Paying your mortgage once a month may be more than enough financial responsibility for you. But consider paying half of it every two weeks instead.
You may wonder what the point of this is. Say that your mortgage is $1000 a month. That amounts to $12,000 a year. If you are paying $500 every two weeks, that amounts to $13,000 a year.
Where does that extra money come from? You see all but one month has over 28 days. That means most months you have a few days over 4 weeks to pay your mortgage. If you consistently pay half your mortgage every two weeks, you are paying an extra payment every year.
$1000 extra may not seem like that much when you like at the total amount of your mortgage, but that extra money goes towards the principal. This will help you pay your mortgage off more quickly, and build the equity in your home faster. This will pay off if you ever want to sell or refinance your home before the mortgage is completely paid off.
The closer you are to owning your property free and clear and not owing any lenders more money or interest, the better you should feel. You can then fully enjoy the appreciation in the value of your property.
It would probably be very hard for you to produce an extra mortgage payment just out of nowhere. By paying extra gradually, you get that extra payment, and you won’t even notice the extra money.
If you really wanted to, you could just pay some extra money here and there, when you have it, to decrease the principal and cut the amount of interest you pay and years off your mortgage. However, if you feel you could use some help in the discipline area with paying off more of the principal every year, or feel that using your extra money towards paying of your mortgage is something you simply won't do, then you should consider making payments every two weeks. It may be just what you need to pay off your mortgage in a shorter amount of time and save a lot of money in interest.
As in any mortgage, it is best to compare all different types and terms to find the situation that best fits your needs. You should consider adjustable rate mortgages, fixed rate mortgages, and balloon mortgages. All the terms can be negotiated, so talk to your brokers or lenders you are considering working with what it is they can do for you.