Saving $100K on your next home sounds crazy, right? Savings like this are life-changing and could allow you to do so much more with your future plans. Believe it or not, with a little change in mindset, it's possible.
A strategy that will save you thousands of dollars in interest charges and also cut multiple years off of your home loan is paying extra on your mortgage.
Understand that paying down the principal quicker on your home does not decrease your minimum payment each month. However, it will shorten the life of the loan and save you more money than most can save on their own.
Here are three ways to save you thousands on your next home.
1. Increase Your Monthly Checks by One-Twelfth
Some people do not know this, but the largest part of your early years paying your mortgage goes to paying interest. If you paid a little extra on your principal now, it will make a significant amount of savings down the road.
The additional 1/12th of your monthly payment will decrease the balance on your current principal and avoid some of those interest charges.
2. Make One Extra Payment Per Year
If you get an annual bonus or a nice-sized tax return check, use it to pay one extra mortgage payment each year. You will cut the life of the loan significantly and save thousands in interest.
3. Pay Half of Your Monthly Payment Bi-Weekly
This takes a little more effort, but if you set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account bi-weekly and then send it to pay your mortgage every month, this will be a strategy to pay one additional month on your mortgage by the end of the year.
You will have made 26 half payments, which will become 13 full payments at the year's end. This is one extra month's payment.
Look How Much You Can Save!
(The table below is an estimate using a $200,000 30-year home loan with an interest rate of 5%)
Additional Monthly Payment | Total Savings |
$100 | $37,069 |
$200 | $61,160 |
$300 | $78,258 |
$400 | $91,095 |
$500 | $101,121 |
