When you take out a loan, you may be given an amortization schedule that tells you how long it will take to pay off your loan. This schedule should also tell you how much interest you are paying over the life of the loan as well as how much of each payment is devoted to principal.Should You Pay Off The Loan Early?Paying off a loan early will ensure that you pay less money in interest and get yourself out of debt quicker. When you know how much of each payment is going toward interest, you get a good idea of how much money you are saving. If you are at a point where the majority of your payment is directed toward the principal balance, you may not want to pay off the loan early because you aren't saving much money.The Schedule Helps You Budget With EaseWhen you know how much money you are paying each month, you can make a monthly budget with more certainty. If you have a loan with a fixed interest rate, you have almost nothing to worry about in terms of your budget. All you do is plug in the same amount each month. However, you may have to watch your monthly bill if you have a variable loan. The payment amount can change at any time.How Much Are You Really Paying?An amortization schedule will tell you how much you are really paying for the loan by showing you the total cost of the loan with interest. For example, your $20,000 car loan may actually cost you $24,000 after interest is tacked on. When you see how much the loan is really going to cost you, it becomes easier to make better choices as a consumer. Carefully look over any amortization schedule your receive from your lender. It will give you a lot of help in terms of budgeting and other long-term financial planning. You may even find that you couldn't afford as much house or as big of a car as you thought your could.