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Personal Loans
How to save thousands on your personal loan without refinancing
Dec 26, 2025
Written by
Reviewed by
Key takeaways:
Some personal loans give you a discount if you sign up for autopay.
Avoiding late payments is one of the easiest ways to save money on a personal loan.
Reduce your interest costs on a personal loan by making extra payments as your budget allows.
Getting a personal loan could be a powerful way to simplify your finances, especially if that personal loan helps you pay off higher-interest debt. There are many ways to keep the momentum going and save money while paying off your personal loan.
You’ve done the hard part by getting the loan. Now you can turn your attention to how to save money on it. No need to refinance your personal loan, either. Just a few smart habits and small moves could help you cut interest, avoid fees, and keep your financial goals on track.
Here are a few easy tips for how to save money on a personal loan without refinancing.
1. Check for an an autopay rate discount on your personal loan
Setting up automatic loan payments could lead to a lower interest rate. Some lenders offer a slightly lower APR (typically about 0.25%) if you sign up to autopay your personal loan. You may be able to get this discount on a new or existing loan depending on your loan terms.
Even if an autopay discount isn’t available for your loan, setting up autopay on your personal loan is still a good idea. That’s because automatically paying your loan could help you avoid late payments and extra fees. It could also help protect your credit from negative payment history, and give you peace of mind that your loan bill is paid on time every month.
2. Never miss a personal loan payment
One of the best ways to save money on personal loans is managing your personal loan to make sure you never miss a payment. Late fees add up quickly, and missed payments could damage your credit—which could mean higher APRs when you borrow in the future.
Staying consistent with how you make personal loan payments helps keep these costs down. And every on-time payment could help you build credit, which may make it easier to qualify for better rates on future loans.
3. Put windfalls to work for bigger potential savings
Any extra payments you make over your required monthly payment will go toward paying down your principal. If you can pay off your loan early, you could save money on interest fees. (Just make sure your loan doesn't have any prepayment penalties.)
So, another way to save money on your loan is by using whatever spare cash you can find in your budget to make extra loan payments. That means snagging any windfalls throughout the year, including:
Tax refund
Cash from a garage sale
Year-end bonus at work
Extra income from an inheritance
Birthday gift money
This could all be used to pay down your personal loan balance faster.
Even if your windfall is just enough to make one extra payment per year, this could shorten your payoff period and reduce interest. Getting creative about how to put extra money toward your loan could help you save money without refinancing.
4. Avoid running up new credit card debt
Credit card debt is typically one of the most expensive ways to carry debt due to the high interest rates. Carrying a balance on your credit cards could mean any extra money in your budget goes to card interest instead of paying down your personal loan faster.
Optimize your budget so you can pay your credit cards in full each month. Without extra interest fees to pay, you may have extra money to put toward your personal loan. This could shorten your payoff timeline and save significant money on interest.
What’s next: Build momentum to pay off your personal loan faster
You don’t have to refinance a personal loan or wait for the perfect rate to start saving. These everyday habits could keep more money in your pocket—right now.
Want a bit more help? Check out the Achieve GOOD app for free tools on how to track your spending, save more money, and make a plan to pay off your personal loan faster.
Ready to consolidate high-interest debt or get cash for other goals? Learn more about how Achieve Personal Loans could help.
Author Information
Written by
Kimberly is Achieve’s senior editor. She is a financial counselor accredited by the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education®, and a mortgage expert for The Motley Fool. She owns and manages a 350-writer content agency.
Reviewed by
Jill is a personal finance editor at Achieve. For more than 10 years, she has been writing and editing helpful content on everything that touches a person’s finances, from Medicare to retirement plan rollovers to creating a spending budget.
FAQs: How to save thousands on your personal loan without refinancing
How can I lower my personal loan cost without refinancing?
Set up autopay to avoid late fees, make on-time payments, and apply extra money like bonuses or tax refunds to your balance. Small steps like these could lower your total interest and help you pay off your loan faster.
Does setting up autopay help me save on my personal loan?
Sometimes. Some lenders offer a small rate discount if you enroll in autopay before or during loan setup. Even if yours doesn’t, autopay could keep you on track and prevent costly late fees.
What is the fastest way to pay off a personal loan?
Try to make extra payments toward your personal loan in a way that fits your budget. Using the Achieve GOOD app could help you find extra cash from your monthly spending. Canceling subscriptions, cooking dinner at home more often, or getting a side hustle could give you extra money to help you pay off a personal loan.
How do I avoid paying more interest on my personal loan?
Start by avoiding late payments, which often come with costly late fees. You may also save money on interest by paying down the balance of your personal loan faster. Making extra payments (beyond what you owe each month) could reduce your interest costs by hundreds or thousands of dollars overall.
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