When you make an extra payment or a payment that's larger than the required payment, you can designate that the extra funds be applied to principal. Because interest is calculated against the principal balance, paying down the principal in less time on your mortgage reduces the interest you'll pay.
Yes, paying extra on the principal reduces the remaining balance, which in turn reduces the amount of interest calculated on that lower balance for future payments.
Since interest is based on the principal amount, with a fixed-rate mortgage, reducing your principal balance ahead of schedule will reduce the amount of money you'll pay in interest before it can accrue.
Benefits of making principal-only payments
You can pay off your loan faster: By making additional payments toward the loan principal, you can shorten the length of your repayment term. You can save on interest: Paying down your principal faster can help lower the total amount of interest you pay on your loan.
Key Takeaways
As you repay the principal of your loan, the amount of interest you will need to pay each month decreases.
When you pay an extra $100 on your monthly mortgage payment, that entire amount goes to principal. You'll reduce your total balance much more quickly when you make an extra payment that goes directly to repaying your balance. You could cut around four years off your repayment time with just an extra $100 per month.
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.
When you pay extra on your principal balance, you reduce the amount of your loan and save money on interest. Keep in mind that you may pay for other costs in your monthly payment, such as homeowners' insurance, property taxes, and private mortgage insurance (PMI).
Your car payment won't go down if you pay extra, but you'll pay the loan off faster. Paying extra can also save you money on interest depending on how soon you pay the loan off and how high your interest rate is.
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.
Making an extra mortgage payment each year could reduce the term of your loan significantly. The most budget-friendly way to do this is to pay 1/12 extra each month. For example, by paying $975 each month on a $900 mortgage payment, you'll have paid the equivalent of an extra payment by the end of the year.
Making extra payments of $500/month could save you $60,798 in interest over the life of the loan. You could own your house 13 years sooner than under your current payment. These calculations are tools for learning more about the mortgage process and are for educational/estimation purposes only.
In general, it's better to put extra payments toward the loan's principal.
When your statement is issued, there's a period before it gets to you and before you pay the balance. During this period, you may be charged interest each day, based on your annual percentage rate (APR). Then, though you may have paid your current statement balance in full, the charge appears on your next statement.
Even though you paid off your account, there could have been residual interest from previous balances. Residual interest will accrue to an account after the statement date if you have a balance transfer, cash advance balance, or have been carrying a balance from month to month.
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.
As such, prepayment risk is the risk that the borrower repays the outstanding principal amount (or a portion of the outstanding principal amount) prematurely and, in turn, causes the lender to receive less in interest payments.
If you are under 45, it's difficult to argue that your dollars would be better served paying off your mortgage unless you are on Step 9, pre-pay low-interest debt. You should aim to be completely debt-free by retirement, and after age 45 you can begin thinking more seriously about pre-paying your mortgage.
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.
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.
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.