How Much Interest Are You Paying on Your Mortgage?
Do you know how much you’re paying in interest on your mortgage every day, month or year? Interest has always been one of my biggest motivators for getting out of debt because it’s what you pay on top of what you borrowed. Regardless of what debt you have: car note, mortgage, credit card debt or student loans I would bet that a lot of what you’re paying every month goes towards interest.
For example, let’s take a look at my mortgage.
Although my monthly mortgage payment includes principal, interest, property insurance, city tax and PMI (private mortgage insurance), my interest makes up 35% of my monthly payment. With that being said, right now I’m paying $20.37 a day in mortgage interest.
Gosh, that’s expensive!
Reading this out loud and sharing this publicly with you is enough to make my heart beat fast! Although this really sucks, it’s motivating me to pay off my 30-year mortgage fast. Yes, you got that right – my interest is motivating me to take action!
Similar to how I used my daily interest to track my student loan repayment progress, I plan to do the same thing when it comes to tackling my mortgage.
Even though you can certainly use a mortgage calculator to figure out how much you’re paying in interest, here are 3 easy ways to calculate mortgage interest.
How to Calculate Mortgage Interest
A Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Figure out your numbers.
Find your most recent mortgage statement (either paper or online) and write down these numbers.
- Current principal balance
- Interest rate
Since mortgage interest is based on your outstanding principal balance and interest rate, every month a portion of your payment goes towards paying back the principal and any accrued interest.
Remember, your current principal balance is the remaining balance of what you borrowed, while the interest rate is what your lender charges for lending you money.
Once you’ve gotten your loan balance down to zero, the mortgage company releases the deed of the house and you’re the rightful owner!
Step 2: Calculate Annual Interest Amount
Let’s say you took out a mortgage for $150,000 at a 4.25% interest rate for 30 years. How do you figure out how much you’ll pay in interest per year?
First, you’re going to convert the annual interest rate percentage into a decimal interest rate. To do this divide the interest rate percentage by 100.
4.25% / 100 = 0.0425
In this example, 4.25% converts to 0.0425.
Now you’re ready to calculate the annual mortgage interest amount.
Current Principal Balance x Mortgage Interest Rate = Annual Mortgage Interest Amount
This formula calculates the total interest on your mortgage per year.
Based on the example above:
- Current Principal Balance: $150,000
- Interest Rate: 4.25% or 0.0425
$150,000 x 0.0425 = $6,375 per year
In this example, you’ll pay $6,375 in interest for the year.
How about if your interest is 5% and you have a $350,000 loan. How much will your annual interest be then? If you calculated $17,500 a year that’s correct!
- Current Principal Balance: $350,000
- Interest Rate: 5% or 0.05
$350,000 x 0.05 = $17,500 per year
Helpful Tip: Remember since the interest you pay is directly tied to the current balance, every month after making a payment, your principal goes down. That means that you’ll pay slightly less interest and more principal with each payment.
Step 3: Calculate Monthly Interest Amount
Current Annual Mortgage Interest Amount / 12 Months = Monthly Mortgage Interest Amount
This formula calculates the total interest on your mortgage per month.
From the previous example we have an annual interest amount of $6,375.
$6,375 / 12 months = $531.25 per month
Here you would pay $531.25 in interest per month.
Step 4: Calculate Daily Interest Amount
Monthly Mortgage Interest Amount / 30 Days = Daily Mortgage Interest Amount
This formula calculates the total daily interest on your mortgage.
From the previous example we have a monthly interest amount of $531.25.
$531.25 / 30 days = $17.70
In this example, you are paying $17.70 in interest per day on your mortgage.
Next Steps?
If you’re wondering how you can strategically use your mortgage interest to help you pay off your mortgage quickly, consider using it as a metric to track your progress. Overtime you’ll see your daily, monthly and annual rate decrease which means that you’re getting closer to achieving your goal. #debtfree
In Summary:
To calculate the annual interest on your mortgage: Current Principal Balance x Interest Rate
To calculate the monthly interest on your mortgage: Annual Mortgage Interest Amount / 12 Months
To calculate the daily interest on your mortgage: Monthly Mortgage Interest Amount / 30 Days
I hope you found this blog post helpful and walk away feeling more informed and motivated to take action.
Cheers to your mortgage repayment success!
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Tips for the First-time Home Buyer
Danielle Desir Corbett paid off $63,000 of student loan debt in 4 years, bought a house at 27, and has traveled to 27 countries, including her favorites, Iceland, China, and Bermuda. Go here to learn Danielle’s incredible story, from struggling financially and in debt to finding creative ways to earn more and live on her terms. Listen to The Thought Card Podcast, where Danielle shares how you can creatively travel more and build wealth regardless of your current financial situation. Reach out to Danielle by contacting: thethoughtcard (at) gmail (dot) com.
Generally, I notice that people tend to pay twice the amount that the home was purchased for thanks to interest. If you can get that albatross of a mortgage off your back sooner, then the better off you will be.
Miriam
Hi Miriam, paying off that mortgage is exactly what I’m aiming for here! It’s so interesting how more aware you are after knowing your numbers. Thanks for reading!