Making consistent additional payments toward the loan principal will provide enormous returns. Borrowers use different methods to accomplish this goal. Making 1 extra payment one time per year may be the simplest to keep track of. If you can't afford to pay an extra whole payment all at once, you can split that large amount into 12 smaller payments and pay that additional amount monthly. Another very popular option is to pay a half payment every other week. The effect here is that you make one additional monthly payment every year. Each option yields slightly different results, but they will all significantly reduce the length of your mortgage and lower your total interest paid.
It may not be possible for you to pay more every month or even every year. Remember that almost all mortgage contracts will allow you to make additional payments to your principal at any point during repayment. You can benefit from this rule to pay down your mortgage principal when you get some extra money.
If, for example, you were to receive an unexpected windfall four years into your mortgage, you could apply a portion of this windfall toward your mortgage loan principal, which would result in significant savings and a shorter loan period. Unless the mortgage loan is very large, even modest amounts applied early can yield huge benefits over the life of the loan.
Do you have a question regarding a mortgage program?