How Extra Mortgage Payments Save You Years of Interest
A 30-year mortgage is mostly interest in the early years. Small extra payments can shave years, and thousands of dollars, off the loan. Read the full guide with step-by-step examples and practical tips.
The first few years of a mortgage can feel discouraging: a large payment, but the balance barely moves. That is because early payments go mostly to interest. The good news is that extra payments hit the principal hardest exactly when it matters most.
How amortization works
Amortization front-loads interest. Our Mortgage Calculator shows the split between principal and interest for every month, so you can see how slowly the balance falls at first.
The power of a small extra amount
On a typical loan, an extra 100 per month can cut four to six years off the term and save tens of thousands in interest. The sooner you start, the bigger the effect.
Compare the trade-off
Before throwing everything at the mortgage, weigh it against other goals using the ROI Calculator and Savings Goal Calculator. Sometimes a higher-return investment beats paying the loan early.