How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Before You Retire

Housing is the single biggest monthly expense for many families, so if you don't have a housing payment to worry about during your retirement years your savings will last you a lot longer. Paying off your mortgage by the time you retire isn't complicated; it just requires a little preparation.

If you know how much you owe on your mortgage, your interest rate, and how long it will be before you retire, figuring out how to get rid of the mortgage in time isn't difficult. You can even use a mortgage payoff calculator to see the effect of adding extra payments.

For example, let's say that you owe $220,000 on your mortgage at 5% interest, and it's scheduled to be paid off in 25 years. However, you plan to retire in 20 years. Making an extra principal payment of $170 per month would get you paid off in 19 years and 11 months, and incidentally save you just over $38,000 of interest over the life of the loan.

Source: Fool.com