Plan A requires a lower monthly amount than Plan B. That can be relevant for your everyday life. For an economic comparison you also need a common reference date and the remaining debt at that time. This worksheet calculates exclusively with assumed, already available payment plans. It does not calculate an effective annual interest rate and does not claim any real bank conditions.
First demand the same starting position
The plans being compared must finance the same project. Record the initial debt, disbursed amount, the period under consideration and any additional payments. If they differ, explain the differences before deriving a price advantage from a lower instalment.
Choose a comparison date appropriate to your question. This can, for example, be the end of a jointly examined section. It is not a general professional standard date. Later payment periods remain to be checked in addition.
The invented comparison
Both plans start here with the same debt. For ten years Plan A pays 900 euros monthly, in total 108.000 euros. The given remaining debt at the end is 150.000 euros. In Plan B 1.100 euros are paid monthly, in total 132.000 euros; the assumed remaining debt is 124.000 euros.
Plan B therefore requires 24,000 euros more payments in this section. At the same time 26.000 euros less debt remains. In a deliberately simplified and undiscounted juxtaposition of payments plus remaining debt there are 258.000 euros for A and 256.000 euros for B. This is a comprehension test for the stated example figures, not a complete net present value or profitability calculation.
What these figures do not decide
Whether the household can actually afford the higher instalment remains a separate question. Different payment dates, further fees, later interest and contractual rights are not assessed in this simplification. The economic value of funds remaining available today is also not calculated.
Use the comparison therefore as a follow-up question to the advice: which part of the lower instalment is due to slower repayment, and what differences remain after a professionally appropriate comparison calculation? Have the remaining balances used confirmed from the actual offer.
Record the decision with both burdens
Note the ongoing monthly requirement and the remaining financing need on the comparison date side by side. If a reliable remaining balance is missing, the comparison remains open. A lower instalment can be desirable and appropriate; it must not, however, be tacitly referred to as a smaller total obligation. Your result is a stated difference, not a ranking that is automatically correct for all households.