Why does the balance move at a snails pace in the beginning? Well with table home loans the repayments are designed to be similar all the way through(table); so you will find that initially that most of repayment goes towards the interest.
So on a $800,000 home loan at 6.50% the monthly break down at the start; principle $723 + interest $4,333.
Half way through; its almost 50/50 so principle $2,016 + Interest $2,786.
Near the end; principle $4,523 + Interest $279.
Obviously its hard to predict what the interest rate will be ten years from now, so you do need a little pinch of salt with forecasts. However any additional repayments have a big impact on the term. Paying a $1,000 more towards repayments in the above example would mean saving a decade of repayments. The interest savings alone would be almost $400,000.
It is important to understand how to make additional repayments safely, as making a commitment of another $1,000 per month can be scary. You can use a flexible portion of the home loan(revolving) to make adjustments safely. The ideal situation is where you can adjust the repayment up and down on a monthly basis. Also having access to get back extra repayments in case of emergency adds more confidence.
