Honestly, if it were me, I’d insert the column and see if the numbers changed.
That’s usually a pretty quick & practical test. 
I’ve used the vertex excel sheet for years. It’s helped me manage and conquer over $40k in debt in a couple years as a bachelor. I’m using it again to manage my last remaining few thousand and my wife’s couple thousand. We are using it starting last month to pay off $10k by Nov hopefully, over 11 accounts. I’ve tried to get tiller to be able to do what I want with debt but sadly it just can’t yet. Tiller is phenomenal but that vertex template is hard to beat.
One day someone will make a Tiller formula that rivels that excel template. I’ve definitely been trying.
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@Chadsey which template are you using there are several?
Hey everyone!
I might have a fix but it will require a little testing…
I just built a new version of the Debt Planner template. You can view it here. Rather than using some overly-clever assumptions, this new version brute forces the analysis by running down the accounts month by month. I haven’t done too much testing yet but this approach (once vetted) will better handle the troublesome scenarios we flagged above.
Would anyone be willing to take it for a spin?
Just open the view-only template, manually copy it into your spreadsheet, and see if the results make sense for your portfolio. (You can run it in parallel with the original version.)
I’m confident in the approach, but I haven’t had a chance to test it thoroughly.
Once we’ve got this a little more buttoned down, I can replace the master in the Tiller Money Labs add-on.
Thanks for your help on this.
Randy
P.S. I removed the total remaining interest payment since my initial efforts weren’t working on that feature. Let me know if it is important to you.
The Feb budget doesn’t populate, And I cant get the payoff months to be correct consistently, Some are correct in Avalance Method (Higher Blanance) and some are correct in the snowball method (lower Balance). It still doesn’t take into account a steady monthly payment and the rest only changes if you add in extra money.
Thanks for giving this a quick test, @mmgalliv
A few updates to the shared sheet…
- I fixed a problem with the “February Budget” values populating.
- I fixed a problem with “Total Feb Budget” populating.
- I added a simple
Transactionssheet with examples for how actuals can be plumbed into the template in the current month.
If you manually replace the version you just pulled in with the latest version, I’m hoping the initial problems you noted should be resolved. If they are not, check that the column letters are populating properly in the hidden area in P, R and T as below…
As for your note about “cant get the payoff months to be correct consistently”… this is absolutely possible, but can you tell me what you are comparing the values in the spreadsheet too? What are you using to validate the model?
Thanks!
Randy
I’ve done some comparisons against this online tool, @mmgalliv, and so far the output appears to match up.
Are you seeing something different?
Randy
@randy I’m also getting the same information compared to that tool :)!!! All 3 version I have have different number this last version works and matches again other tools. Thank you.
I really like that unbury.me tool. I’m glad you found it too, @mmgalliv.
For a great modeler, it shows up really far down Google’s search results. 
Another Update…
I cleaned up the template some more. You can get the latest master here. The newest version adds back in the cumulative interest calculation. It also defaults to 30 years of modeling (though this can be changed in the hidden area to improve performance).
If anyone is willing to vet it (with a manual sheet insertion), I can move into the Tiller Money Labs add-on as the master. 
I think we are getting close.
@randy, I have been using that tool for student loans honestly don’t know why I haven’t used it for credit cards.
Let me know how that goes, @mmgalliv. It could be a little tricky since the balance changes include new charges.
Im not sure if anyone else is checking for you but it is working for me I would love someone else to double-check though?
I’ve heard no additional feedback (beyond what @mmgalliv offered a week ago), but I just went ahead and published the overhauled Debt Planner into the Tiller Money Labs add-on with version 1.10.
If you encounter any issues, let me know.
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Hey @randy now im getting circular dependency detected?
Thank you.
Megan
Did you load the version in Tiller Money Labs? Or was that happening with the version you pulled in manually?
The tiller labs version.
Can you tell me more, @mmgalliv?
It would help to know:
- The location of the circular dependency
- If a simple set of real or fake loans reproduces the issue
I’m confident I can get to the bottom of this with a little more info. Thanks.
Thanks for flagging the circular dependency, @mmgalliv. I just published a fix— version 1.11.
Please update your templates using the Tiller Money Labs add-on.
Sorry for the hassle. Hoping it is resolved now.
Randy
How come the recommended payment does not match the total in M5?
Another good catch, @mmgalliv. I think there was something overcomplicated going on with that formula… I think it was trying to sum the period actual (payment) if it existed but the recommended payment if not.
I simplified the formula to just sum the recommended payments and republished the master.
Sorry for all the iterative changes. Thanks for your patience and findings.