It’s wild how easy it is for money to just... float in limbo.
Right? I had a payment go “missing” for almost two weeks once—turns out it was sitting in their “unapplied funds” section because I didn’t specify principal only. Ever since, I write it in the memo and double-check the statement. Is it just me, or should this stuff be way more straightforward? The fees for biweekly threw me too. Isn’t the whole point to pay faster, not pay extra?
Is it just me, or should this stuff be way more straightforward? The fees for biweekly threw me too. Isn’t the whole point to pay faster, not pay extra?
That’s exactly what gets me—why do lenders make it so convoluted? I ran into the same “unapplied funds” mess and had to call three times before they fixed it. As for biweekly fees, it’s honestly a bit of a racket. You can usually set up your own schedule and just make extra principal payments without paying their “convenience” fee. It’s wild how much you have to babysit these transactions, but if you’re detail-oriented about it, you can dodge most of their traps.
Yeah, the “unapplied funds” thing is ridiculous. I had a similar issue where my extra payment just sat there for weeks. It’s frustrating, but you’re right—if you keep an eye on it and make sure to specify “principal only,” you can usually avoid their sneaky fees. It shouldn’t be this complicated, but at least you’re catching it early. Hang in there, it does get easier once you know the tricks.
Yeah, totally agree—the unapplied funds thing is just a pain. One trick I’ve picked up is to always double-check your lender’s online portal after making an extra payment. Sometimes you have to call and nudge them to move the funds to principal. It’s wild how much faster you can pay down the loan once you get the hang of these little workarounds. Honestly, it shouldn’t be this convoluted, but at least once you know the process, you can make it work for you.
Sometimes you have to call and nudge them to move the funds to principal.
Yeah, that’s honestly the part that drives me nuts. You’d think making an extra payment would be straightforward, but nope—if you’re not careful, it just sits there as “unapplied funds” or sometimes even goes toward future interest. I’ve had to call my lender more than once to get them to actually apply it to principal. It’s like they’re hoping you’ll just forget about it and let the money sit.
One thing I started doing is making sure I write “apply to principal” in the memo line whenever I mail a check (yeah, I still use checks sometimes—old habits). But even with online payments, I’ll screenshot the confirmation page and keep track of it in a spreadsheet. That way if there’s ever any confusion, I’ve got proof of what I requested.
I totally agree with you about how much faster you can pay off the loan once you figure this stuff out. The first time I ran an amortization calculator after making a few principal-only payments, I was shocked at how much interest I could save. It’s wild, but also kind of frustrating that it takes this much effort just to get your money working for you.
Honestly, if lenders made it easier and more transparent to apply extra payments directly to principal, I bet a lot more people would do it. But then again, maybe that’s why they don’t make it easy... just saying.
Anyway, for anyone else reading along, don’t assume your extra payment is going where you want it to go. Double-check every time. It’s a hassle, but it really does make a difference over the long run.
