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TO USE: Please go to "File" -> "Make a Copy" to create your own T-Bill ladder
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SECTION 1: Your Core Ladder ChoicesSelect TheseDescription
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Total Initial Cash Available for T-Bill Plan$10,000.00
Enter how much you want to invest in T-bills
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Preferred T-Bill Duration for Main Ladder:26-Week
Choose which T-Bill duraction you wish to buy
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Desired Payout Frequency from Main Ladder:Every 2 Weeks
Decide how often you want your T-Bills to pay out
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Ladder Start Date (Target for First Purchase):ASAP (next available auction)
Decide when you want to start funding your ladder
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Enter Start Date if Manually Entering DateEnter date if you have an existing ladder being built
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Rounding Preference (per rung)Round Down to Nearest $1,000Brokerages require you buy in $1,000 increments/minimum. If your ladder is between $1,000, choose to round to the lowest or next $1,000. Rounding UP may require you fund more than you planned. Rounding DOWN may mean you don't invest all your $
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How many rolls to simulate5This tells the tool how many times to re-purchase the same T-bills you manually purchased to set up a rolling ladder
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SECTION 2: Main Ladder Blueprint (Calculated)ResultsDescription
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Selected T-Bill Duration26How often bills mature in weeks.
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Payout Interval (Weeks):2How often a payout will occur in weeks.
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Number of Main Ladder Rungs Needed:13Number of purchases needed based on T-Bill and payout combination selected.
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Purchase Interval for Main Ladder Rungs:2 weeksHow often you will need to make your first purchases.
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Ideal Purchase Amount$769.23Without the $1,000 minimum purchase, how much you would buy each purchase.
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Minimum Cash Needed for Chosen Ladder Structure$13,000.00The minimum amount of money you need to fund your desired T-Bills and payout frequency.
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Cash Needed Per Rung$1,000.00How much cash you will invest per rung of your ladder, based on your core ladder choices.
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Total Needed Investment$13,000.00How much total cash you will need to fund your entire ladder.
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Extra Cash Needed (if any)$3,000.00How much extra cash is required or how much cash is uninvested (of your desired amount entered in section 1).
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SECTION 2A: Key Dates (Calculated)ResultsDescription
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Calculated Ladder Start Date (Est. Auction):8/10/2026The estimated date of your first T-Bill purchase. Don't miss the auction! Always confirm the actual date of auction at https://www.treasurydirect.gov/auctions/upcoming/
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Estimated Issue Date for 1st Rung8/13/2026When your first T-Bill will be issued to you, typically a few days after the auction.
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Main Ladder Fully Built By (Date of Last Initial Rung Purchase):1/28/2027The date your ladder will be fully built - yay!
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First Main Ladder T-Bill Matures On:2/11/2027The date the first T-Bill you buy will mature and re-purchase a new T-Bill.
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SECTION 2B: Explanation of Ladder (Calculated)
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Overview of LadderThe plan invests $13,000. This is $3,000 more than your initial cash of $10,000, due to the $1,000 purchase increments per rung.
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Over/Under InvestmentYour current plan has a funding difference of $3,000. See 'Alternative Scenarios' section below for options, or round down.
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Explanation of Purchases and RungsTo have 26-Week T-Bills provide payouts approximately every 2 weeks, you'll build a ladder with 13 rungs. This means purchasing 13 separate 26-Week T-Bills, spaced 2 weeks apart.
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SECTION 2C: Cash Flow Timing and First Rung Gap
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Duration of Gap before First Main Ladder PayoutYou want every 2 weeks payouts. Your first T-Bill (a 26-Week) purchases around Aug 10, 2026 and its first payout is about 26 weeks later, around Feb 11, 2027. During these first 26 weeks, ensure you are comfortable with your remaining cash of $9,230.77 (after the first T-Bill purchase of $769.23) covering your needs and any emergencies.
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Strategy for Idle Cash Your 'Total Initial Cash' of $10,000.00 is for the entire ladder. It will not be fully invested in T-Bills until approximately Jan 28, 2027. For uninvested funds awaiting deployment into later rungs (detailed in the 'T-Bill Purchases to Make' section below), consider keeping them in a high-yield savings account (HYSA) or Money Market Fund (MMF) to earn interest.
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SECTION 3: Preview of T-Bill Purchases to Make (See SCHEDULE tab for full list)
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RungsDate of Rung PurchaseEstimated Issue DateDate of Maturity (Payback)Amount of PurchaseAmount Invested in T-BillsAmount Waiting to Be Invested
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Rung 1 Purchase8/10/20268/13/20262/11/2027$1,000.00$1,000.00$9,000.00
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Rung 2 Purchase8/24/20268/27/20262/25/2027$1,000.00$2,000.00$8,000.00
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Rung 3 Purchase9/7/20269/10/20263/11/2027$1,000.00$3,000.00$7,000.00
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Rung 4 Purchase9/21/20269/24/20263/25/2027$1,000.00$4,000.00$6,000.00
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Rung 5 Purchase10/5/202610/8/20264/8/2027$1,000.00$5,000.00$5,000.00
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Rung 6 Purchase10/19/202610/22/20264/22/2027$1,000.00$6,000.00$4,000.00
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Rung 7 Purchase11/2/202611/5/20265/6/2027$1,000.00$7,000.00$3,000.00
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SECTION 4: Exiting Your Ladder (Unwind Plan)
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If You Stop Reinvesting After Ladder Is BuiltOnce your main ladder of 13 rung(s) of 26-Week T-Bills is established (last initial rung issued around Jan 28, 2027), if you stop all reinvestments, all capital from the main ladder will be returned as each T-Bill matures. The final payout, completing the unwind, will be around Jul 29, 2027. You can see individual rung maturity dates in Section 2A above.
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SECTION 5: Exploring Alternative Ladders (if needed)
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This section calculates and proposes alternative ladders if you are unhappy with your first choice due to cash or timing requirements.T-Bill DurationsPayout TimingNumber of PurchasesCash Per RungTotal Cash InvestedUnder/Over Cash
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4-WeekEvery 2 Weeks2$5,000.00$10,000.00$0.00
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8-WeekEvery 2 Weeks4$2,000.00$8,000.00$2,000.00
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