Best option for a loan with flexible payback?

[Deano]

I'm looking at getting a load for 20k over 3 years but ideally I'd like to be able to pay this back quicker than that term. I need to keep it at 3 years to allow for flexibility - I won't be able to overpay every month.

Are there any options that will take this additional payment off the principle and reduce the amount of interest paid back?

This is actually for solar and an EV so the An Post green loan (4.9% APR) is an option, but it is fixed.

Then there is the AIB green loan (6.4% APR) and Revolut personal loan (5.99% APR).

 

[RedOnion]

Hi Deano,

An Post / Avant is fixed, but no penalty for early repayment.

Have a look here, and let me know if anything is unclear.

Key Post - How Personal loans work: Making early repayment & overpayments

Inspired by a discussion in another thread, I couldn’t find a Key Post on how Personal Loans work, particularly around repaying Personal loans early, so here’s first attempt at it. I'm happy to take feedback and make amendments for people’s experiences with different lenders, and any practical...

www.askaboutmoney.com

 

[ClubMan]

You shouldn't really be hammering away at clearing the mortgage early and then taking out unsecured borrowings at a higher rate...

Have been hammering away at the mortgage. Is this the right thing to do?

Age: 48 Spouse’s age: 47 Annual gross income from employment or profession: €80k Annual gross income of spouse: €100k Monthly take-home pay Probably around €5k after payments Type of employment: e.g. Civil Servant, self-employed I'm with a private company, wife is public servant In general...

www.askaboutmoney.com

 

[Deano]

You shouldn't really be hammering away at clearing the mortgage early and then taking out unsecured borrowings at a higher rate...

Have been hammering away at the mortgage. Is this the right thing to do?

Age: 48 Spouse’s age: 47 Annual gross income from employment or profession: €80k Annual gross income of spouse: €100k Monthly take-home pay Probably around €5k after payments Type of employment: e.g. Civil Servant, self-employed I'm with a private company, wife is public servant In general...

www.askaboutmoney.com

I have been hammering away at the mortgage but obviously won't be doing that in the short term if I have a higher interest loan to pay back

 

[Deano]

Hi Deano,

An Post / Avant is fixed, but no penalty for early repayment.

Have a look here, and let me know if anything is unclear.

Key Post - How Personal loans work: Making early repayment & overpayments

Inspired by a discussion in another thread, I couldn’t find a Key Post on how Personal Loans work, particularly around repaying Personal loans early, so here’s first attempt at it. I'm happy to take feedback and make amendments for people’s experiences with different lenders, and any practical...

www.askaboutmoney.com

Sorry for not responding - there was an awful lot to go through there!

From looking at the sums, I'd be saving €400 over the term of the fixed An Post loan compared to the next best I could find (AIB). To be honest, this is probably good enough for me to simply go for the An Post option.

 

[ClubMan]

I have been hammering away at the mortgage but obviously won't be doing that in the short term if I have a higher interest loan to pay back

Still doesn't make sense...

Have been hammering away at the mortgage. Is this the right thing to do?

Age: 48 Spouse’s age: 47 Annual gross income from employment or profession: €80k Annual gross income of spouse: €100k Monthly take-home pay Probably around €5k after payments Type of employment: e.g. Civil Servant, self-employed I'm with a private company, wife is public servant In general...

www.askaboutmoney.com

Around €10k in shares and $10k cash (which will be put off the mortgage shortly)

...

Should I be doing something else with our surplus money every month?

 

[Deano]

Still doesn't make sense...

Have been hammering away at the mortgage. Is this the right thing to do?

Age: 48 Spouse’s age: 47 Annual gross income from employment or profession: €80k Annual gross income of spouse: €100k Monthly take-home pay Probably around €5k after payments Type of employment: e.g. Civil Servant, self-employed I'm with a private company, wife is public servant In general...

www.askaboutmoney.com

What doesn't make sense? That post on the other thread was from almost two years ago, but you keep referring to it??

 

[Wiresandmore]

Revolut allow overpayment whenever you want on their loans, reducing the term when you do so. It’s instant in the app, very impressive.

I had an Avant load before, they do offer the same, but it’s a little more clunky - you can send a bank transfer to them with the loan reference included, but I found you had to call them to find out the new balance each time.

 

[OrangeLavender]

I also found Avant good but I never knew exactly how much was outstanding without ringing them up. I switched the loan to Revolut so that I could over pay and also keep track.