eat out as little as possible – buy household items (paper towel, toilet paper) in bulk when on sale and we have been doing the ‘return and earn’ with cans and bottles, that bit of extra cash helps keep more in the bank

As well as the other great tips I’d say focus, all spare money to repayments. No coffees out, make your own lunch, holidays are walks in the local park for a few years, savvy shopping and all the other ‘cut backs’ to get that debt cleared.

Have you read the barefoot investor? I found it to be really practical and easy to follow.

Without knowing your financial situation this is a tough question, but I would suggest maybe an offset account, or at least a good redraw facility. That way you can put every spare cent you have towards it but can still access those funds in case of emergency etc.

Get an offset account – even if you only have a little in it, it makes a difference. Pay fortnightly rather than monthly – you actually pay extra per year without realising it.

Use an offset account or put all your money into the loan and redraw when you need money.
Make additional repayments.
meet with a mortgage broker to make sure your loan structure is the best for you and your needs.
Do a budget to see if you can put any more money into your loan
Make weekly repayments

Pay weekly instead of monthly, keep on the watch for better interest rates and call your lender to ask for a better rate, give up things like buying lunch and use that extra to pay more off the loan small amounts make a big difference to the end result, pay more regularly , if your repayment drops keep paying the larger amount.

If by any chance you have $500…. pay that off the principle. If you can do this little by little, it will come down!

Also, make a budget and stick to it. Saving unnecessary spending and putting it towards your loan as an additional payment can bring down your monthly interest.

I work as a mortgage broker. Some of the simple tips we offer are – Make weekly payments, this will mean money is going off your loan more often so can save you interested. While having an offset account is a great idea – sometimes you get better value out of having a basic loan with a lower rate. You can still deposit your extra money straight into the loan with most of these types and then redraw the money back out when you need it.

Check your rate every year and make sure your getting the best deal. Pay any bonus or pay rises, tax returns etc straight off your mortgage if you never have it you can’t miss it.

I’ve never had one so I’m not speaking from personal experience, but I know people who try to pay extra every month to help bring it down quicker

Has anyone used any of the tips from the Barefoot Investor?

Fortnightly payment and offset account is a good idea – any other tips?

Switch from monthly to fortnightly payments. That’s possible for me with the variable part of the mortgage, not the fixed one. When you have some extra money (for example money back from the ATO) make an extra repayment. You will pay less interest with repayments, even if they are just ten dollars a month. Everything counts.

Making payments on a weekly basis will enable you to reduce the interest on you loan, although you need to ensure that there are no penalties for making extra payments.