Advice on over paying

EssexHebridean

First thing is to find out how the interest was allocated to the loan - if it was front loaded, then you should stash the money into your savings as planned to build a lump sum, then throw the lump sum at the loan to clear it once you have enough. that also means that for the next little while, the lump sum acts as your emergency fund too, so two birds/one stone. Take a look at the statement for the loan and see if there is an "example redemption figure" - if not ask the provider for one - if the figure to redeem it is less than the sum total of the remaining monthly payments, that is a pretty good indicator of front loaded interest. You also need to check, as someone else said, whether there are any penalties for paying it off early.

Well done you for being so head-screwed-on and thinking to check it all out and get it cleared ASAP. :T