If you start to pay more or less toward your mortgage each month than the original payment amount, you can save or add a number of years to the length of your mortgage. Even the difference of just $40 can save you a couple of years or add a couple years to the length of your payment.

If you took out a mortgage loan for $250,000.00 with a 5.000% interest rate, for example, you could expect to pay $1,342.05 per month. If you change your payment to $1,304.12, however, you will have to pay on your mortgage for 32 year(s) and 2 month(s) instead of 30 years.