How mortgage payments work
What goes into a monthly mortgage payment, how the fixed principal and interest amount is set, and why early payments are mostly interest.
8 min readMortgage
Learn
Plain-language guides to mortgages and debt payoff: what the numbers mean, what changes them, and a worked example you can try in a calculator.
Mortgages
How a fixed-rate mortgage payment is built, what PMI and the down payment do to it, and how amortization spreads interest over the term.
Principal vs. interest: where your payment goes
How a fixed mortgage payment splits between principal and interest, why the split shifts over time, and how extra payments or a shorter term change the total.
8 min readMortgage
What is PMI and when does it go away?
Private mortgage insurance explained: who it protects, the 20 percent down payment threshold, what it typically costs, and when it ends under federal rules.
8 min readMortgage
Down payments explained
How a down payment sets your loan amount and LTV, what it does to your monthly payment, PMI and total interest, and the trade-off with cash reserves.
8 min readMortgage
What is amortization?
How an amortization schedule splits each mortgage payment between interest and principal, why the last payment differs, and how extra payments shorten it.
8 min readMortgage
A plain-language mortgage guide
How a fixed-rate mortgage works, what goes into the full monthly payment, and how term, rate, down payment and extra principal change the cost.
7 min readMortgage
Debt payoff
What APR and minimum payments do to a balance, how credit card interest is charged, and how the avalanche and snowball orders compare.
Debt avalanche vs. debt snowball
How the debt avalanche and debt snowball orders work, a worked three-debt example, and when the two methods give the same answer.
8 min readDebt payoff
What is APR?
APR is the yearly cost of borrowing as a percentage of your balance. Learn how it becomes a monthly charge and why it drives debt payoff order.
8 min readDebt payoff
Minimum payments explained
How credit card issuers set minimum payments, why paying only the minimum can take years or never end, and how small extra payments change the timeline.
8 min readDebt payoff
How credit card interest works
How credit card interest is charged, from grace periods and daily periodic rates to average daily balances, with a worked example at 18% APR.
7 min readDebt payoff