3 Ways to Pay Off Your Auto Loan Faster
by Albane Francois
Auto loans are a great way to get the car you need or want, without being forced to pay for the entire vehicle up front. The typical auto loan is 60 months, but some lenders will offer terms of up to 84 months on very large auto loans. However, some Americans are striving for debt freedom, and looking for quick and easy ways to pay off auto loans faster. If you are looking to pay off your auto loan without subsisting on ramen noodles and cutting everything fun out of your life, the following tips may help.
Round Your Payment Up
This is one of the most painless ways to pay off your auto loan faster, and many times you won't even notice a difference in your budget. Round your payment up to the next $10 or $25 increment. For example, if your car payment minimum amount due is $281.37, round up to $300 and pay that amount. The extra you pay will be applied to the principal on your loan and will chip away at the balance much faster than paying the minimum payment each month.
Make a Payment Every Payday
If you get paid every two weeks, pay half of your car payment each payday. Since there are 52 weeks in a year, that makes 26 pay periods, or 26 half-payments each year. This is the equivalent of 13 monthly payments instead of just 12. That extra payment will be applied to the principal on your loan, again helping you pay it off faster than just making twelve monthly payments as required.
Cash Out Your Change Jar
Nearly everyone has a jar of coins sitting around the house; you can put them to good use instead of letting them rot in a drawer. If you don't have a coin jar, there is no time like the present to set one up. Toss all of your spare change in the jar when you come home each day. Take those spare coins that fall out of your pockets when you do your laundry and all the coins that wind up between the couch cushions and add them to the jar. Clean out your car's console (your car should help you pay off its loan) and add them to the jar. Every couple of months, take the jar to your bank or a coin counting machine and cash it in. Use this money to pay extra on the principal on your car loan.
To learn more strategies to pay off your auto loans, contact services like TruPartner Credit Union.
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About Me
How many times have you put off making repairs around your home because you didn't have the money to make them immediately? Have those decisions caused even more repair bills because you waited to make the repairs? I have done this several times in the past, and, oftentimes, not making those repairs have cost me far more to complete because the damage spread. The whole reason I created my blog was to help others find the financing they need to make home repairs without worrying about choosing the wrong type of financing option. Hopefully, my hard-learned lessons will help you avoid the same struggles that I have undergone.