Every payment of your loan, split into principal and interest — so you can see exactly where the money goes and when the balance actually starts falling.
| Year | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|
Your payment never changes on a fixed loan, but its recipe does. Early on, most of each payment is interest — on a 30-year loan at today's rates, your first payments are roughly two-thirds interest. Each month the balance shrinks a little, so a little less interest accrues, so a little more of the next payment hits principal. The flip is slow: notice how many years pass before principal outweighs interest in the table.
The schedule's bottom line — total interest — is the real price tag of the loan. It's also why small extra payments are so powerful: every extra dollar skips the interest phase entirely and goes straight to the balance, deleting all its future interest from the table.
Comparing loan offers? Run each one here and compare total interest, not just the monthly payment. A "cheaper" payment on a longer term is usually the most expensive loan on this page. See also the 15 vs. 30-year comparison and the full mortgage calculator with taxes and insurance.
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An amortization schedule is the month-by-month story of your loan: how each payment splits between interest and principal, and how your balance falls over time. Your payment stays level, but its makeup shifts. Early on, when the balance is large, most of each payment is interest and little touches principal. As the balance shrinks, the interest portion falls and principal accelerates — which is why the back half of a loan pays down much faster than the front half.
On a $320,000 loan at 6.5% over 30 years, the very first payment is roughly $1,733 interest and only about $290 principal. Fifteen years in, that split has flipped toward principal. Seeing this laid out explains two things at once: why your balance barely moves in year one, and why extra principal payments early — before all that interest is charged — are so powerful. The full table above shows the exact crossover month for your numbers.
Why is so little going to principal at first?
Interest is charged on the outstanding balance, which is highest at the start. As you pay the balance down, less interest accrues and more of your level payment attacks principal.
How do extra payments change the schedule?
They cut the balance ahead of schedule, so every later month accrues less interest and your payoff date moves up. Try the extra payment calculator to quantify it.
Does this work for any fixed loan?
Yes — the same math applies to auto and personal loans, just over shorter terms with smaller balances.