The lending agreement usually specifies the terms for repaying personal loans. As long as you follow this and never pay less, you’ll be fine, but there are times when paying the loan off early has advantages. Other times, it doesn’t make sense to do so. Determining when you should make extra payments can help your credit score and your wallet.
Revolving Personal Loans
The most common type of revolving personal loan is the credit card. As you know, the easy use of this type of credit can cause financial ruin when you don’t pay close attention to how often you pay with plastic. You may also know that making the required minimum payments can mean paying on these personal loans for decades.
To combat the power of compound interest, it always makes sense to make additional payments to your credit cards when you can afford to do so. When the debt you carry on your cards is relatively low, you can look at other kinds of personal loans first for early repayment if you wish. In general, your interest rate on revolving credit will be higher than other loans, so deciding to pay extra towards these accounts is an easy choice.
Fixed Personal Loans
Before you consider paying extra on your fixed-rate personal loans, be sure you review your lending agreement first. Is there a penalty for early prepayment? If so, you’ll need to calculate how much money you’ll save in interest charges by paying off your loan early. When your savings exceeds the penalty, you can start making those extra payments. Conversely, divert your extra cash to another loan or your savings when the penalty is more than you’d save. When the difference is marginal, consider what you could make my putting that money in your retirement account as an alternative.
Auto loans are a special case in the world of fixed-rate personal loans. Even when the amount of money you’ll save with an early payoff is marginal, it may still be to your advantage. Check with you insurance company to determine if your premium will decrease once you own the vehicle free and clear or if there are any coverage types you can drop at that time. The money you’ll save may surprise you.
Special Personal Loans
Some personal loans offer special advantages for carrying a loan balance. In these cases, you must decide if the money you’ll save in interest charges is worth losing the perk. For example, some financial institutions will offer a discounted package of banking and investment products as long as your lending relationship meets a specific dollar threshold. Mortgages and home equity loans allow you the potential of deducting the interest at tax time. In these cases, consider meeting with your banker or tax professional to discuss the consequences of repaying your personal loans early.
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