How skipping that morning coffee could help you shorten your home loan term

Skipping your morning coffee could save you $74,000 and shorten your home loan term. Photo / 123RF

Would you give up your morning cup of coffee if you knew it could saving you more than A$70,000 ($74,126)?

According to RateCity.com.au, by giving up one coffee a day and putting the money into your mortgage you could be A$71,891 better off over the lifetime of the loan, or 30 years.

Sally Tindall from RateCity told the Queensland Times that most people have no idea how much of an impact extra repayments can have on your mortgage.

"We wanted to show that if you squirrel away a small amount each week, it can knock years off your loan. It's also something most of us can easily do with very little effort," she said.

"Buying an extra cup of coffee or a bottle of water is often just mindless spending. If you save that money you'll be shocked by the results."

According to RateCity, cutting back on coffee is not the only way to make massive savings on your mortgage.

Bottled water is a real money-sucker, but by swapping A$3 bottled water for everyday tap water, the savings equated to A$62,266 over 30 years.

The figures are based on a A$300,000 mortgage over 30 years with an average rate of 4.31 per cent.

Cutting back on booze is also a significant money saver. The study found giving up one A$20 bottle of wine each week and rolling the money in your mortgage, the savings are A$59,482 over the life of the loan.

The savings are the same when it comes to beer. By ditching one sixpack a week, savings equated to A$59,482.

"By making additional mortgage repayments you effectively shorten your loan term — that means you are taking the razor to your interest bill," Tindall said.

"If you can save as little as A$20 every week and roll that money into your home loan you could be ahead by A$59,482 over 30 years.

"Work out how much you can save each week and set up an automatic bank transfer. Then forget about it. The real reward comes with time. "Paying off a mortgage can seem like climbing a mountain, but there are always simple things you can do to help get ahead," she said.