Have you ever thought if it’s worth setting aside a few pounds a month for a rainy day? Do you know what it might give back if invested? Don’t go down to the bank manager do it yourself. Here is an example using the FV Function in Excel that will help you decide.
Here is the example sheet. With some data already input. How much you wish to invest on a monthly basis.
What the interest rate is that never changes.
How long you wish to invest for.
- in the cell E1 type “Future Value”
- in the cell E2 select the FV Function from the list in the formula tab Financial Functions. This list appears.
- Select FV.
This dialog box will appear for you to input the data.
- Select the cells referencing the information required.
Note: The Rate needs to be divided by 12 as there are twelve months in a year and you will invest monthly.
Nper needs to be multiplied by 12 for the same reason.
Pmt needs to be negative so that you see a positive answer.
Pv can be left empty.
Type can be set to 1 to pay in at the beginning of the month.
The result is this.
If you change the Type to Zero so as to invest at the end of the month the result will be this.
A difference of £8.08. not very much but then it is only £50 per month and the rate is very low and the length of investment is very short. But I think it is always a good idea to check this as it could become a larger sum worth worrying about.
Because you have used referencing cells in the formula it is so easy to “Play” with the numbers to see what would happen if you increase or decrease different items.