Monthly Payment Calculator

So you've decided that you are ready to pay down your debt.  You gather your bills, find out how much you owe, and what your minimum monthly payment is for each bill.  Now comes the hard part...answering the tough questions like "How much should I pay each month?" or "How long is it going to take me to get out of debt?"

At this point, many of us will pause for a minute and wait for a nice round number to pop into our heads (hmm...$100 a month? sounds good! lol).  Well I'm offering a better solution.  I created an easy Monthly Payment Calculator to help you figure out how much you should contribute each month to reach your financial goals.  Just enter the amount you owe, your  interest rate, and the number of payments you plan to make and find out how much your monthly payment should be to pay off your debt in that time frame.  The calculator also shows you the total amount you pay back over the life of your debt, so hopefully it's an incentive to pay it down faster!

Download by clicking HERE or selecting the link under my "Helpful Tools & Downloads" page.

Let me know what you think!

First Things First

I've been working full time for exactly 4 months now! If getting adjusted to the "real world" of working 40 hours a week was not enough, I had to get used to getting paid only once per month. In all of my previous work experiences I've been lucky enough to get paid weekly, so needless to say it was an adjustment from having a frequent source of income to working weeks at a time for (what felt like) nothing. Now I never thought I would say it, but I'm starting to see the bright side of my monthly pay schedule.  All of my bills are due at the beginning of the month, so I'm never worried about missing a payment. With all of my necessities out of the way early in the month, I spend the remainder of the month adjusting my activities/expenses to make sure I can stay in budget (assuming there is no emergency).  I just started having a percentage of my paycheck deposited into a savings account so now I'm able to save money upfront instead of scrambling to take what's left over at the end of the month to the bank...It's much easier for me to treat my savings as a bill that has to be paid.  Also, despite my bills and savings taken out of my paycheck at the beginning of the month, the amount left over is still a pretty nice amount due to the larger monthly checks.  Psychologically, I like seeing the bigger monthly paychecks...it makes it seem as if my money lasts longer, unlike the "revolving door" effect that comes with weekly pay.  All in all, this pay schedule allows me to take care of what's important, and surprisingly helps me to be a better budgeter (tongue twister!).  Imagine that!