The value of additional payments on debt

Filed Under (Credit) on 06-06-2008

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by Robert Bain

If you are willing to pay more now on your debts it will benefit you later on in life. Imagine owning your car after only three years instead of four. Imagine owning your home in twenty five years instead of thirty. It isn’t that hard to come up with money for a couple of extra payments here and there. As a result you will pay more towards your principle balance.

When you first start to pay back on such a loan you will discover almost all of what you pay goes to interest. Your car loan may be for five years and your mortgage for thirty years. Do you know how much money you will pay for interest over the course of that time frame? If you don’t then you really need to look at it because they figures will likely astonish you.

You can definitely save yourself money when you decide to make extra payments on such debts. You will also cut down the amount of time it takes for you to pay it off. One extra payment per year on your car can reduce the frame of time to pay it off by six months or more. One extra house payment per year can cut approximately five years off the life of your loan.

When you make extra payments, all of what you send in will go towards the principle that is due. None of it will be taken for the interest that makes the company money. That stands to reason then that they aren’t going to be encouraging you to pay more money on your account any time soon. If you are excited about the possibilities this has then evaluate how you are going to get it done.

Many people enjoy this concept of paying more now to benefit from it later. Yet the feel that their finances are stretched to the limit. They don’t think they can come up with more than the minimum. Yet if you really crunch the numbers with your finances you will soon see where you are letting money trickle through your fingers. Try to save just $50 a month by reducing those expenses you really don’t have to make.

Some individuals get a paycheck every two weeks. There will be some months though that they will get three paychecks instead of two. This is one of the easiest ways to have some extra money to apply towards your debts. If you make sure you handle it in this way you won’t even miss that money. After all, it isn’t something you need to get buy on a regular monthly budget anyway.

If your employer provides you with any type of bonus it should also be used to pay more on your debts. It isn’t regular income that you rely on so don’t look at it that way. Planning for your future in this manner is really important. Some people can expect to get refund check due to their taxes as well. This is just another type of bonus that can also be applied.

If you are curious about how much money you can save paying more now use the various calculators online. You will also be able to see how much faster that loan will completely be paid off. It can help you to play for retirement as well knowing your mortgage will be paid in full before that day comes.

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