Paying more toward your principal can reduce the interest you'll pay over time. Because every payment that goes toward the principal builds equity in your home, you can build equity faster with additional principal-only payments.
If you pay $100 extra each month towards principal, you can cut your loan term by more than 4.5 years and reduce the interest paid by more than $26,500. If you pay $200 extra a month towards principal, you can cut your loan term by more than 8 years and reduce the interest paid by more than $44,000.
Throwing in an extra $500 or $1,000 every month won't necessarily help you pay off your mortgage more quickly. Unless you specify that the additional money you're paying is meant to be applied to your principal balance, the lender may use it to pay down interest for the next scheduled payment.
A mortgage recast is when you make a large lump-sum payment toward your principal and ask your lender to reamortize your loan (simply put, come up with a new payment schedule) with the new, lower balance. You'll keep the same term and rate, but the reduced principal means your monthly payments will be lower.
The additional amount will reduce the principal on your mortgage, as well as the total amount of interest you will pay, and the number of payments.
Making additional principal payments reduces the amount of money you'll pay interest on – before it can accrue. This can knock years off your mortgage term and save you thousands of dollars.
Options to pay off your mortgage faster include:
Bi-weekly payments instead of monthly payments. Making one additional monthly payment each year. Refinance with a shorter-term mortgage.
Save on interest
Since your interest is calculated on your remaining loan balance, making additional principal payments every month will significantly reduce your interest payments over the life of the loan. By paying more principal each month, you incrementally lower the principal balance and interest charged on it.
The 10/15 rule
If you can manage to pay 10% of your mortgage payment every week (in addition to your usual monthly payment) and apply it to the principal of your loan, you can pay off your 30-year mortgage in just 15 years.
As noted above, your estimated monthly payment for a $500K mortgage will be $3,360.16, assuming a 30-year loan term and an interest rate of 7.1%. But this payment could range between $2,600 and $4,900 depending on your term and interest rate.
Ideally, you want your extra payments to go towards the principal amount. However, many lenders will apply the extra payments to any interest accrued since your last payment and then apply anything left over to the principal amount. Other times, lenders may apply extra funds to next month's payment.
Even one or two extra mortgage payments a year can help you make a much larger dent in your mortgage debt. This not only means you'll get rid of your mortgage faster; it also means you'll get rid of your mortgage more cheaply. A shorter loan = fewer payments = fewer interest fees.
There are 12 months in a year, so simply take your mortgage payment, divide by 12, and add that amount as an extra principal payment to each monthly mortgage payment and BOOM! – an extra payment a year.
Making an extra payment on your mortgage can help you pay off your mortgage early. It also helps reduce the principal balance quicker which means there is less principal to gain interest. In the long run, your extra payments could help you save money as well as reducing the length of your loan term.
When you make an additional payment, you have the option to apply it toward your loan's principal. This will gradually chip away at your loan balance and could ultimately reduce the amount of interest you pay over time. As your loan balance decreases, the amount of interest added to each payment also drops.
Over the course of a loan amortization you will spend hundreds, thousands, and maybe even hundreds or thousands in interest. By making a small additional monthly payment toward principal, you can greatly accelerate the term of the loan and, thereby, realize tremendous savings in interest payments.
It's usually better to make extra payments when:
If you can't lower your existing mortgage rate, a refinance likely won't make sense. In this case, paying extra on your mortgage is a better way to lower your interest costs and pay off the loan faster. You want to own your home faster.
Negotiate mortgage rate and fees with desired lender. When you've found the lender with a good rate and with whom you feel most comfortable doing business, you may ask for their lowest or best rate for your loan. Check out these tips for how to save money for a house.