How Much You Can Save Making Extra Mortgage Payments Update 2023. Making additional mortgage payments could benefit you in a number of ways if you have the money in your budget or a lump sum of cash. Eliminating debt gives you more freedom in life and you can save a lot of money on interest.
However, increasing your mortgage payment is not the only option to achieve your financial objectives, nor is it always the best course of action. The following information is necessary before making additional mortgage payments.
Why Make Extra Mortgage Payments?
You shouldn’t feel obligated to utilize any extra money to pay down the mortgage as long as you’re making your regular mortgage payments. Nevertheless, doing so has several important advantages, and in the long run, it might save you money.
Reduce Interest Costs
Despite often having low interest rates, mortgage loans have sizable loan sums. You end up paying a surprisingly high amount of interest over time, and the majority of it occurs in the initial years of a long-term loan.
Eliminate Debt
Paying off debt allows you to purchase flexibility in addition to financial savings. When your mortgage loan is paid off, you can start a business or retire with a fixed income without having to worry about making monthly payments. Having no debt gives one the flexibility to follow any course they want in life.
Let’s use a $200,000, 4.1%, 30-year fixed-rate loan as an illustration. You must pay $966.40 each month.
Interest savings: You will save close to $148,000 in interest expenses throughout the course of your loan. In addition to that the $200,000 loan (the “principal”) that you have to repay. However, if you pay an extra $100 per month, you’d save roughly $28,000 in interest costs.
Early payoff: By adding an extra $100 a month to your loan payment, you can pay it off about five years sooner. You can put that money toward other objectives for the next five years. You could also decide to work less since you won’t require as much money.
Even if you don’t live in the same house for 25 years, making extra payments for 25 years should have a similar impact. Less interest will be paid, and you’ll have greater equity to use for your subsequent house purchase.
Run thorough calculations for your loan using a loan payoff calculator to determine exactly how much you can save.
How to Make Extra Payments
There are various ways you might provide your mortgage lender additional funds. The choice of a strategy largely boils down to personal preference, but you might discover that one method offers more advantages than another.
Monthly Payments
Add a little extra to each monthly payment if you’d want to make it a habit. Normally, you can send a check or tell your lender to electronically withdraw more money. With this strategy, you can gradually reduce the amount of your loan and accommodate additional mortgage payments into your monthly budget.
Lump-Sum Payments
You can pay down your mortgage with any sizeable cash savings that you have. Some folks enjoy adding one more mortgage payment each year. For instance, they duplicate the sum of their regular monthly payment and make 13 payments per year instead of 12. Others prefer to use a sudden influx of money, such as a bonus or inheritance, to pay down debt instead of spending it frivolously.
The majority of mortgage loans permit prepayment, whether you increase your monthly payment, make one or more large payments, or settle the loan in full. But make sure that spending more won’t get you into trouble. Find out if there are any prepayment penalties or other issues that might occur if you try to pay off your loan early.
Other Ideas for Extra Cash
Paying off debt is almost never a terrible idea, but there are instances when there are better solutions and when your mortgage isn’t the most crucial debt to pay off.
The advantages mentioned above are provided through extra payments, but you lock up that money in the equity of your property. It can be difficult to obtain the money back if you need it at any point. Usually, a home equity loan is required, and that approval process requires sufficient income and credit scores. You can’t depend on home equity for cash if you suddenly need it.
Determine how to utilize any additional funds after assessing your needs.
High-Interest Debt
It can make more sense to pay off those loans quickly if you have other debts with higher interest rates. For instance, the typical interest rate on a credit card is above 20%. You might potentially save more money by paying off those costlier loans first if your mortgage interest rate is much lower than your other obligations (which is typically the case).
15-Year Mortgages
Using a mortgage with a shorter term is another strategy to reduce interest rates and pay off debt sooner. Even though 30-year loans are common, there are other possibilities, such as 15-year mortgages. Most of the time, getting a loan with a shorter duration entitles you to a reduced interest rate. You pay a cheaper rate across fewer months as a result.
Build an Emergency Fund
Although you may currently have more cash, are you in a stable financial situation? Roughly 25% of Americans said they wouldn’t be able to pay a $400 emergency bill with cash or payments that would pass for cash. You could be better off contributing extra cash to an emergency fund if that accurately matches your situation.
Equity in your property cannot be rapidly or easily accessed, as was already said. It’s a good idea to store three to six months’ worth of living expenses in a secure location, just in case. Save even more if you like to be very cautious. By doing this, you can handle unforeseen financial circumstances without incurring debt or making significant sacrifices. You might feel more assured in your decisions after you have a sizable emergency fund decision to pay down the mortgage.
Save for Other Goals
You might want to focus on moving forward with long-term financial goals rather than paying off debt. A consistent stream of payments enables you to accumulate large assets over time, whether you’re saving for retirement or financing your school. Focusing on investing and sticking to a longer schedule for your mortgage payments may make it simpler for you to accumulate wealth.
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