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How to Get Out of Mortgage Debt Quickly

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Mortgage debt is not always a bad debt to have. It means you have invested in real estate and are not paying rent. You have a real chance at building equity in your property and ultimately enjoying a nice return on your investment. While mortgage debt is not “bad” debt, it is still debt. The quicker you can get out of mortgage debt, the better. Here is how to get out of mortgage debt faster.

1. Refinance for a Shorter Term

If you took a thirty-year mortgage like most Americans, you can refinance your mortgage for a shorter term. You can also pull out some equity when you refinance to pay for home improvements. According to Angi, about 80% of homes in the United States need upgrades or improvements because they are over twenty years old.

Refinancing for a shorter term will increase your monthly payments and get you out of mortgage debt faster. Shorter terms can save you thousands of dollars in interest payments. If the interest rates are low, it is a good time to refinance to get out of debt faster.

2. Make an Extra Payment

If you can make an extra payment in any amount toward your mortgage, you can pay down the principal faster and reduce the interest you pay over the life of the loan. Any payment over your regular monthly payment will go towards the loan’s principal. It is an easy way to pay off mortgage debt faster.

If you get a raise at work, use that money to make an extra payment. Any extra money can go toward your mortgage to pay down debt faster. There are significant savings to be had by making an extra mortgage payment when you can.

3. Use Windfalls Wisely

There are times throughout the year that you may see some financial windfalls. For example, if you receive a tax refund at tax time, use it to pay down your mortgage. If you get a bonus at work or face any financial windfall, put that money toward your mortgage.

Making it a habit to use financial windfalls to pay down your mortgage will pay your mortgage off faster and get you out of debt faster. Large lump sum payments can significantly dent your principal, lowering the interest you pay over the life of the loan. You will save money and own your house outright sooner.

4. Round Up Payments

If your mortgage is $1,850 monthly, pay $1,900. Rounding up payments can help reduce the mortgage principal faster. Paying $50 a month extra can save you over $20,000 in interest and reduce the life of the loan by two years.

Rounding up payments can be easier than handing over a windfall or making an extra payment. Rounding up your mortgage payments is easier to work into your budget. Most people would not miss $50 or $100 a month.

5. Bi-Weekly Payments

Instead of making monthly payments, split the payments into bi-weekly payments. Making bi-weekly payments will equate to making 24 payments a year instead of 12 payments a year. This can help you to pay down the debt faster.

Cut back on expenses to free up extra cash for your mortgage payments. According to Energy.gov, repairing your ductwork can reduce energy consumption by 30%. That energy savings can fuel an extra mortgage payment.

Make sure you are balancing your budget. It is important to pay down mortgage debt as fast as possible but not at the expense of letting other debt pile up. According to the Department of Justice, creditors can take about 25% of your pay if you fall behind. Learn more ways to pay down your mortgage and become debt-free today.

Sitting Still for the First Time

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I just got back from a week in Texas. And before you jump down my throat about the cost, my dad financed the trip in its entirety, including my attendance at my 30th high school reunion.

Addie and I ready to leave for our 10 day, 2,300 mile roadtrip to Texas

Addie ready to leave for our 10 day, 2,300 mile road trip to Texas

It was a much needed experience. The high school reunion was healing in so many ways. Visiting my family and seeing my son getting settled were stress relieving. And, finally, the time in my head and connecting with old people gave me lots of new perspectives.

Ready for my high school reunion

Ready for my high school reunion

I think the highlight of trip for me was some advice from a friend I hadn’t seen or heard from in 25 years. It was something like this…

“Hope, as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been running from something or to something. You see something you want and you go get it, you see a person in need and you go take care of them, and you ran as fast and as far as you could from the trauma of your youth. Maybe it’s time to sit still and see what comes knocking on your door.”

As I was driving home this past weekend, I realized that after this coming week, for the first time maybe ever, I have no plans. No trips, no big goals, no plans, no purpose…just a straight road with an unknown future. It is very scary.

Hope and her Mom

Getting to see my mom again is always worth the trip back to Texas

Even when I was married, I was always looking for an escape. With the kids, I was always looking for the next adventure. And for the past year, since heartbreak and the break in my confidence…I have been searching and seeking for what’s next. All the running, all the planning, all the expense that comes with that, is heavy.

So maybe it is time for me to sit still. And to see what comes knocking on my door.

And today as I write this after my first day back at work. I am finding peace in the idea of sitting still and waiting.

Side notes

  • For those new here, my mom was put on hospice a year ago and I was encouraged to get there quickly to say good bye. Getting to see her alive a year later is not something I take for granted. This visit I got to give my siblings/dad a break from 24 hour care-taking, give my mom a haircut, and say good bye again.
  • If you are an introvert like me, it takes ALOT to convince yourself to go to something like a high school reunion, especially when it starts at a bar and you can’t hear to begin with. This is your sign to go. Just go.
  • High school was TERRIBLE for me. It was so bad that I spent a month in a mental hospital after a suicide attempt my freshmen year, and then almost dropped out my senior year. This reunion and reconnecting from people from my past helped heal some trauma that I didn’t recognize I had been carrying around for 30 years.