Hey everyone here is the next step to paying off your home quickly and what we did. If you are following this series, please check out part 1.

We all know that adding extra payments to your principal balance will help expedite the process of getting rid of that loan. You may add an extra $50 a month or maybe $100 a month and it’s a great method.

I do implore you though to challenge yourself by adding an extra $1000 to your mortgage balance. You can do it! Set a schedule for yourself as to how often you can do this. Choose to add 1K annually, semi-annually, quarterly, monthly, or even weekly depending on your finances.

You may be wondering, how am I going to come up with an extra 1K to put towards my mortgage if I’m living paycheck to paycheck. I hear you, and I will let you know how.

Let me be the first to say that while we were in debt, we added very little extra to our mortgage. If I knew what I know now, we could have finished paying our home in maybe 6 years. When we purchased our home in 2010, the government was giving an incentive for new homeowners – an $8000 credit if you stayed in the home for at least 5 years. During that time we were in a severe housing crash and the government was trying to get people to buy homes. Well, we bought the house and got the credit. Today I don’t know what we spent it on. I could only imagine if all or half went back into the mortgage. I don’t want you to make the same mistake we did.

We are living in a time where it’s not far fetched to acquire $1000. Teenagers are able to pocket 1K by mowing lawns as their side job. So if you want to achieve the goal of paying off your mortgage quicker, let me share with how you can get $1000 easily by doing simple tasks and not having to cut major items from your budget. We used most of these methods and they have bought us great success.

Use tax returns

All across the US, some people pay taxes and some get a return. If you are one of those that do get a return, set aside some or all of your refund to the principle on your mortgage. This can be a difficult thing to do at times because maybe the money is for a family vacation or a new furniture set. But trust me, you will thank yourself for this temporary sacrifice in the future. For the past five years, we’ve been doing this.

Sell items

If you have items that are in good condition but you no longer use, sell it. There are so many platforms to sell items on today like Facebook marketplace, Offer up, and so much more. It’s as easy as snapping a photo and posting it online. Just make sure you are pricing items right and take good pictures.

User experience research platform

I wrote an article on my blog on how I make an extra $10 a day. If you multiply $10 by 30 days out of the month, that’s $300 a month. Which means in about 3.5 months, you can easily get $1000 to add to the mortgage. All you need is a phone and/or a computer. Please click here to find more information on the platforms I use.

Side hustles

If you put yourself out there, there are so many ways to generate passive or active income. For me, it’s blogging and yes I do generate funds (not a bunch yet, but getting there), my husband models and we have businesses. But there are platforms like Youtube, podcasts, or Etsy that help individuals generate more money. Find what you are passionate about and get it going. There are countless stories of people who turned their passion into a full-time job. Our other businesses helped pay a good chunk of our mortgage and house repairs.

Remember, do all things at your own pace and standard. Start where you’re at. It may be just adding $5 a month to the mortgage. And like a plant, you will grow and be able to contribute more. Just take that first step.

So are you up for the challenge? Can you dedicate 1K to your mortgage principal annually, semi-annually, monthly, or weekly? Perhaps you have other methods of doing so. Please share.