From the moment we signed the 30 year mortgage for our house, my husband and I started planning how we could pay it off ahead of schedule. We implemented a lot of kinda crazy savings strategies to help us get ready for our downpayment, and we’ve found some extra ones since closing that are helping us get to pay off day even faster! 
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of IGS Energy and contains affiliate links. All opinions are 100% mine.
Maybe it’s because we bought it when we weren’t even close to be 30, but the thought of paying it off for longer than we’d been alive thus far just didn’t sit well with either of us. We’re over halfway there now, and are excitedly awaiting the day when we own it outright.
Here are some tips to help you reach that milestone as quickly as you can!
Budget intensely – Maybe that sounds funny, but it really is the foundation to this whole process. Our budget doesn’t start with “how much CAN we spend” it starts with “how much do we HAVE TO spend”. We were amazed at all the little purchases that piled up when we got the house and really had to be cautious not to go out and buy every new-house-related thing we could imagine. Our intense budget has served us well over the years though and has helped us to reach many of our financial goals.
Extra payments – We signed a 30 year mortgage but have budgeted to pay $100 extra a month every month. Any amount extra you can pay each month will help. Since the majority of your mortgage payment is going to taxes and interest and only a fraction to the actual principal. Any extra amount you pay goes toward the principal and is that much less that you will owe interest on. Our interest compounds daily so I swing by the bank with extra money regularly. This means when I sell our old stroller or we make $50 extra on a side job, it goes straight to the principal on our house.
Still no cable – While we do pay monthly for internet, we’ve refused to jump on the cable/satellite/whatever else they are offering these days, tv bandwagon. We watch internet tv and miss out on a lot of shows that don’t allow streaming without a tv plan and also sports. But it’s worth it to be paying $11 a month instead of massive TV bills. Which brings me to…
No subscriptions – Look through all of your monthly subscriptions and see how many you can cancel. It’s amazing how often we will stay on a subscription telling ourselves we’ll cancel next month, but then we never do! Take a day and remove yourself from all of your monthly subscription services you don’t need! Those $10-$12 a month things really add up! THEN re-budget that same amount of monthly money as payment towards the principal on your mortgage.
Earn something extra – I work with swagbucks to earn gift cards. A few years ago I tried a lot of online ways to earn gift cards and fell of the wagon with all of them except swagbucks. They are by far the easiest I’ve found to use, and you can rack up points to exchange for Target or Amazon gift cards! You start with 150 swagbucks if you sign up for free swagbucks! This is my third year using them and they are still just as easy as they were on day one!
Conserving energy – We are still keeping our a bit overly cautious ways of turning off lights when we’re not using them and unplugging all the things. Phone chargers and computers, even the microwave when we remember it! We even got energy conserving light bulbs because we knew that it would make a long-term dent in our budget now that we were in our own house.
Look into IGS – IGS is an independent energy supplier. They allow you to have an energy choice and deregulation that could give you cheaper rates for your natural gas and electric supply products! It opens you up to a lot more options when it comes to rates and pricing which could have a substantial impact on your budget as the years go by. You can enroll or get more information directly on their website, through a sales rep, by mail or over the phone.
IGS Companies community support gives you another big reason to check them out. They are very active in their communities, finding ways to give back in vollunteer capacities and financially.
Get a side job – I became a stay at home mom when my son was about 9 months old, but a year later I decided to try working from home. Blogging has been a great way for me to make some extra income, the majority of which goes straight to our mortgage. The important thing is, if you try something like this to not let your daily budget change. It’s easy when you get a raise at work or get a new side job to let your budget grow right along with your income. Instead, always keep your budget the same and put that extra money towards your debts, like your home! Soon enough you’ll see that number start to go down!
We are getting close enough to be really excited about paying off our house, and it’s a great feeling! Every little bit helps, whether you are looking to pay off your house or even just saving for a vacation! Have you tried any of these tips in the past? Tell me about your best savings tips in the comments.
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