How extra mortgage payments save you money
Every dollar you pay above your required monthly payment goes straight toward your loan's principal — the amount you actually owe — instead of being split between principal and interest like your regular payment. A smaller principal means less interest accrues the following month, which snowballs: the loan not only gets paid off faster, it also costs less in total interest over its life.
This effect compounds most in the early years of a mortgage, when the bulk of each regular payment goes toward interest rather than principal. That's why even a modest extra payment — $100 or $200 a month — made consistently from early on can shave years off a 30-year loan and save tens of thousands of dollars in interest.
This calculator compares your loan paid on the standard schedule against the same loan with your chosen extra amount applied every month, and shows the payoff date, total interest and total paid for both scenarios side by side.
Note: before committing to extra payments, check whether your loan has a prepayment penalty and confirm with your lender that extra payments are applied to principal by default (some servicers apply them to the next payment instead unless you specify otherwise). This tool provides an estimate and is not financial advice.