The Smart Way to Pay Off Your House Faster
Published: July 24, 2018
The Smart Way to Pay Off Your House Faster
Buying a house is a major investment. And getting your first mortgage can be shocking when you see the numbers on paper. The fact that it will take you 30 years to pay off your house might motivate you to want to pay it off faster. If you’re thinking about knocking a couple years off your mortgage, there’s a smart way to do it.
Understanding Principal vs. Interest
Begin by understanding principal versus interest. Look at the amortization schedule that outlines the life of your loan, which will be provided to you during the closing process. This chart will show you every single payment that you will make broken down by principal and interest.
You may notice that you will pay the highest amount towards interest in the beginning of the loan. The interest payment decreases over the years until the very last payment, which might only be a couple of dollars. The principal payment is flip-flopped—low in the beginning and high at the end.
If you want to pay extra towards your mortgage, be sure to clarify if there are any specific criteria for making extra payments.
Increasing Your Income
If you’re breaking even at the end of the month, then you won’t have room in your budget to make extra mortgage payments. However, if you’re itching to get that debt down, then you must increase your income. Take on a side job or ask for more hours at work. Then pretend like you don’t have that extra income and put it straight towards your mortgage.
Once you start to build up savings beyond what you need to live, you can start making extra mortgage payments. Set attainable goals that seem, small but make a big impact. For example, save up enough to make one extra mortgage payment each year. Just doing that alone could knock off like eight years!
Cutting Costs
Make sure you have the necessities, but if there are small ways that you can cut costs, do it. For example, skip going out to lunch and instead bring leftovers to work. Look at your bank statement at the end of the month and see where there’s room for improvement. You might even be able to cancel a subscription service that you aren’t using or a membership you forgot you had.
Another way to cut costs and increase your income at the same time is by selling something. Furniture, cars and clothing are all things you could sell to bring in some extra cash.
Refinancing Your Loan
Refinancing your loan is one way to get a better interest rate. As you saw on your amortization schedule, the interest you’re paying to borrow money is a lot. If you have an older loan with a high interest rate, many banks and credit unions offer great refinancing options. It’s a smart idea to take advantage of low interest rates because it will save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
If you want to refinance your existing mortgage loan to take advantage of current low-interest rates, consider a higher loan to value product from Santa Clara County Federal Credit Union. We also offer no-cost mortgage loan options that allow you to greatly reduce your closing costs.
Whether you’re in the market to purchase a home or refinance an existing mortgage loan, County Federal is sure to have a program that will fit your needs. Contact us today!
