There is some good news in the housing market. Many folks are not only making their monthly mortgage payments, some are paying extra, paying biweekly, even making two or three payments a month to get it paid off sooner.

What's the incentive for paying off your mortgage earlier than scheduled? Saving tens of thousands of dollars, that's what! On a $200,000 loan at 6% fixed interest rate for 30 years, the total interest paid on the home loan will be $231,676. That's just the interest - 115.838%.

By paying off the home in 15 years instead of 30, the total interest that will be paid is $102,535, a savings of $129,141! You pay compounded interest of 51.26% instead of 115.84%.

How do you pay off your home in 15 years instead of 30? You might think you have to make double payments, but you don't! Since you'll be saving nearly $130K, you can subtract that from the amount you pay. On this $200,000 loan at 6% interest per year, the payment is $1199.10. By adding a mere $500 a month to "extra principal," the home is paid for in half the time. Actually, one month less than 15 years.

Does this sound good enough for you to join my mailing list?

But what if you don't have an extra $500 a month? That's where using the equity in your home (the paid-for portion, or increased value if properties have gone up in your area)  comes in so handy! That's how we knocked an additional $70,000 off our mortgage in only two years–no counting our regular payments.

If you want to know more about paying off your home years sooner, here's an article on how to Pay Your Mortgage in About a Third the Time.