Here are 8 easy ways to pay off your mortgage early:
1. Bi-weekly payments plus $200 extra per month.
Making bi-weekly payments instead of monthly payments could easilly turn your 30 year morgage into a 22 year mortgage. Automatic bi-weekly payments set up by your bank are an excellent way to save money on your mortgage without thinking about it every month. Just be sure to check with your bank to ensure you’re not paying extra for this service.
2. Pay an extra $500 per month towards your mortgage.
This might sound like a lot but you would be surprised how easy it is to budget an extra $500 per month to pay down your mortgage faster. This extra monthly payment, especially in this beginning on your loan term, will really cut down on the high interest payments. Trust me, it’s worth giving up a your daily Starbucks coffee for!
3. Put all of your extra bonuses on your mortgage.
Do you get a yearly Christmas bonus? Or quarterly bonuses? Or sales commissiones for extra sales? Putting all of your extra bonuses on your mortgage can really add up and will quickly payoff your mortgage. Make it a plan today to automatically transfer all bonuses to your mortgage. Better yet, set it up through your company as an electronic transfer so you never see the money and get tempted to use it on something less important (like a new TV!).
4. Put your annual tax refund on your mortgage as a one time extra payment.
If you’re like MANY people, you are still getting an annual tax refund and it might even be thousands of dollars. Put that towards your mortgage and it might be even a full extra payment each year. But again, decide today that you will always put the tax refund on your mortgage. Don’t just spend it on another family vacation. Pay off the house first and then take debt free vacations later!
5. Refinance to a 10 year mortgage.
Refinancing your mortgage from a 30 year mortgage to a 10 year mortgage can save you tens of thousands of dollars in interest. Of course, there are additional closing costs and fees associated with refinancing, so find a reliable online mortgage calculator and compare the costs.
6. Refinance to a 15 year mortgage plus extra
Refinancing to a 15 year mortgage along with making extra payments every month is another surefire way to pay it off quicker. Switching to a 15 year mortgage instead of a 30 year will likely be only a couple hundred dollars more per month than your 30 year mortgage. So getting a 15 year mortgage could mean a savings of around $100,000 in interest. Wow!
7. Refine your budget
Look over your budget and use the extra money to pay down your mortgage. Budget, Budget, Budget. It’s all about prioritizing the budget to “find” extra money that is currently being used for something unnecessary (and then redirecting it to your mortgage payments).
8. Make it automatic online.
Consider making your extra payments online so you don’t have to make extra money payments each month. Making your extra payments automatic will also keep you from spending the extra money on something else that you don’t really NEED. Remember, paying off your mortgage early instead of paying it off in the scheduled 30 years could save you up to $100,000 in interest!! Try some or all of these tips to payoff your mortgage early. Set a plan today and make paying of your mortgage early a priority! How much money could you save by paying off your mortgage in 10 years? $50,000? $80,000? $120,000? I’d love to hear how much money you’re saving by paying off your mortgage early.