Loan payoff guides

A plain-English guide to loan amortization — why early payments are mostly interest, what each schedule column means, and how the math actually works.

Biweekly payments vs paying extra monthly — how each works, which saves more interest, and the servicer pitfalls to watch out for.

Paying extra principal shortens your loan but usually does not lower the monthly payment. Here is why — and how a recast is different.

A balanced look at paying off your mortgage early versus investing — the guaranteed return of payoff, opportunity cost, risk, and how to decide.

Making one extra mortgage payment a year — the "13th payment" — can shave years off your loan. Here is how much it really saves and the easiest ways to do it.

Extra car payments should reduce your principal — but lenders do not always apply them that way. How to make sure your extra payments actually pay down the loan.

Recast, extra payments, and refinancing are three different levers. What each one does to your payment and interest, and when to use which.

PMI can end automatically at 78% loan-to-value, or you can request it at 80%. How the LTV rules work and how extra payments get you there sooner.