2 Extra Mortgage Payments a Year Can Save You Thousands (2024)

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2 Extra Mortgage Payments a Year Can Save You Thousands? ›

This is equivalent to 12 slightly-higher monthly payments of $1,252.85 — but this small difference is enough to pay off your full debt in just 22 years and cost you only $129,712.85 in interest. In other words: two extra mortgage payments per year will save you eight years and $56,798.72 in interest.

By making two extra mortgage payments a year, you're prepaying principal that would otherwise accrue interest over the life of the loan. Plus, those payments are accelerating repayment because they're payments you would have made anyway.

If you pay $100 extra each month towards principal, you can cut your loan term by more than 4.5 years and reduce the interest paid by more than $26,500. If you pay $200 extra a month towards principal, you can cut your loan term by more than 8 years and reduce the interest paid by more than $44,000.

The bottom line. A biweekly mortgage payment schedule can save you time and money. You'll pay your loan off faster and save on principal – perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars. All you have to do is find room in your budget for the equivalent of one extra monthly payment each year.

As a general rule of thumb, making one extra mortgage payment per year at the start of your 30-year mortgage can shorten the term by approximately four to five years. You could potentially pay off the mortgage and own the home outright in 25 to 26 years instead of 30.

Increasing your monthly payments, making bi-weekly payments, and making extra principal payments can help accelerate mortgage payoff. Cutting expenses, increasing income, and using windfalls to make lump sum payments can help pay off the mortgage faster.

Throwing in an extra $500 or $1,000 every month won't necessarily help you pay off your mortgage more quickly. Unless you specify that the additional money you're paying is meant to be applied to your principal balance, the lender may use it to pay down interest for the next scheduled payment.

Making extra payments of $500/month could save you $60,798 in interest over the life of the loan. You could own your house 13 years sooner than under your current payment. These calculations are tools for learning more about the mortgage process and are for educational/estimation purposes only.

Making additional principal payments will shorten the length of your mortgage term and allow you to build equity faster. Because your balance is being paid down faster, you'll have fewer total payments to make, in-turn leading to more savings.

What is the 2 2 2 rule for mortgage? ›

One Spouse's Income Doesn't Meet Requirements

Many lenders use the 2/2/2 rule to evaluate loan eligibility, which typically requires: 2 years of W-2s. 2 years of tax returns. 2 months of bank statements.

The 2% rule states that you should aim for a 2% lower interest rate in order to ensure that the savings generated by your new loan will offset the cost refinancing, provided you've lived in your home for two years and plan to stay for at least two more.

The additional amount will reduce the principal on your mortgage, as well as the total amount of interest you will pay, and the number of payments.

Even one or two extra mortgage payments a year can help you make a much larger dent in your mortgage debt. This not only means you'll get rid of your mortgage faster; it also means you'll get rid of your mortgage more cheaply. A shorter loan = fewer payments = fewer interest fees.

With an extra payment each year, you can pay your principal down faster than you would with the monthly payment strategy. While you'll be making an extra payment, you likely won't feel a negative financial impact because the payments will be spread throughout the whole year.

That said, “if it fits into your budget, you want to get rid of the debt and you're in good shape with other savings or investing goals, make extra payments on your mortgage,” says Linda Bell, senior writer at Bankrate. “Every additional dollar shaves time off your loan and saves you interest.”

You can also increase your monthly payment once each year. You can increase the monthly mortgage payment to a total maximum of 20% of the documented payment amount. The one-year period begins on the Interest Adjustment Date (and resets on its anniversary).

Your Double-Up payment is applied directly against the principal balance of your mortgage, which cuts down the life of your mortgage and saves interest costs.

Typically you're only allowed to overpay by 10% of your outstanding mortgage balance per year, so bear this in mind in particular if you wish to make recurring overpayments more than once a year.