<prompt> Human: When I bought my pre-owned car last weekend the financial manager advised me to not put anything down on the car, but instead put the down payment toward payments only. What he said to do was to write out a check for the down payment amount, say 1200 to make it easy, to the bank and make sure that it goes towards payments only. This way my monthly payment would be decreased by 100 each month for a year. Is this different than putting it toward the principal? Is this different than just overpaying by 100 each month? Your input is appreciated. Thanks.  <response>: He is screwing you out of a little bit of money. With his method, your principal wont be reduced at the time of your initial payment. This allows them to charge interest on a larger amount. Just make a regular down payment and apply it to principal. 