Loans & Mortgages

A car loan, a student loan, a credit card, a mortgage — they’re all the same engine wearing different clothes, and that engine is compound interest running in reverse, working for the lender and against you. This topic teaches borrowing from the customer’s side of the desk so no loan document can ever bluff you again.

Here’s what you’ll walk away knowing:

• Loan anatomy — principal, interest, the rate, and the term, plus what makes a mortgage special.
• Amortization schedules — why early payments are almost all interest, how the split flips over time, and exactly where each month’s money goes.
• Fixed vs variable rates — which one shifts the risk onto you, and when each makes sense.
• APR vs APY — how lenders actually quote rates, so you read the total cost of credit, not just the monthly payment.
• Down payment, loan-to-value & mortgage insurance — how much you put down, what ratio it leaves, and the insurance that triggers.
• Fees & closing costs — the charges hiding in the fine print.
• Life after signing — early repayment, refinancing, default, and foreclosure.

You already know interest and the APR/APY split, so this sits one rung up the ladder: point that machinery at the most common financial decision a person ever makes — borrowing money — and price every trade-off before you sign.