If you're like most Americans, you owe money toward a large loan. Whether that means carrying thousands of dollars in credit card debt, having a hefty mortgage in your name or making car loan payments each month, loan debt is part of your life. This means you're looking at hundreds of dollars in interest payments over the life of the loan(s). There's also the mental load of knowing you owe perhaps tens of thousands of dollars and that you'll be paying back the loan for years to come.
It can all get kind of depressing-but it doesn't have to be that way.
Did you know there are simple, but brilliant, tricks you can employ to lighten the load? With a carefully applied technique, you can pay off your mortgage, auto loan, credit card debt and any other debt you're carrying quicker than you thought possible. These tricks won't hurt your finances in any dramatic way, but they can make a big difference to the total interest you'll pay over the life of the loan and help you become debt-free faster.
You can free up more of your money each month, use your hard-earned cash for the things you want instead of forking it over in interest and live completely debt-free sooner than you'd dreamed. It's all possible!
A note of caution before we explore these tricks: Check with your lender before employing any approach, as some loan types have penalties for making extra or early payments.
Instead of making monthly payments toward your loan, submit half-payments every two weeks.
The benefits to this approach are two-fold:
Your payments will be applied more often, so less interest can accrue.
You'll make 26 half-payments each year, which translates into an extra full payment on the year, thereby shortening the life of the loan by several months or even years. If you choose this method with a 30-year mortgage, you can shorten it to 26 years!
2. Round up your monthly payments
Round up your monthly payments to the nearest $50 for an effortless way to shorten your loan. For example, if your auto loan costs you $220 each month, bring that number up to $250. The difference is too small to make a tangible dent in your budget, but large enough to knock a few months off the life of your loan and save you a significant amount in interest.
For a potentially even bigger impact, consider bumping up your payments to the nearest $100.
If the thought of bi-weekly payments seems daunting but you like the idea of making an additional payment each year, you can accomplish the same goal by committing to just one extra payment a year. This way, you'll only feel the squeeze once a year and you'll still shorten the life of your loan by several months, or even years. Use a work bonus, tax refund, or another windfall to make that once-a-year payment.
Another easy way to make that extra payment is to spread it out throughout the year. Divide your monthly payment by 12 and then add that cost to your monthly payments all year long. You'll be making a full extra payment over the course of the year while hardly feeling the pinch.
4. Refinance
One of the best ways to pay off your loan early is to refinance. If interest rates have dropped since you took out your loan or your credit has improved dramatically, this can be a smart choice for you. Contact Horizon to ask about refinancing. We can help even if your loan is currently with us.
It's important to note that refinancing makes the most sense if it can help you pay down the loan sooner. You can accomplish this by shortening the life of the loan, an option you may be able to afford easily with your lower interest rate. Another means to the same goal is keeping the life of your loan unchanged and with your lower monthly payments, employing one of the methods mentioned above to shorten the overall life of your loan.
5. Boost your income and put all extra money toward the loan
A great way to cut the life of your loan is to work on earning more money with the intention of making extra payments on your loan. Consider selling stuff on Amazon or eBay, cutting your impulse purchases and putting saved money toward your loan, or taking on a side hustle on weekends or holidays for extra cash. Even a job that nets you an extra $200 a month can make a big difference in your loan.
Triumph over your loans by using one or more of these tricks to make them shorter and pay less interest. You deserve to keep more of your money!
Making an extra payment each month or putting some, or all, of a cash windfall, toward your loans, could help you shave a few months off your repayment period. However, some lenders may charge a prepayment penalty fee for paying the loan off early.
Making an extra payment each month or putting some, or all, of a cash windfall, toward your loans, could help you shave a few months off your repayment period. However, some lenders may charge a prepayment penalty fee for paying the loan off early.
Can I Repay My Loan Early? There is no penalty for repaying early! If you're still within our 29-day grace period, you should be able to update your payment dates in the app at your convenience.
High-interest debt can cost you more the longer you have it, so it makes perfect sense to pay off the loan with the highest interest rate first. The nickname for this tactic is the “avalanche method.”
Borrowers with high debt-to-income ratios will find that paying off personal loans early can reduce theirs, "possibly increasing their chances of being approved for another loan," he says. You can also expect emotional rewards.
If you have personal loan debt and are in a financial position to pay it off early, doing so could save you money on interest and boost your credit score. That said, you should only pay off a loan early if you can do so without tilting your budget, and if your lender doesn't charge a prepayment penalty.
If you have loans that have been in repayment for more than 20 or 25 years, those loans may immediately qualify for forgiveness. Borrowers who have reached 20 or 25 years (240 or 300 months) worth of eligible payments for IDR forgiveness will see their loans forgiven as they reach these milestones.
The debt snowball method focuses on paying off your smallest debt balance first, then moving on to the next smallest — which leads to small victories that add up. The debt avalanche method takes the opposite approach and focuses on paying off the debts with the highest interest rate first.
1. Prioritize Debt With the Highest Interest Rate. Prioritizing debt with the highest interest rates can potentially help you save more money on interest. The highest-interest debt you have is likely credit card debt, but other accounts, such as payday loans, can also charge very high interest rates.
In contrast, the "avalanche method" focuses on paying the loan with the highest interest rate loans first. Similar to the "snowball method," when the higher-interest debt is paid off, you put that money toward the account with the next highest interest rate and so on, until you are done.
The answer here is, surprisingly, yes. In certain situations, paying off a personal loan early can affect your credit – in both good and bad ways. That said, the possible negative effect on your credit typically isn't enough to negate the benefits of an early payoff.
Under Consumer Credit Regulations 2004, lenders can charge you up to two months of additional interest if you decide to pay your loan off earlier than planned. If your loan has less than 12 months to run, lenders can only charge up to one month's interest for early redemption.
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.
This involves starting with your smallest balance first, paying that off and then rolling that same payment towards the next smallest balance as you work your way up to the largest balance. This method can help you build momentum as each balance is paid off.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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