Free Debt Repayment Spreadsheet | Credit Canada

Turning into debt-free is a serious aim for a lot of Canadians. Paying off your money owed is liberating and makes it simpler to realize your different monetary objectives—like house possession, beginning your individual enterprise, or retirement.

Nonetheless, amid the rising cost of living and the occasional emergency expense, it may be tough to make progress in your aim of being debt-free.

Credit score Canada has created a free debt compensation spreadsheet that can assist you get out of debt. This spreadsheet will show you how to perceive your whole debt and monitor your progress in the direction of turning into debt-free.

Get the Free Debt Compensation Spreadsheet

Get Assist Monitoring Your Progress Towards Being Debt-Free. Download the Debt Repayment Spreadsheet.

Easy methods to Use the Debt Compensation Spreadsheet

Step 1: Collect Info

Earlier than you start utilizing the spreadsheet, you’ll have to assemble just a few key items of data, equivalent to your estimated month-to-month earnings and particulars about your debt. 

• Debt quantities

• Rates of interest (if relevant)

• Debt cost due dates

• Minimal cost quantities for every debt

• Compensation plan particulars

• Collectors for every debt

• Estimated payoff dates (if obtainable)

Assembling details about your money owed will show you how to fill out the compensation spreadsheet and higher perceive how shut you’re to assembly your aim. This data can be helpful for prioritizing which money owed to give attention to repaying first.

The place can you discover this data? For many money owed, you could find this data within the assertion out of your creditor. Should you can not discover your assertion, contact your creditor and request a duplicate of your assertion. It will probably additionally assist to report the creditor’s contact data into the spreadsheet.

You can even examine your credit score report back to confirm money owed in your report. In any case, you must check your credit report for any unfamiliar debts that you could be have to dispute.

Step 2: Obtain the Spreadsheet

Download the Debt Repayment Spreadsheet doc and reserve it to your pc or cellular system. It is a Google spreadsheet you could copy to your Google Drive or obtain.

Step 3: Fill Out the Info within the First Month of the Spreadsheet

For every debt you’ve, add its data to the compensation spreadsheet. Make sure you clearly label every debt and double-check the info for every debt. 

Step 4: Prioritize Your Money owed

Decide which money owed are a very powerful to repay first. A standard technique is to prioritize the money owed with the very best rates of interest to pay them off first whereas paying the minimal quantities for each different debt. (Extra particulars on this technique later).

Step 5: Report Your Progress on the Finish of the Month

That is the enjoyable half! On the finish of every month, go into the tab for the subsequent month and enter the up to date data for every of your money owed. Repeat this course of on the finish of every month till you’ve paid off your entire money owed. 

Right here’s a screenshot displaying the debt compensation spreadsheet:

Get a tutorial on the right way to use this spreadsheet to trace your debt compensation and meet your aim of turning into debt-free by clicking this link. Right here’s a breakdown of the right way to use the spreadsheet:

• Within the “overview” field, enter the present month within the cell subsequent to the “Begin Month” cell.

• Select a payoff methodology from the dropdown menu—avalanche or snowball (you could find details about every of those strategies within the spreadsheet and within the subsequent part of this text).

• Add up your entire money owed to find out your whole beginning steadiness.

• Within the following months, you may subtract your present whole debt out of your beginning debt to find out your general progress. For instance, should you begin with $25k debt and pay it all the way down to $20k debt, you’ll have made $5k of progress.

• In every of the sections with the blue “INSERT NAME HERE” bars, identify every of your money owed and enter data particular to every—beginning steadiness, present steadiness, minimal month-to-month cost quantity, and rate of interest (if relevant).

• Within the “Month” part, change the “Month 1” textual content with the present month and yr (for instance, August 2024), subsequent month in “Month 2,” and so forth.

• Every month, log the quantity you paid on every debt and monitor your present steadiness. Repeat this course of for every row of the spreadsheet. Once you replace your present steadiness, you’ll see that the “% paid off” part will replace routinely.

• The graph within the upper-right of the spreadsheet supplies a visible of your general progress towards paying your debt that can assist you keep motivated and on monitor.

Methods for Efficient Debt Compensation

Once you’re engaged on repaying your money owed, you should choose a method that fits your scenario and that you’re assured you could persist with. This helps you meet your debt compensation aim by protecting you targeted. Two methods to contemplate are the avalanche and the snowball methods of debt repayment.

• Avalanche Debt Compensation. Right here, you place your entire further funds to the debt with the very best rate of interest till it’s paid off whereas solely paying the minimal on different money owed. As soon as a debt is paid off, you roll any further funds that had been going to it into the next-highest-rate debt—repeating till all money owed are paid. This methodology tends to save the most money in the long run as a result of it eliminates high-interest money owed first.

• Snowball Debt Compensation. That is while you give attention to the smallest money owed first after which roll further funds into the subsequent debt as soon as the smallest debt has been paid off. Many discover it simpler to remain motivated to repay money owed beneath this technique since they see money owed being eradicated quicker than with the avalanche methodology.

• Use Windfalls to Pay Down Money owed. Should you obtain a monetary windfall like an inheritance or a tax refund, contemplate placing that more money in the direction of paying off your highest-interest debt. This may help you get monetary savings on curiosity, get you out of debt quicker, and put you in a greater place to satisfy your monetary objectives later.

• Swap to Pay as you go or Debit Playing cards. Using prepaid credit cards as a substitute of conventional bank cards may help you keep away from paying curiosity and hold to your finances to your purchasing since you may solely spend what’s obtainable on the cardboard. Many banks additionally supply debit playing cards with credit score logos that may be processed like a bank card however take the cash out of your chequing account.

“If you’re coping with debt, managing it head-on is at all times the very best plan of action. Ignoring it or sweeping it beneath the rug will solely worsen issues in the long term.”

Mike Bergeron, Counsellor Supervisor, Credit score Canada 

Adjusting Your Debt Compensation Plan as Wanted

As you make progress on paying off your debt, plan to frequently assess and alter your debt compensation plan. Replace your debt compensation spreadsheet every month to see your progress and alter the way you allocate your funds if wanted.

For instance, say that your mortgage is up for renegotiation and the phrases change to make your month-to-month cost completely different. You’d then have to rebalance your debt funds to account for that change. Nonetheless, a mortgage negotiation may additionally be alternative to benefit from the fairness in your house to roll your high-interest debts into your mortgage.

Want Extra Assist with Managing Debt?

Should you want data and recommendation about utilizing the debt compensation spreadsheet or getting out of debt, reach out to the certified credit counsellors at Credit Canada. Our counsellors have helped hundreds of individuals get out of debt and keep debt-free afterwards.

You don’t need to face the challenges of debt compensation alone. With sources just like the free debt compensation spreadsheet and credit score counselling, there’s a path to turning into debt-free.