If we could just start making additional payments off our mortgage, we could cut the term by many years. It would help us save a fortune in interest! If you are keen to pay off your mortgage quicker, I have included some do’s and don’ts below. I keep hoping we will overpay ours, hopefully this blog post will give me the nudge I need.

Do Use Mortgage Calculators

I was looking at the extra payment calculator on the Mortgage Calculators site. It provides the motivation you need to really scrimp and save to overpay your mortgage. When you can see just how many years sooner you can clear your mortgage it becomes a real driving force for achieving financial freedom. All that money saved will make your retirement seem less scary. Many of us aim to be mortgage free by then. However doing so earlier gives you more time to enjoy life without the burden of debt.

Do Watch Out For Penalties

If you want to increase your mortgage payments be aware that some providers will charge a penalty. Check with your mortgage provider first to see what is involved. If they do have penalties, consider saving up a lump sum separately for when your deal runs out instead. Then you can reduce your mortgage before being tied into another fixed deal. Our first mortgage deal would have let us pay up to 10% a year without penalty. When we swapped to a better deal per month my husband hadn’t realized he also sacrificed that option in doing so! For our next re-mortgage deal our main priority is having an option to overpay without penalty again. My husband will probably return to our usual mortgage broker to see what he suggests.

Don’t Miss Out On Other Investments

You have to be careful you don’t miss out on other lucrative investments be channeling all your extra money into clearing your mortgage. You might want to have a stock portfolio as part of your retirement plan. Something that you might not be able to achieve if you are focused solely on clearing your mortgage.

Do Clear The Most Expensive Debts First

Your mortgage might not be your most expensive debt. If you have any debt with high interest rates it would be wiser to get rid of those first, whether its your overdraft or a credit card. Check through your paperwork and see what debt is costing you the most and target that first.

Do Think About Using Your Savings

You can look at using your savings to overpay your mortgage. They are hardly earning anything for you at the moment so they might as well play a part in reducing your mortgage term.

Do Keep Money Back For Emergencies

If you throw all your spare change at clearing your mortgage, you risk having nothing left for emergencies. Don’t overstretch yourself. We almost took out a fixed mortgage that would have left us with almost nothing each month. Yes, our mortgage would have been cleared about 10 years earlier. But it would have been quite risky.

Things happen, for example our tumble dryer and microwave broke, there would have been no money to get replacements.  If you then have to take out a high interest loan to sort out your unexpected money problems, you are no better off clearing your mortgage quicker.

Do Check Your Loan To Value

My husband keeps a close eye on the value of properties around our own. If you have noticed that house prices are rising its worth getting your home revalued. Usually if you more equity in your home then the bank sees the loan as less risky, so they offer better rates. My husband thinks we could save £100 a month because of this. Also, as we are used to paying our mortgage each month at its current level, we could use the extra cash to pay off our mortgage quicker without really missing it.

Have you managed to reduce your mortgage term yet? Do you have any other tips I should add?