04/26/2026
Three extra mortgage payments a year saves $225,000 in interest and cuts 12 years off your loan.
Most people have no idea this is possible.
On a $400,000 mortgage at current rates your minimum monthly payment is around $2,528.
You make that payment 360 times over 30 years and hand the bank over $510,000 in interest alone. More than the original loan amount.
Now make three extra payments a year. That's it. Three.
Your loan pays off in 18 years instead of 30. Total interest drops from $510,000 to $284,000. You save $225,000 and get 12 years of your life back.
Three payments. $225,000. Twelve years.
Here's how most people actually pull this off without feeling it.
Split your monthly payment in half and pay that amount every two weeks instead of once a month.
Because there are 52 weeks in a year you end up making 26 half-payments which equals 13 full payments instead of 12. That's one extra payment a year without writing a single extra check.
Or apply your tax refund directly to principal every year. The average refund right now is around $3,000 which covers more than one extra payment.
Or round up your payment. If your payment is $2,528 pay $2,600 or $2,700 every month. The extra goes straight to principal and compounds against you in reverse.
The bank built a 30-year schedule because it maximizes how much interest you pay. There's nothing in your mortgage that says you have to follow it.
