Paying off your mortgage may be the best investment you can make. A recent Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) survey found that 68% of homeowners felt they could pay off their mortgage at a faster rate. You could be one of them; here are some ways to save money and pay off your mortgage early.
Accelerate your payment frequency
This is a very popular way to pay off your mortgage sooner. If you’re making monthly payments on a $300,000 mortgage with a 3.00% interest rate amortized over 25 years, it will cost you $125,920.44 in interest. By increasing your payment frequency to accelerated bi-weekly payments, you will shave off nearly three years of your amortization schedule and save $16,058.57 in interest.
Round up your mortgage payment
This also can be relatively painless. Every dollar counts when it comes to paying off your mortgage. If your accelerated bi-weekly mortgage payments are $543, consider rounding up to $600 instead. The extra $57 will save you thousands of dollars in interest over the term of your mortgage, and you’ll barely notice the difference in your monthly budget.
Refinance to a shorter-term amortization
You can refinance into a mortgage for 10, 15 or 20 years. Your payments will be higher on a longer-term loan, but perhaps not as high as you think, especially in the current low-interest rate environment.
Make lump-sum payments
Adding just $1,000 extra to your mortgage per year will allow you to pay it off four years sooner, and combined with accelerated bi-weekly payments, it will slice off an additional $8,000 in interest. You won’t miss the $1,000, especially if you save it up over the year.
Consider a lower rate
With today’s low mortgage rates, it doesn’t hurt to negotiate a better rate. The difference between a 2.99% rate and a 3.20% rate adds up to about $6,000 in interest over the mortgage term.
Paying off your mortgage early may not seem like a big deal, but when you’re ready to retire, you will thank yourself!
