Get mortgage free faster

If you've got a variable loan and interest rates fall, or you re-fix your loan to a lower rate, this is good news — you'll be paying less interest. Although it can be tempting to adjust your repayments accordingly, keep your repayments the same if you can.

You won’t feel it in your pocket because you’re not handing over any extra money, but you’ll be paying more towards your home loan, so it'll be paid off faster.

There are 26 fortnights in a year. By making your payments fortnightly, you'll make the equivalent of 13 monthly repayments rather than 12. You'll also be reducing the balance of your home loan quicker, so each time your interest is calculated, it's calculated on a smaller loan number. This can help you pay less interest overall.

If you’ve built up some savings or come into some extra money, you could make a lump sum payment to help pay off your mortgage faster.

• On a variable home loan, you can do this anytime — see our step-by-step guide.
• On a fixed rate home loan, you can make lump sum payments of at least $1,000, up to 5% of the loan balance in a year.

If you've split your home loan into more than one fixed term loan, the early repayment limit applies separately to each fixed loan.

If you'd rather hold onto your savings instead of making an extra lump sum payment, you can use it to offset some of the interest on your home loan.

For example, if you have $50,000 of your home loan on an offset loan, and a total of $30,000 in linked Kiwibank savings and everyday accounts, you'll only pay interest on the difference of $20,000 on this loan. The more you have in your linked accounts, the more you'll offset your interest. Read more about offset home loans.

If you have your whole home loan locked into a fixed rate, consider mixing things up when the fixed term comes to an end. You can split your home loan into multiple loans to make the most of the different loan types and terms.

Having multiple fixed terms for different lengths, and keeping some of your home loan on a variable rate could give you more flexibility to make lump sum payments or increase your regular repayments if your circumstances change or interest rates fall.

This one isn't possible for everyone, but it could make sense if you've had a pay rise or you find yourself with more money at the end of each month. Bumping up your payments by as little as $20 a fortnight can help you pay your mortgage off faster and pay less interest overall.

On fixed rate loans, there are limits on how much you can increase repayments each term. See some early repayment scenarios for guidance.