Problem: Article: If you're able to drive and have access to a vehicle, a road trip can be a wonderful bonding experience between you and your friends. Pack a bag, load up the car, and hit the road together to explore someplace new and exciting.  If you are not yet old enough to drive, ask your parents about the possibility of taking a road trip together. Road trips take some planning (and money), though, so be sure to give your parents a few weeks to make arrangements. Decide in advance where you want to go. Driving aimlessly can be fun, but you can quickly find yourself lost, out of gas, or out of money. Choose whether to stay in hotels or camp. If you do camp, make sure it's feasible to camp in the conditions you'll be entering and plan for the weather wherever you'll be staying (which may mean preparing for snowy winter camping, depending on where you'll be). Make accommodation arrangements. If you'll be staying in hotels/motels, look into where you want to stay and consider booking a reservation. If you'll be camping, scout campgrounds and see if they accept reservations over the phone or online.  Choose a scenic route to get to your destination, if it's possible to do so safely. Know the conditions you'll be facing. Remember that some areas require chains on your tires to drive through icy mountain passes, which may be too dangerous for you to travel. Get your car checked out before the trip to make sure it's in good working condition. Bring whatever supplies you'll need. That includes emergency supplies in case you get stranded: extra blankets, food, water, batteries, a flashlight, road flares, gas money, and an extra charger for your cellphone. Winter break is a great time to reconnect with friends you haven't seen in a while. Whether you've been off at college or simply burdened by your studies in your home town, it can be difficult to spend time with friends while you're in school at any level.  Reach out to friends you don't see very often. Ride bikes together, play in the snow, or simply hang out watching movies or playing video games. Consider taking a trip to visit friends who live a few towns away or a state over. If you're not old enough to drive, ask your parents (and your friends' parents) about the possibility of taking an overnight trip. Have a sleep over with friends you've missed. Catch up on what's new with your friends. Get coffee together or go out for a meal. Depending on your financial situation, you and your family/friends may want to take a trip together to a warmer location. You can even take a trip alone, if you have sufficient funding and feel comfortable traveling solo. Spending a few days or a week on a warm, sunny beach might be just what you need to unwind from school and chase away the winter blues.  Start saving early and budget your money. Decide whether you'll need a hotel/motel, a rental car, and tickets to a theme park or other destination, and work those costs into your budget. If you're still young, ask your parents about whether a fun vacation might be possible. This type of trip can take months to plan, though, so be sure you ask well in advance of your winter break. Avoid traveling on major holiday weekends, as prices for flights tend to surge during these busy periods. You'll certainly be able to find lodging at a nationally-renown beach, but you can save a lot of money if you plan to stay at a smaller beach community off the beaten path. Just make sure that the area has what you need, including transportation and recreation options.  Find the best flight and/or hotel deals by searching a site like Expedia or BookingBuddy. These websites deliver prices from numerous travel pages to help you find the best prices, even on the same flight.  Plan on bringing one outfit per day, or scale down your suitcase by re-wearing some items. Just be sure you bring clothing that will be comfortable and appropriate for your destination.
Summary: Plan a road trip. Visit friends. Consider a warm vacation.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Calculating your payments in this way will allow you to see how much you would pay per month with a given balloon payment at the end of the life of the loan. To find this information, either consult your loan agreement or estimate this information as best you can. Remember, you can always change this information to multiple different values to estimate payments on different loans. You'll need the following information: your annual interest rate, the duration of your loan in years, your loan amount, and your balloon payment amount. Start by opening Excel on your computer. Then, open a new, blank workbook and begin your work on the worksheet that comes up. In the first column, column A, enter the names for the variables you will be using. It's easiest if you enter them as follows, from top to bottom: your annual interest rate, the duration of your loan in years, your loan amount, and your balloon payment amount. If entered correctly, this information will be in cells A1 through A4. Type your loan information into the appropriately-labeled spaces next to your variable names. If entered correctly, they should be entered as follows:  Your annual interest rate, for example 4%, should be entered in cell B1. Be sure to include the percent sign. Your loan duration, for example 15 years, should be entered in cell B2 as a simple number. In this case, you would just enter 15. Your loan amount, also called the principal, should be entered into cell B3. For example, for a loan amount of $150,000, you would enter 150,000. Excel will assume this is an amount of money; no need to enter the dollar sign. Enter your balloon amount into cell B4. This should be a negative number, as it is a payment. For example, for a $27,000 balloon payment, you would enter -27,000. The function that will be used here in the payment function, abbreviated by Excel as PMT. To enter this equation, find a nearby empty cell and type "=PMT(". The program will then prompt you for variables like this: =PMT(rate, nper, pv, [fv], [type]). Additional changes will have to be made to your entered variables within the PMT function. When prompted, enter the variables as follows:  For the "rate" prompt, you'll need your periodic rate instead of your annual rate. This means dividing your annual rate in cell B1 by the number of payments per year on your loan. For monthly payments, divide by 12, for quarterly payments by 4, and for semi-annual payments by 2. Enter a comma to move to the next variable. Assuming monthly payments, your equation should now look like this: =PMT(B1/12  For the "nper" prompt, enter your loan duration in cell B2. However, like the rate prompt, this will need to be adjusted to the total number of payments. For monthly payments, multiply by 12, for quarterly by 4, and for semi-annual by 2. Enter a comma to move to the next variable. Assuming monthly payments, your equation should now look like this: =PMT(B1/12,B2*12,  Enter your last two variables, in B3 and B4, for the "pv" and "[fv]" prompts, respectively. Be sure to enter a comma after B3. Then, close the equation with a closing parenthesis mark. Your finished equation should look like this: =PMT(B1/12,B2*12,B3,B4) Press enter. Your result should be displayed in the cell where you entered your equation. It will be a red, negative number. Again, this simply means that this a payment. If it is not a negative number, you've entered some information incorrectly or your loan is not a balloon payment loan. In the example, the program would return a monthly payment of $999.82. If you are comparing multiple loans, save this payment figure elsewhere in the worksheet and enter information from your other loans. This will allow you to compare payments from different loan amounts, interest rates, durations, or balloon payments.
Summary:
Collect your information. Open a new worksheet in Excel. Enter labels for your variables. Input your variables. Set up your equation. Input your variables into the equation. Solve your equation. Edit the numbers.