How to pay off your home in less than 20 years

  1. Save as much as you can for a down payment
  2. Pay off your mortgage in 17 years
  3. Reduce your other expenses to a minimum

Buying a home is the biggest investment most people ever make.

To pay the least amount of interest and make your home the most profitable investment possible, plan to repay your mortgage over a period of 20 years, and even less, if you're willing to invest a lot of energy and a little willpower.

Here are 3 steps that will help you achieve your goal.

Here's a tried and true way to buy a home with satisfaction and peace of mind: Make the largest down payment you can to bring your mortgage down as low as possible and then pay it off as quickly as you can to bring your interest costs down to a minimum.

To do this, save as much as possible toward the purchase of your home, with the goal of making a very large down payment so that you can borrow as little as possible.

Note: if your down payment is more than 20% of the price of your home, you won't need the additional mortgage insurance required by lenders.

Wait until you have the down payment saved up before you start seriously looking for a home.

Does paying off your home in less than 20 years seem unrealistic? Look into it more closely, because by doing so, you could save tens of thousands of dollars in just a few years.

It's definitely possible, but to get there, you'll have to be disciplined and follow a few simple rules.

The first rule is to select a home you can pay off in 17 years, meaning one that probably isn't your dream home on every level but where you can live comfortably instead of being cash-strapped.

Tools and tips

5 tips to pay off your mortgage more quickly

Read tip

This step will take courage and determination!

Once you've bought your home, don't make any unnecessary purchases and focus on the challenge of paying off your home in 17 years. The satisfaction you'll get from seeing the amount you owe steadily decrease from day to day will be well worth the effort.

To easily draw up your budget and have accurate picture of everyday income and expenses, use the My budget tool.

There are no small savings when you make a large investment in your future.