Financial Calculator & Excel Functions

Present Value of an Annuity (Court Settlement)

Use PV function. Enter rate (/12 for monthly), negative Pymt, and Nper. Set Type=1 if beginning of month.

Calculating a Loan Payment (Car Loan)

Use PMT function. Enter rate (/12), Nper (years × 12), and negative PV (price minus down payment).

Finding a Remaining Loan Balance

Use PV function. Enter rate (/12), negative Pymt, and Nper (remaining months).

Retirement Problem Part 1 (Amount Needed)

Use PV function. Enter rate (/12), negative monthly spend, and Nper (retirement years × 12). Set Type=1 if beginning of month.

Retirement Problem Part 2 (Monthly Savings)

Use PMT function. Enter rate (/12), Nper (working years × 12), and negative FV (from Step 1).

Finding APR with an Upfront Fee

Use PMT for monthly payment, then RATE (Nper, Pmt, negative PV minus fee). Multiply result by 12.

True Cost of 0% Financing

Find 0% monthly payment (Price/months), then RATE (Nper, negative cash price, Pymt). Multiply result by 12.

Present Value of Uneven Cash Flows

Use NPV function. Enter rate, then highlight future cash flow range for Value 1 (excluding year 0).

Rate of Return for Uneven Cash Flows

Use IRR function. Highlight all cash flow cells including the Year 0 initial cash flow.

Future Value of an Annuity

Use FV function. Enter rate, Nper, and negative Pymt. Put Type=1 if Annuity Due.

How Long to Pay Off a Loan (NPER)

Use NPER function. Enter rate, negative Pymt, and positive PV (current loan balance).

Comparing Compounding Periods (EAR)

Use EFFECT function. Enter the nominal rate and npery (compounding periods per year).

Finding APR from an Effective Rate

Use NOMINAL function. Enter the effect_rate and npery (compounding periods per year).

Future Value of Multiple Uneven Cash Flows

Use FV for each cash flow, then add all calculated future values together.

Maximum House Offer Price

1) Find monthly payment. 2) Use PV for max loan. 3) Add down payment to max loan.

Perpetuity Calculation

Use Perpetuity Formula: Rate = dividend / price, or Dividend = price × rate.