Pay off loans faster, with real numbers
Each guide answers one question and backs it with a table calculated by our own engine, so you can see what an extra payment does and reproduce the result. Sources and assumptions are always shown. Everything here is educational, not personal financial advice.
How to pay off a car loan faster: 6 ways, with real numbers
Extra monthly payments, rounding up, lump sums and biweekly payments compared on the same $28,000 loan, plus what to check with your lender.
Read the guide MortgagesWhat happens if you pay an extra $200 a month on a 30-year mortgage?
Interest and years saved for loans of $200,000 to $500,000 at rates from 5% to 8%, and why the first years matter most.
Read the guide MortgagesOne extra mortgage payment a year: how much does it save?
Interest and time saved by loan size and rate, and why paying in January beats paying in December.
Read the guide Loan basicsPrepayment penalty: what it is and how to check yours
When it applies to car loans and mortgages, how to find it in your documents, and the federal limits on many U.S. mortgages.
Read the guide MortgagesHow to pay off a 30-year mortgage in 15 years
The extra monthly payment needed by loan size and rate, and how it compares with refinancing.
Read the guide Loan basicsPrincipal-only payment: how to make sure extra money counts
How to designate an extra payment, what to ask your servicer and how to confirm on your statement that it reached principal.
Read the guide MortgagesBiweekly vs monthly mortgage payments: what you really save
What 13 payments a year are worth, how servicers credit half payments, and a free way to get nearly the same result.
Read the guideCalculators by loan type
Car loan extra payment calculator
Already filled in with a real example. See the interest you save, the months you cut and your new payoff date.
Open the calculator CalculatorExtra mortgage payment calculator
Filled in with a $300,000 example. Compare monthly, yearly and one-time extra payments on your mortgage.
Open the calculator CalculatorAmortization calculator with extra payments
See every payment split into interest and principal, in an annual or payment-by-payment schedule you can export.
Open the calculatorWant to try your own numbers? Open the calculator. To see exactly how it works, read How the calculator works.