We all know that debt is a major cause of stress. We all want to be debt-free, yet we are still not quite ready to give up certain aspects of our daily lives in order to pay our bills and repay our loans quicker or even on time.
Being one, if not the biggest loan of our lifetime, mortgage is often sacrificed because of the habits that most people can’t give up so easily. This leads to a delayed payments of loans and repayment of the mortgage. A one-time out-of-the-country travel or vacation, a lavish party, or an extravagant purchase may put our financial situation in a very bad shape.
It is only through discipline and consistency that we can achieve our goal of having a debt-free and risk-free life, therefore we should be serious about what we would be willing to give up. Check out a few tips below that may be worth cutting in order to pay off your mortgage on time and eliminate your biggest debt in the near future.
Eat out less often.
One of our favorite things to do is dining out with family and friends especially on weekends. But dining out even once a week can add up quickly. If you spend $25 every time you dine, that’s roughly $100 in a month. How much more if you eat out more often? What you can do is cut it in half or better if you would just eat at home with the family or friends. You can save a lot and you can add that savings to your mortgage monthly repayments.
Review your monthly subscriptions.
You can save money by reviewing how many monthly subscriptions you currently have and choosing those only that are needed. Services such as gym memberships, cable TV and online streaming subscriptions might seem like a few dollars, but if you feel they aren’t really essential, you may be better off without them.
It is important to review your subscriptions as you may be paying for recurring monthly subscriptions that you no longer use. If cancelling your not-so-important subscriptions all at the same time is too drastic, you can look for a more affordable alternatives or you can cancel them one by one every month or every other month.
Don’t fall victim to social media clout and peer pressure.
The world of social media is a platform where there are a lot of people bragging about their fancy new purchases. This put pressure on others to spend in order to keep up with the “hype” and when you give in to this, you tend to buy wants and not needs. Worse, you tend to overspend, sacrificing payment or repayment of major loans such as the mortgage.
In achieving a debt-free life, you must not be dictated by society or peer. In achieving your goal in paying the mortgage on time or even quicker, you have to set concrete and reliable plan and this Mortgage Payoff Calculator comes in handy. This will help you save thousands in interest expenses by refinancing into a fixed-rate mortgage with a shorter duration.
Here are the details that you need to enter in the calculator:
Current Loan Details
- Current remaining balance owed
- Annual interest rate
- Current monthly payment amount (principal & interest portion)
- OPTIONAL: Monthly payment with fees (must be greater than P&I portion)
Original Amortization Schedule
- Current monthly payments remaining (calculated based on above)
- Years remaining (calculated based on above)
Loan Payoff Goal
- Years you would like to pay off your mortgage in (must be faster than above)
The result will show you the following :
- Total interest savings
- Additional monthly payment required
- New monthly P&I payment
- New total monthly payment (if option entered above)
The result will give you idea of how much to save and what other things to give up so you can be sure you’re not missing on any important payments and repayments most especially mortgage. Having the scenario created by the calculator will motivate you to give up a few things so you can repay your mortgage even faster.
To be debt-free, doesn’t always mean to sacrifice a lot of things you used to enjoy. You just have to learn to prioritize and select only those that make sense to help you achieve your goal of paying you mortgage much faster.