Extra Payment

Extra Payment

What does paying a little extra actually save you?

Every dollar above your required payment goes straight to principal — which skips all the future interest that principal would have cost. Small, steady extra payments add up to real money and real time. Here’s exactly how much.

Why I built this

Helping people pay less interest is one of the most satisfying parts of this job — sometimes that’s a lower rate or a shorter term, and sometimes it’s just a few extra dollars a month finding their way to principal. The amount those small, steady choices can save often surprises people. So rather than ask you to take my word for it, I built this to let you see it for yourself — exactly what a little extra does to the interest you’ll pay and the day you’re finally free of the loan.

— Matt Mergo · NMLS #563819
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%
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Added to principal every month
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A single lump sum applied to principal today — e.g. a bonus or tax refund
Total interest you’d save
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Required monthly payment (P&I)—
Your new monthly payment—
Time you’d shave off—
Payoff without extra—
Payoff with extra—
Total interest without extra—
Total interest with extra—
Worth a gut-check first. Paying down a mortgage early is a guaranteed return equal to your rate — great when the rate is high. But if your rate is low, the same money might do more in retirement accounts or against higher-interest debt, and prepaying ties up cash you can’t easily get back. There’s rarely a prepayment penalty anymore, but it’s worth confirming on your specific loan.
Talk through your payoff strategy with Matt

This calculator is an educational estimate. It assumes a fixed-rate loan, that extra amounts are applied entirely to principal, and that you have no prepayment penalty. It models principal and interest only — taxes, insurance, and PMI are separate and unaffected by extra principal. Actual results depend on your loan’s terms and servicer. Forest Hills Mortgage · Matt Mergo, NMLS #563819. Equal Housing Lender.