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[P122]Pay Off Your Home
by Kate Ford, Kat
Here are 9 simple steps to pay off your mortgage in the shortest time possible. As you read every word of this article you will be amazed that there are no secret formulas, no tricks, nothing to buy, or any life altering decisions to make except perhaps one.

Make a deliberate decision to live mortgage free.

Now follow these steps to pay off your home.

Step 1 - Take inventory of how much you owe on revolving cards and the least amount you are required to pay on each. Don't overlook miscellaneous accounts such as doctor bills or furniture loans.

Now add to that list car loans, boat loans, and recreation vehicle loans including balances and payments. Lastly add in your mortgage payments and balances. Count in home improvement loans and 2nd mortgages.

Don't panic. If you have never performed this exercise before, it might make you feel a little anxious. But don't worry. You can do this.

Step 2 - It is time to get your live within your means. This might mean cutting back on purchases you don't need. Decide today that you are not going to live beyond your ability any more. Once you embrace this idea with your whole heart you might be surprised how liberating it feels.

Step 3 - Referring back to your list of debts, arrange the accounts in order of their balances from lowest to highest. Most likely at the top will be your credit card balances, followed by installment loans, personal loans, car and recreation vehicle loans, and finally mortgages.

Step 4 - Consider where you can produce even a little cash flow for funds to pay off your house. It does not require a lot of planning upfront. Your vision of mortgage freedom is more attainable than it might seem.

Here is a simple example. You might want to forgo one fast food meal a week. If you spend $15 less per week for restaurant meals, you can save $60 per month. $60 is all you need to begin to pay off your house fast.

Step 5 - Begin your program by taking the lowest balance at the top of your list and adding the $60 you saved to its minimum payment.

Suppose the balance is $1000 on credit card number one and the minimum payment is $15. Simply add $60 to the minimum payment for a total of $75 each month until the balance is paid in full. It is important to continue making at least the minimum payments on all other debt.

With each payment, your balance will decrease but it is instrumental to this plan to still pay the $75. You are accelerating the payoff each month.

Don't give up because you'll be glad you persevered when your mortgage is gone.

Step 6 - Waste no time beginning card number two once the first credit card balance is gone. Use the $75 you are paying on card one and add it to the monthly minimum payment for card two.

Suppose the second card's monthly payment is $75. With the $75 you are paying on credit card one, add it to the $75 minimum payment on card two for a total of $150. Continue using $150 until the balance on the second credit card is gone.

Step 7 - Continue the process with credit cards three and four until all credit cards are paid in full.

Then begin on installment loans, personal loans, car loans, and other vehicle loans one at a time. As you see balances decreasing, keep in focus your goal to pay off your mortgage.

Step 8 - Now the fun really begins. Instead of eating one fast food meal a week, you took the $60 and started the ball rolling toward mortgage freedom. You added the $60 you saved to the first credit card minimum payment. Then you added the monthly payments you made on the first credit card to the second card and the second to the third and so on. After the credit cards were paid off, you added the total to your recreation vehicle and then to car loans.

In a short period of time you have become entirely debt free, leaving you only with the need to pay off your house.

Step 9 - By now you have truly accelerated your program to pay off your home. Let's suppose by the time you finish paying off credit cards as well as all other loans that you have gradually worked up to applying $1000 per month to your debt reduction program.

Remember the only additional money you began with was the $60 saved from eating out one less time per week. Now you are going to begin to use the additional $1000 to pay off your mortgage. Let me illustrate.

If you have a $250,000 mortgage at a fixed rate of 6.5% for 30 years, your principal and interest payment would be $1,580. Take the $1000 you are using to pay down your other debts and begin to apply it to your mortgage each month.

Make certain to instruct your mortgage company to apply the additional payment of $1000 to principal.

In other words, you are going to make the regular monthly payment of $1,580 plus an additional $1000 to principle for a total payment of $2,580.

Now listen to this. With the extra $1000 applied toward your mortgage payment, you will watch as you pay off your home in less than a dozen years. And all you did was eat out one less time each week.

You want to add a deck to your home to enjoy your evenings outside with your family and friends. You have cash sitting in your bank or you have a few credit cards that you can tap into to finance your home improvement. What is the best option? Should you get a Home Equity Line of Credit? Making the right decision is based on knowing various pros and cons of different ways to finance your project and your current situation. Even if you have cash sitting in the bank, it may not always be the best option.

If you have cash at hand, it should be earning at least 5% in a savings account. If you are not earning 5% from your bank, dump them and go to a bank that will give you at least 5% on your money. Search the Internet and you will be able to find a few online savings accounts, offered by well known banks like Citibank, Emigrant bank or HSBC that will give you a 5% return on your deposit.

If your credit is good and the project is small, search for a credit card that will give you 0% interest rate for a year. Apply online and get approved instantly. Within a couple of weeks, you will get your card and you will be able to use it for your home improvement project. You can use the same technique for store credit cards, Master Card or Visa. When you get a loan on 0% interest rate, make sure that you don't miss a payment. To avoid missing a payment, use online payments offered by many banks for free or the online payment option of the credit card company. Using an online payment, setup a scheduled payment plan for the monthly payment to the credit card. If you miss a payment, your credit card company will withdraw your 0% rate and may even impose a high rate on the remaining balance. So it is very important that you don't miss a single payment. Be aware that when you use a credit card to finance your home improvement project, you cannot claim any tax deductions on the interest you pay. Hence, it is extremely important that you retain your 0% interest rate till you pay off the loan.

If your home improvement project is a large one and you want to do it in stages, HELOC, or Home Equity Line of Credit, is a good option. Search the Internet to get the best rate. Find a bank that not only offers the best rate but also waives the finance charges. When you take a HELOC loan, you are essentially putting your home as collateral and the interest you pay may be tax deducible.

Refinancing your home is a good choice if you have a large equity in your home or you want to reduce your existing mortgage rate. Also, if your home improvement project will add substantial equity to you home, refinancing is an attractive option. You will also get tax benefits on the interest you pay.

Obtaining a second mortgage to finance your home improvement project makes sense if you get a low fixed interest rate and the interest rate on your first mortgage is even lower than the second mortgage. A second mortgage involves less paper works than a full refinancing.

Are you thinking about getting your money from your company's 401 (K) plan? Forget it. Don't use your 401 (K) plan money for your home improvement. A 401 (K) plan is for your retirement not for your home improvement projects. If you are not old enough (59.5 years or more) to take a distribution, you will have to pay tax and 10% penalty for any withdrawal from your 401 (K) plan. Borrowing against your 401 (K) savings is also not a wise choice because 1) you have to pay it back with the above average interest rate 2) money borrowed from your 401 (K) plan will not earn anything in your 401 (K) plan till you pay it back completely. On top of that, if you are laid off you will be hit with the tax and a 10% penalty unless you pay the remaining balance in one lump sum.

Don't make a decision on haste. Weigh the pros and cons of various methods discussed above and your current situation. Find the best way to finance your home improvement project using other people's money and without hitting your pocket book hard.

Article Source : Pg. 206

About Author
Both Kate Ford & Paulina Jenkins are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Kate Ford has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health, Finances and Family. Kate Ford, an experienced mortgage insider, understands how important the best mortgage rate is to homeowners and home buyers alike. Her website Get Your
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