Prepayment Calculator

Your browser is not Java-enabled.
To view the worksheets and interactive graphs properly, you need to be using a Java-enabled browser (Netscape v. 3 or above, or Microsoft Internet Explorer v. 3 or above.), preferably on a Windows 95 machine. We are not currently supporting Java for Windows 3.1.
If this configuration matches yours, check to make sure Java and Javascript are enabled in your browser options.
Netscape 3.0:

Select Options from your menu bar
Select Network Preferences, then select LANGUAGES.
"Enable Java" and "Enable Javascript" should both be checked.
Click OK.
Netscape 4.x, 5.x, & 6.x:

Select Edit from your menu bar
Select Preferences, then select Advanced.
"Enable Java" and "Enable Java script" should both be checked.
Click OK.
Internet Explorer 3.x:

Select View from your menu bar
Select Options, then select the Security tab.
At the bottom of the page in the Active Content box, make sure all boxes are checked. (Note: You might also want to click the Safety Level button here and select Medium to prevent warning message interruptions.)
Internet Explorer 4.x:

Select View from your menu bar
Select Internet Options, then the Security tab.
For the Internet Zone, select Custom and click on Settings.
Scroll down to the Java area of the list.
Make sure that, under Java permissions, that 'Disable Java' is NOT active. Set this to low, medium, or high security instead.
Scroll down to the Scripting area of the list.
Under Scripting, set Active scripting to Enable, and set Scripting of Java applets to Enable.
Click OK to return the Security Settings, then click Apply, and then OK.
Internet Explorer 5.x & 6.x:

Select Tools from your menu bar
Select Internet Options, then the Security tab.
Make sure the Internet icon is selected amongst the Web content zones.
Select Custom Level... for the Security level.
Scroll down to the Java area of the list.
Make sure that, under Java permissions, that 'Disable Java' is NOT active. Set this to low, medium, or high security instead.
Scroll down to the Scripting area of the list.
Under Scripting, set Active scripting to Enable, and set Scripting of Java applets to Enable.
Click OK to return the Security Settings, then click Apply, and then OK.

Should You Prepay?

YOU'VE GOT SOME EXTRA CASH? Should you invest it or use it to pay down your mortgage? Look at it this way: When you prepay part of your mortgage, you end up paying less in interest. But in the bargain, you also lose part of your mortgage-interest tax break. Your true savings, then, can be expressed as the difference between your mortgage interest rate and the rate at which you take your deduction (a function of your total marginal tax rate). If that net percentage figure is less than the amount you could make investing the cash, you're better off investing it.