https://payoffroute.com/guides Decision guides and original data studies on borrowing and debt payoff, from PayoffRoute. en-us https://payoffroute.com/guides/car-loan-interest-deduction https://payoffroute.com/guides/car-loan-interest-deduction Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: the 2025 car loan interest deduction phases out by a flat dollar amount, not a percentage. A typical car loan's deduction is worth nothing above a $111,000 MAGI. And 0% financing, having no interest, has nothing to deduct. https://payoffroute.com/guides/what-happens-when-you-cancel-an-extended-warranty https://payoffroute.com/guides/what-happens-when-you-cancel-an-extended-warranty Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: cancelling a financed extended warranty or GAP policy sends the refund to your lender, not to you — and your payment does not drop. We computed what it does instead, and what one unread clause in the contract is worth. https://payoffroute.com/guides/solar-loan-dealer-fee-and-payment-jump https://payoffroute.com/guides/solar-loan-dealer-fee-and-payment-jump Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: the 2.99% solar loan is bought with a dealer fee of 15–30% hidden in your price, and its payment assumes a tax credit you may not be able to use — or, after 2025, one that no longer exists. https://payoffroute.com/guides/does-infinite-banking-work https://payoffroute.com/guides/does-infinite-banking-work Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: we gave the policy the return its own sellers claim, and taxed the index fund on every dollar of gain. Buying term and investing the difference still finished $172,608 ahead. https://payoffroute.com/guides/iul-illustrated-vs-guaranteed https://payoffroute.com/guides/iul-illustrated-vs-guaranteed Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: every indexed universal life illustration prints two columns on the same page. One is a projection. The other is a promise. We computed the real annual return of both. https://payoffroute.com/guides/balance-transfer-break-even https://payoffroute.com/guides/balance-transfer-break-even Sat, 11 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: exactly how many days of interest a 3% or 5% transfer fee buys back, the payment needed to clear the balance before 0% ends, and why a no-fee card can be the most expensive offer on the board. https://payoffroute.com/guides/zero-percent-financing-vs-rebate https://payoffroute.com/guides/zero-percent-financing-vs-rebate Sat, 11 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: the exact rate below which taking a car dealer’s cash rebate beats their 0% financing — mapped across every rebate size, term and price. Plus why the rule of thumb everyone repeats is calibrated to a car that barely exists any more. https://payoffroute.com/guides/15-vs-30-year-mortgage-the-rate-is-not-the-point https://payoffroute.com/guides/15-vs-30-year-mortgage-the-rate-is-not-the-point Sat, 11 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: only 15% of what a 15-year mortgage saves you comes from its lower rate. The other 85% comes from the shorter term — which a 30-year gives you for free, and lets you undo. https://payoffroute.com/guides/mortgage-points-vs-down-payment https://payoffroute.com/guides/mortgage-points-vs-down-payment Sat, 11 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: the advice to "put it toward the down payment and kill PMI" describes a choice most buyers do not have. Absorbing that cash in points would take 11.1 points — and lenders sell four. https://payoffroute.com/guides/does-velocity-banking-work https://payoffroute.com/guides/does-velocity-banking-work Sat, 11 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: velocity banking is not a scam — it beats plain extra payments by $1,835 over twelve years. But paying $25/month more beats it outright, every dollar of the benefit is the float, and below $102/month of surplus it turns on you. https://payoffroute.com/guides/dti-for-a-mortgage-28-36-rule https://payoffroute.com/guides/dti-for-a-mortgage-28-36-rule Fri, 10 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT How the 28/36 rule works, the difference between front-end and back-end DTI, the ratios lenders actually accept today, and how to work out yours before you apply. https://payoffroute.com/guides/what-is-a-balance-transfer-fee https://payoffroute.com/guides/what-is-a-balance-transfer-fee Fri, 10 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT What a balance transfer fee is, how to work out the exact dollar cost, the typical 3–5% range, when no-fee offers make sense, and the one number that tells you if it is worth paying. https://payoffroute.com/guides/how-much-credit-card-interest-per-day https://payoffroute.com/guides/how-much-credit-card-interest-per-day Fri, 10 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT The daily interest math behind your credit card: what the daily periodic rate (DPR) is, worked examples at 24.99% APR, and how to get the daily charge to zero. https://payoffroute.com/guides/should-you-pay-off-debt-or-invest https://payoffroute.com/guides/should-you-pay-off-debt-or-invest Thu, 09 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT The debt-vs-invest debate ends with an order, not a winner: employer match, emergency fund, high-APR debt, then a genuine choice. Here is the math. https://payoffroute.com/guides/how-to-calculate-debt-consolidation-savings https://payoffroute.com/guides/how-to-calculate-debt-consolidation-savings Thu, 09 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT How to calculate your real savings from debt consolidation by hand, and why a lower monthly payment is not the same as saving money. https://payoffroute.com/guides/heloc-vs-home-equity-loan-how-to-decide https://payoffroute.com/guides/heloc-vs-home-equity-loan-how-to-decide Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Five questions that decide between a HELOC and a home equity loan — spending pattern, rate risk, payoff speed, discipline, and the fine print. https://payoffroute.com/guides/minimum-payment-statistics https://payoffroute.com/guides/minimum-payment-statistics Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: how many years minimum payments take at every common balance and APR, computed month by month — including the balances that never pay off at all. https://payoffroute.com/guides/personal-loan-vs-balance-transfer-which-wins https://payoffroute.com/guides/personal-loan-vs-balance-transfer-which-wins Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT A one-number test decides most cases: can your budget clear the balance inside the 0% window? Here is how to answer it — and what to do when you can't. https://payoffroute.com/guides/extra-100-dollars-a-month https://payoffroute.com/guides/extra-100-dollars-a-month Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT Original data: how much time and interest an extra $100/month cuts from a mortgage, student loans, an auto loan, a personal loan, and a credit card — including the debts it outright rescues. https://payoffroute.com/guides/how-is-your-minimum-payment-calculated https://payoffroute.com/guides/how-is-your-minimum-payment-calculated Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT The two formulas US card issuers use to set your minimum payment, where your card's exact formula is written down, and why it matters at today's APRs. https://payoffroute.com/guides/recast-vs-extra-payments-vs-refinance https://payoffroute.com/guides/recast-vs-extra-payments-vs-refinance Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT A lump sum can lower your payment, shorten your loan, or fix your rate — three different moves. Here is how to pick the right one for your goal.