I took out a $30,000 personal loan at the beginning of this year on a seven year term at 14.40%. Should I continue with it or restart a new, smaller loan, to bring down the repayment amounts?

Q.

I took out a $30,000 personal loan at the beginning of this year on a seven year term at 14.40%. I have kept up with my fortnightly repayments of $300 and have added and extra $4,000 which is available for redraw. Should I keep adding to this redraw amount as I can effectively keep lowering my monthly interest, or should I renegotiate my personal loan so that the new loan amount is $25,000 over the same period effectively lowering my $300 repayments? Currently I am in the position where I can meet my present repayment obligations.

You should be trying to pay it back as soon as possible but you also need to be aware that there may be exit fees for early repayment. Your best option would be to try to negotiate a personal loan where you could make extra repayments without penalty and which will substantially reduce the total interest.