The way the economy bounces up and down, wouldn’t it be fantastic to have one less payment? Paying off your home would be ideal. By using one or more of these simple plans, you could have your house paid off a few months or a few years ahead of schedule.

A really easy plan is to round up. If your payment is $543 and you pay $550, you can end up with fewer payments in the long run. As you pay extra each month, you are paying more toward the principal which results in a few less payments at end of the loan.

Another way is to pay biweekly instead of monthly payments. This works really well if you get paid biweekly. You will end up paying one extra month’s payment each year. The same as when you round up, you are paying more toward the principal and therefore you pay it off faster. Ask your bank about setting up biweekly payments. Some banks charge you to do this, others do it for free.

Simply paying an extra payment a few times a year when you can afford it, is another way to reduce your principal. After you get that tax refund or other windfall, take some of that money and make an extra house payment.

The difference in the amount of a payment between a 15-year loan versus a 30-year loan is usually about a couple hundred dollars. If you have a 30-year loan (with $520/month payments), but pay the amount that would be due each month on a 15-year loan (which would be approximately $720/month), you will be able to pay it off the 30-year loan in about half the time.

If you can refinance at a lower rate, your monthly mortgage payment will be lower. Then you can add a little to each payment (since your payment is lower than before) and like when you round up, you end up paying the loan off earlier.

Reduce your other debt or cut down on some of your expenses – a lesser cell phone plan, fewer cable channels, go out to dinner less often – so it is easier to pay a little more toward the mortgage.

Do a combination of some of these suggestions for a bigger impact on your loan length. For example, rounding up and making an extra payment each year will make a big difference.

There is one drawback to paying off your loan ahead of schedule. You can end up stressing so much about paying off the mortgage early that you over burden yourself financially. That is not a good idea. Staying on track for your 15 or 30-year mortgage might be right for your financial situation.