You can use this loan calculator to work out what your monthly repayments might be for various loan amounts, repayment periods and annual interest rates. This can help you decide whether you can afford the repayments.

An amortization schedule reveals the specific dollar amount put towards interest, as well as the specific put towards the Principal balance, with each payment. Initially, a large portion of each payment is devoted to interest. As the loan matures, larger portions go towards paying down the principal. The first payment is assumed to take place one full payment period [one month] after the loan was taken out, not on the first day of the loan. The last payment completely pays off the remainder of the loan, often the last payment will be a slightly different amount than all earlier payments. In addition to breaking down each payment into interest and principal portions, the amortization schedule also reveals interest-paid-to-date, principal-paid-to-date, and the remaining principal balance on each payment date.

There are a few crucial points worth noting when obtaining a mortgage for a home with an amortized loan. First, there is substantial allocation of the monthly payments toward the interest, especially during the first years of the mortgage. You will notice that the first payment allocates about 90% of the total payment towards interest and only about 10% toward the principal balance. Not until much later payments into the loan does the payment allocation towards principal and interest even out and subsequently tip the majority of the monthly payment toward Principal balance pay down.