Should extra money go on the mortgage or into investments?
Enter your mortgage and the extra amount you could put aside each month. Use an investment return after tax: in a TFSA there is no tax on growth.
Your estimate
What the calculator assumes.
How it compares. Prepaying puts the extra on the mortgage every month; once it is paid off, the whole payment plus the extra is invested until the end of the original amortization. Investing keeps the regular payment and invests the extra each month. Both end with no mortgage, so the investments left are what differ. Interest compounds twice a year on the mortgage, as on Canadian fixed-rate mortgages.
What it leaves out. Prepaying is a guaranteed return equal to your mortgage rate; investing is not. Most closed mortgages limit prepayments to 10% to 20% a year, so check your contract and use the mortgage payoff calculator to model lump sums. An RRSP contribution also brings a tax refund, which this does not count: see the RRSP vs TFSA calculator and TFSA room calculator. Paying off high-interest debt usually comes first.