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PaperclipPerfector  6mo ago (text post)   3678 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 30, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Who here makes extra payments on his mortgage? Or has a paid-off house?

I make extra payments, and looking through my amortization table just now I was incensed to learn that a full 75% of all of the reduction in our loan balance is solely due to our extra principal payments! What in the scam? (Edit: I guess I have to clarify that I am not retarded and do not believe that a 30-year mortgage is literally swindling me through nefarious trickery.)

Further, to say nothing of the compounded benefits, we have a present-day benefit in the form of $2,000 of saved interest, and we're still very near the beginning of our loan term! It's obvious when placed next to an amortization schedule that assumes we only make necessary payments.

(2/1/2026 Loan Balance)minimum payments - (2/1/2026 Loan Balance)extra principal - (sum of extra principal paid) = ~$2,000

Nonononono! Making extra payments is a trap, because all you are doing is shortening the term duration without affecting the monthly payment. In effect, you are robbing yourself of the interest that money could be making, and letting your lender benefit from it instead.

What you want to do is recast the loan (which will admittedly require a more substantial payment) possibly combined with a refinance. This will reduce your monthly payments without modifying the loan term, which gives you the interest rate advantage.

Then you can use your increased monthly available cash to pay down the loan more aggressively if you are really trying to burn through it.

Huh. So instead of constant payment/shorter term, you're arguing for smaller payment/same term.

I had never heard of a recast I must admit. I'm not even sure it's an option for me. I was just gonna refinance when rates dropped enough.

Recasting is one of those things that is never, ever mentioned by the people who are handling your loan, unless you directly ask about it. Funny how that works.

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