3 Ways to Pay Down Your Mortgage Today!

Katherine Martin • July 15, 2016

Mortgages are funny things. When you’re buying a house, you can’t wait to hear these words: “Your mortgage has been approved”. But what that really means is that you are going to be a homeowner. And as discussed in the previous article, there is a lifestyle element of homeownership that is very attractive. But let’s not fool ourselves, a mortgage is debt; it’s money owed. When you sign mortgage documents, you are most likely taking on the most debt you will ever be responsible for.

The best kind of mortgage is one that is paid off as quickly as possible. So let’s go over three ways you can pay down your mortgage as quickly as possible. Because the very best mortgage is no mortgage at all!

Accelerate Your Payment Frequency

Sounds simple enough, but making the change from a monthly payment to an accelerated bi-weekly payment is one of the easiest ways to turbo-charge the repayment of your mortgage over a long period of time. Chances are you won’t even notice a difference.

Typically, on monthly payments, your mortgage is split into 12 equal payments. Accelerated bi-weekly payments divide your payments in half, but rather than 24 payments, you make 26. It’s the extra 2 payments that accelerate the repayment of your mortgage.

Increase Your Mortgage Payment

Unless you have a no-frills mortgage, which are popular with some banks, you should be able to increase your payment amount by 10–25% per payment! So if you get a raise at work, or happen to pay off a debt, consider rolling this newfound money directly into the prepayment of your mortgage.

Increasing your regular payment is a lot like signing up for a forced long-term savings plan. The extra money you put on your mortgage isn’t a prepayment of interest, but actually goes directly to the principal and lowers the amount of interest you pay over time.

The good thing about increasing your payment voluntarily is that if money gets tight in the future, you can always have your payment reduced to the original amount!

Making a Lump-sum Payment

As with the regular payment increase, when you make a lump-sum payment to your mortgage everything goes directly towards the principal balance. Most mortgage products allow you to put anywhere from 10–25% of the original mortgage amount as a lump-sum payment once per year.

The lump-sum payment option is perfect for any time you receive an unexpected amount of money and you aren’t exactly sure what to do with it, like an inheritance. If you receive a year-end bonus, make a habit of applying it to your mortgage. You could take years off your amortization! 

Not sure where to spend your tax return? Well, you should probably consider taking a nice warm vacation this winter. We live in Canada, and its cold here, although you might not remember that right now, because it’s July and it’s gorgeous outside. (You thought I was going to suggest you make a lump-sum payment on your mortgage? Well, you can do that too if you like, but a warm vacation is a lot more fun!)

There you have it, it’s a collection of the small things you can do today that will help you be mortgage free tomorrow. 

This article was originally published in the July 2016 Dominion Lending Centres Newsletter.

Katherine Martin


Origin Mortgages

Phone: 1-604-454-0843
Email: kmartin@planmymortgage.ca
Fax: 1-604-454-0842


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By Katherine Martin • August 5, 2026
Saving for a down payment is one of the biggest challenges first-time buyers face. What many don’t realize is that the Canadian government offers a program designed to make it easier—the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) . This program allows you to withdraw money from your RRSP to help purchase your first home, without immediate tax consequences. Here’s how it works: Who Qualifies? To be eligible, you generally need to be a first-time home buyer. In practical terms, this means you must not have owned a home in the past four years, nor lived in a property owned by your spouse or partner during that time. There are also special allowances if you’re living with a disability or helping a relative with a disability. In these cases, you can use the HBP even if you’ve owned a home more recently. How Much Can You Withdraw? Under the program, you can access up to $35,000 from your RRSP as an individual. Couples can combine their withdrawals for a total of $70,000 . These funds must have been in your RRSP for at least 90 days before you take them out. Paying It Back The HBP isn’t “free money”—it’s an interest-free loan from your own retirement savings. You’ll have 15 years to repay the full amount back into your RRSP, starting in the second year after withdrawal. Each year, the CRA will send you an HBP Statement of Account outlining how much needs to be repaid. If you don’t make your repayment in a given year, that amount will be added to your taxable income. Why It’s a Smart Strategy The HBP can give first-time buyers a powerful boost toward homeownership. It helps you put together a larger down payment, which can reduce your mortgage amount and monthly payments. Just remember: it’s important to balance the short-term benefit of homeownership with the long-term impact on your retirement savings. Next Steps Thinking about using the Home Buyers’ Plan? Let’s sit down and review whether it’s the right move for you. Together, we can create a strategy that gets you into your first home while keeping your future financial goals on track. 📞 Reach out anytime—it would be a pleasure to guide you through the process.

Employment and Mortgage Qualification: What Lenders Look For

By Katherine Martin • July 29, 2026
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