Pay off your loan sooner.

How the estimate works

The monthly rate is the APR divided by 12. Each month, interest is the current balance times that rate, rounded to the nearest cent, and then added to the balance. The payment covers interest first and principal second. The last month pays whatever remains. An extra payment is added to the required payment every month.

If the payment is less than or equal to the first month of interest, the balance does not fall and this estimate stops.

A payment you can check

A $10,000 balance at 6% APR with a $200 payment owes $50 of interest in month one, because $10,000 × 0.005 = $50. The balance becomes $9,850. Continuing that rule pays the loan off in 58 months and charges $1,536.16 of interest. The last payment is $136.16.

The numbers already filled in are a $15,000 balance at 18% APR, a $400 required payment, and a $100 extra payment. The $400 payment alone takes 4 years, 8 months and $7,210.50 of interest. Paying $500 takes 3 years, 5 months and $5,077.52 of interest, which is 15 months and $2,132.98 less.

This is an educational estimate for a fixed rate and a fixed monthly payment. It is not a lender statement. A servicer can round differently or apply a payment on another day.