# Pay Off vs Invest Calculator

> Compare extra mortgage payments with investing the same cash flow, including a 4% distribution.

Canonical HTML: https://acceleratedstrategies.com/payoff-vs-invest-calculator
Markdown twin: https://acceleratedstrategies.com/payoff-vs-invest-calculator.md

Educational calculator. Enter a loan balance, interest rate, remaining term, monthly cash flow, investment starting balance, and expected annual return.

One path sends the cash flow to extra principal and, once the mortgage is gone, invests the retired payment plus that cash flow. The other path pays only the scheduled payment and invests the cash flow from the start. Neither account takes distributions while it grows. At the year entered as the desired retirement horizon, the calculator shows the mortgage balance, investment balance, the annual and monthly income implied by the 4% rule, and net cash flow: that monthly income plus the monthly cash flow. The cash flow already includes the mortgage payment, so a remaining payment is not subtracted again. A paid-off mortgage adds the retired payment back.

This is an illustration with a fixed rate and a constant monthly return. Results vary and the page does not recommend either path.

Related: [Financial Disclosure](https://acceleratedstrategies.com/financial-disclosure) · [FAQ](https://acceleratedstrategies.com/questions)

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Source: Accelerated Strategies (https://acceleratedstrategies.com)