5 Ways To Pay Off Your Mortgage Early - Debt Free Spending (2024)

Have you ever asked how you could pay off your mortgage early? If so, these tips are just what you need to find ultimate financial freedom and to become debt free. For most families, the home mortgage is by far the largest debt they currently have. While many don’t consider that part of getting debt free, we do. Being able to pay off your mortgage early means you can live happily in retirement without the concern of a month to month payment. Any extra funds you save before retirement just help make things easier for you, your family, and ultimately future generations of your family.

5 Ways To Pay Off Your Mortgage Early

Let your home become an income property. One of the easiest ways to actually pay off your mortgage early is to let your home earn money for you. This means allowing part of your home to be an income property. If you have a finished basem*nt or garage, it may be time to close off that area and rent it out to a small family or single individual. You can also rent out individual rooms in your home if you have a multi-level home with extra bathroom space.

While this may seem dangerous or frustrating, there are many options that make this a great choice. Renting rooms to responsible individuals you already know (from church, work, or social groups) is a great place to begin. You can also require a deposit and background check just as you would for any rental property. This works best when you have a space that can be entered separate from the main living quarters, or when you are renting to a family member or friend you feel comfortable having in your home around your belongings on a regular basis.

Begin paying double payments each month. If you have the room in your budget to do so, this is by far the most obvious choice for how to pay off your mortgage early. Many people don’t know or realize that while you have to pay that minimum balance each month, you can easily pay much more than that any time you want to pay down your balance.

Apply all refunds and bonuses toward your mortgage account. If you get an end of year bonus or receive a tax refund each Spring, it’s a great time to simply apply that money directly toward your home mortgage debt. By paying down larger portions of your mortgage each year you will find yourself much closer to an early payoff date.

Refinace when the interest rate is lower. This is something that many question doing, but is actually a great tactic when the interest rates are low. The chance to refinance your home is often used as a means to put money toward other debt, but it can also be used simply to shorten pay off time and lower interest rates. This helps you to get out from under that home mortgage debt much earlier.

Downsize other areas of your life. If you can’t or don’t want to actually downsize your home, you can easily downsize every other area of your life to create the income needed to pay off your mortgage early. Selling additional cars, purging items you no longer need or use, and even downsizing your routine so you aren’t spending as much on outside activities are all great ways to free money in your household budget to pay down debt and specifically pay off your mortgage early. Check out our post on How to Become a Minimalist to downsize now.

Add a secondary income to your budget. If you are a single income household, it’s time to start rethinking that option. If both parties are working full time it could mean changing your job or even adding an additional part time job into the mix. When you are serious about how to pay off your mortgage early, you won’t mind working a few extra hours each week. You can also decrease your income by going on a spending freeze.

These few tips for how to pay off your mortgage early are just the bginning of many ways you can make a difference in your financial life. Make sure you are following along on our debt free journey! Comment below and let us know how you plan to pay off your mortgage early.