 TITLE: How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early CONTENT: Increase Your Regular Payments\n------------------------------\nIf you can justify it in your budget, consider increasing your monthly mortgage payments by an affordable amount. The key here is to ensure your extra contributions go towards your principal, not your interest or next month's bill—so check your loan terms and chat with your mortgage servicer to be certain.\nA regular payment increase that adds up to even just one additional full mortgage payment per year can save you thousands of dollars in interest over the life of a 30-year mortgage, and higher payments can save you even more. You can make extra payments manually when your budget allows, or add an ongoing principal-only amount to your regular payment. Many lenders allow you to adjust your payment to include the extra amount, whether you're paying by check or checking account debit.\nYou can also start making your payments biweekly if your lender allows it; if they don't, try to put aside the cash to do it yourself. This way, you pay half your monthly mortgage bill every other week—since it adds up to an extra payment per year, this will also save you interest money over time. END