PMT Function Hints



 

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PMT is used to calculate the periodic (weekly, monthly or yearly) payment required to pay back an amount borrowed when the loan amount, interest rate and number of payments are fixed.

To use PMT, position in the cell where the answer is to go. 
Select the function icon
Select Financial since this involves a financial transaction with a financial intuition, a bank.

Keep highlighting the abbreviations in the right hand column and noting the description of what each does on the bottom of the dialog box.

Select PMT and the box below appears.  If the grey box is covering the numbers, move it off them (by dragging the blue bar on top)

Click in each box for a description of what goes into the box which displayed on the bottom of the dialog box.

Rate is the interest rate per period.  If you know the annual rate then you will have to divide by the number of payments in a year (52 for weekly, 12 for month).  Remember the 2 cardinal rules of spreadsheet. 

  1. Never type a value more than once.  ALWAYS point to a cell (usually the nearest) that contains the value.
  2. Never do the math yourself.  ALWAYS instruct Excel on how to perform the calculation  (which cells, functions or math operators) to use.

So if the yearly interest  rate is on the sheet, point at it and divide by 12 for a monthly payment.

Nper is the number of payments.  If the number of years the loan is for is on the sheet, point at it and then multiply that by of payments in a year (52 for weekly, 12 for month).  Remember the 2 cardinal rules of spreadsheet. If a number or a factor of a number is on the sheet, point to that cell, do not retype it.

PV stands for Present Value.  How much is the loan today?

As you enter numbers and cell addresses in the boxes, the current value will appear to the right giving you the opportunity to see that you have entered the correct value or cell address.

There is NO need to enter Fv nor Type.

Press enter or click OK.  A negative number will appear since you are taking money out of your pocket.

Manually calculate to see if the number makes sense.  It should be more than the amount borrowed dividend by the number of payments since they is interest.   But it should be less than the amount borrowed put the annual interest (amount borrowed times the interest rate/12 times the number of years) since with each payment you are reducing the amount that you still owe the bank  and thus the amount of interest the back collects.

FreeSkillAweek has a fine quick (one screen) tutorial on PMT - don't miss it!
Be sure to use Help from the Excel Menu and the excel tutorials suggested on the spreadsheet hints page.

  More Help in the Tutorials

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This page was created by Professor Maureen Greenbaum and was last updated on 11/13/07 .

Page Name:  Hints for PMT Function
URL:             http://faculty.ucc.edu/business-greenbaum/Intro/C100SS_HPMT.htm

Disclaimer:  Information on this site represents the thoughts and opinions expressed by the author and not that of Union County College.  The author takes full responsibility for the information presented.  By using the information contained herein, the user willingly assumes all risks in connection with such use.  Neither the author nor Union County College shall be held liable or responsible for content, errors, and/or omissions in information herein or information contained on any Web Page to which it is linked.  Furthermore, neither the author nor Union County College shall be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from any user's use of, or reliance on, this material or material set forth on any Web Page to which it is linked. 
Copyright:      ã Maureen Greenbaum Sumware in NJ  2001, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07, 2008.  All rights reserved. AddThis Social Bookmark Button