Quote:
Originally Posted by anmcguire
A simple solution if you can afford it... Pay a little extra each month so the principle is payed down faster, thereby avoiding the interest. I could put together an amortization spreadsheet to determine how much extra per month you would have to pay to offset the point if you like. Here is an example with a $50,000 loan financed for 60 months.
Rate Total Paid Payment Total Interest
2.00% 52,583.40 876.39 2,583.40
3.00% 53,905.80 898.43 3,905.80
4.00% 55,249.80 920.83 5,249.80
5.00% 56,613.60 943.56 6,613.60
6.00% 57,998.40 966.64 7,998.40
7.00% 59,403.60 990.06 9,403.60
8.00% 60,829.20 1,013.82 10,829.20
9.00% 62,275.20 1,037.92 12,275.20
10.00% 63,741.00 1,062.35 13,741.00
So the difference is about $1400 or roughly $24/month. If you paid off the loan in 4 years instead of 5, you would not pay the $1400 extra. Again, this is assuming that paying an extra $200 dollars a month (in my scenario) is possible. Hope this helps, take care. 
Andrew |
I've often heard that making one extra payment per year on a 30 yr. mortgage will effectively shave 7 years off the life of the loan. I've also heard, that in general, it's nothing more than a "feel good" gesture, i.e. reducing one's debt faster. In most scenarios, the extra payment could have been flowing into some conservative fund which over time has a higher ROI than paying off early. I'm not saying to do the other extreme, lease, and invest the cash flow surplus, because the agreement is not a favorable one in itself. But if a person missed the boat by a day and paid 4.9% instead of 3.9%, I don't think saying pay an extra $200/mo and you'll be ok is gonna exactly cheer them up.
I think imho the moral of the story is just realize you're not always going to time things perfectly. Once you've made a deal, accept it, be done with it. Oh snap! I shoulda sold my house in 2k5, it was worth 200k more than it is today.