Does Making Your Mortgage Payments Early Have Any Benefit?

Craig Johnson | February 15th, 2021

Team Clark is adamant that we will never write content influenced by or paid for by an advertiser. To support our work, we do make money from some links to companies and deals on our site. Learn more about our guarantee here.

Welcome to Ask Clark, a column designed to answer your financial questions, by money expert Clark Howard.

Is There Any Benefit to Making Your Mortgage Payments Early?

Joe from Maryland asks: “Does making your mortgage payment early have any benefit as to how fast it’s paid off? I usually pay a week or two before the due date. Does this affect the daily interest or the principal in any way?”

Clark’s Take on Whether Making Early Mortgage Payments Benefits You

Clark says: “Not at all, unfortunately. In the United States, mortgages are not calculated based on a daily rate like credit cards would be. They’re calculated on a monthly formula.”

The peculiar thing about mortgage payments in America, Clark says, is that “you are on time if it’s paid on the first. You are late after typically the fifth, but you don’t suffer a penalty until the 15th.”

“The important thing is that mortgage payments be made on time, but you get no benefit by paying a week early or 10 days early or anything like that, you still will owe the same amount of money,” he says.

However, there’s a line between making early mortgage payments and paying your mortgage off early. If you can pay your mortgage off early, here are some steps Clark recommends.

To hear Clark’s full take on this question, listen to the segment:

Do you have a question for Clark? Use this form to ask him! And remember that you can listen to the Clark Howard Podcast at any time here.

If you have a question but don’t want to go on-air, contact Clark’s Consumer Action Center for free money help.