario and hoping that, with a bit of extra overtime here and there, I'll be done even quicker.

Mind you, with the Lombard loan I've got, I got a redemption figure last week and it wasn't any cheaper than if I carried on and paid the whole thing over the next 3 years.... Do check smallprint for early redemption penalties that make it no cheaper to clear the loan early!

That's pretty rough of Lombard! We've got 2 main 'big' loans, and thankfully I know that they all rebate the interest if we pay early - I think one of them charges 2 months interest, but I can live with that!

I know what you're saying - I've just become so obsessed with my debt, money, cashback, spreadsheets etc that I wanted to get a new, revised DFD! And more to the point - while I'm sitting on here, I'm not out spending!

kipwilliams

i don't think there's any sensible way of sensibly calculating how much interest you'll pay on a credit card balance because the amount is variable.

It's possible to write a formula that will allow you to work out how much interest you will pay per month though, so you could use that to work it out based on a 'schedule of payment' type thing.....i.e. if your balance is £2000, your interest rate is 20% and you are paying off £300 a month how long will it take.

errr, that's exactly what you want, isn't it?

i'm a moron. i'll take a look now.

pandapaws

kipwilliams wrote: »

i
errr, that's exactly what you want, isn't it?

i'm a moron. i'll take a look now.

:rotfl:
Don't ask me what I want - I haven't a clue!

I think what I'm looking for is a backwards working formula, to see how to take the interest off my loans - e.g. If I pay for 60 months, including the interest I'll pay back, say, 20k. But if I paid that off after 20 months it would be less because that would be 40 months of interest I'd save. So if I only know the amount that I'll pay at full term, can I calculate that back somehow?

Was hoping someone might know of a snowball calc that would do it for me, but that's probably very wishful thinking!

Starting to wish I hadn't though of it. Head hurting.

kipwilliams

i can build ye one in excel, but off to the pub now.

if nobody's done it by tomorrow, i'll take a pop at it

kip

pandapaws

Bless!:A

Would be very greatly appreciated. But don't go to too much hassle - it's really just for curiosity, looking at the figures doesn't make them go down any faster (if it did, I'd be debt-free tomorrow!).

Thanks again Kip!
x

lunar

I had a look round for other calculators, none of the ones i found (and there arnt many) were as good as the snowball calculator. I get obsessd with checking the calculator, hoping to shave off an extra month here and there. I need to get it down to may/june 2010 to e done before im 30!

pandapaws

lunar wrote: »

I had a look round for other calculators, none of the ones i found (and there arnt many) were as good as the snowball calculator. I get obsessd with checking the calculator, hoping to shave off an extra month here and there. I need to get it down to may/june 2010 to e done before im 30!

Lucky you! Since I was 30-and-a-half when I had the LBM this summer, I doubt I'll be able to beat you on that score!

Because I put my new figures in with added interest, it added 6 months on to my DFD, which is why I want to try and do it without to at least get it back to Nov 2012 - that way at least I'll be debt-free before I'm 35!

Had the idea that if I can find out how much I originally borrowed and the term, then if I enter just that one debt in the Snowball as though it was starting today, then if I look forward to how many months in I am, it should tell me exactly how much I owe now...shouldn't it?