How can I compare two payment streams?

[dmedici]

Here's a practical question: how do I determine which payment stream of child support is most advantageous to me?

Background: I pay my ex-wife $1438/month and will do so for another 37 months. My ex-wife has proposed that I pay her $2000/month for 27 months. How do I determine if her proposal is advantageous to me?

Payment #	Current Payment	Proposed Payment
1	-$1438	-$2000
2	-$1438	-$2000
3	-$1438	-$2000
4	-$1438	-$2000
5	-$1438	-$2000
6	-$1438	-$2000
7	-$1438	-$2000
8	-$1438	-$2000
9	-$1438	-$2000
10	-$1438	-$2000
11	-$1438	-$2000
12	-$1438	-$2000
13	-$1438	-$2000
14	-$1438	-$2000
15	-$1438	-$2000
16	-$1438	-$2000
17	-$1438	-$2000
18	-$1438	-$2000
19	-$1438	-$2000
20	-$1438	-$2000
21	-$1438	-$2000
22	-$1438	-$2000
23	-$1438	-$2000
24	-$1438	-$2000
25	-$1438	-$2000
26	-$1438	-$2000
27	-$1438	-$2000
28	-$1438
29	-$1438
30	-$1438
31	-$1438
32	-$1438
33	-$1438
34	-$1438
35	-$1438
36	-$1438
37	-$1438

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[konew1]

Do you even need excel?
Based on the assumption that money in the hand is better than money on someone else's hand, the ex's proposal to be comical.

The request is that you pay more, as you noted The sum of the current payments is $53,206 and the sum of the proposed payments is $54,000. Not only are you paying more, but you are also paying faster. You should expect a discount for prompt/early payment, not a penalty.