How to Make a Payback Graph
By Clayton Kim
If you have ever owed money in your life, you know the stress that comes with paying the money back. By making a payback graph, you can estimate the time it will take to pay back the money owed as well as balance your budget for other items, such as your mortgage, insurance, and car payments. Balancing your checkbook manually is a thing of the past. Use a database program such as MS Excel to make the payback graph for you.
Step 1
Open Microsoft Excel. Click on the “File” button and select the “New” option. Click on the “Blank Workbook” option and click on the “Open” button.
Step 2
Click on an empty cell. If you owe $1,000 and have 10 months to pay, type “=1,000/10” and press the “Enter” key. The amount shown is the monthly payback amount. In this case, the monthly payback amount is 100.
Step 3
Click on an empty cell and type the title of the graph in the cell. For example, type “Payback Graph” in the cell and press the “Enter” key.
Step 4
Type the amount owed in the cell directly below the title. If you owe $1,000, type “1000” in the cell and press the “Enter” key.
Step 5
Subtract the monthly payback amount from the total amount and press the “Enter” key. For example, type “=1000-100” and press the “Enter” key. The new total amount is 900.
Step 6
Subtract the monthly payback amount from the new total amount and press the “Enter” key. For example, type “=900-100” and press the “Enter” key. The new total amount is 800. Continue until the new total amount equals 0.
Step 7
Click on the title cell and hold the mouse button. Highlight all the cells in the column with text or numbers and release the mouse button. Click on the “Insert” tab and select the “Column” graph. Excel automatically graphs the new total amount and time period for each payment.
Step 8
Click on the “File” button on the top toolbar and select the “Save” option from the drop down menu.
Tips
- If you do not have MS Excel, you can use another financial software program.