No one wants a mortgage, but it’s something in life that most of us have to endure to become property owners. That’s why I’ve pulled together a list of ways you can work towards paying off your mortgage faster. Starting with the Sprive app for your smart phone. We’ve been using Sprive to help with payments towards our mortgage and their sign up bonus will help you get started. A Sprive sign up bonus may only be a small step towards paying off your mortgage but with the help of their app autosave feature, you’ll be paying off your mortgage in no time.

Key features of Sprive:

• Sprive is free to use
• Grab a free £5 sign up bonus
• See you mortgage overview in a an easy to follow format (loan to value, current mortgage progress and when you will be mortgage free.)
• Make quick overpayments directly from the app
• Setup monthly auto saves
• View current deals for remortgaging
• Top tips on how to get mortgage free faster

Sprive is completely free to use and comes with a few neat features that can help you quickly visualise your mortgage and work towards paying it off faster. Below, I’ll show you how to reduce your mortgage term and save thousands on your mortgage with the Sprive app. In some cases, you could save over £30,000.

Sprive referral code – £5 free cash

First things first. Here is my Sprive sign up bonus where you get a free £5 for signing up and linking your mortgage to their app. Simply enter this code when you sign up for Sprive for the free cash.

26QQH8XE

Use this link to find and download the app – https://linkprod.sprive.com/refer?code=26QQH8XE

You can choose to withdraw the £5 or pay it towards your mortgage. It’s up to you!

How Sprive can get you mortgage free faster

We’ve been using Sprive now for about 6 months and it’s helped us in more ways than just a free £5 sign up bonus. Let me talk you through the simple sign up process and tell you about the other great features of the app.

Setting up Sprive on your smart device:

• Click this link to take you to the Sprive app download page and enter this Sprive referral code 26QQH8XE for your free cash.
• Select your mortgage lender from the list.
• Verify your email address.
• Link your bank account. This is required to make payments towards your mortgage. It’s also a security check to make sure you can afford the autosave overpayments.
• Enter your name and address information.
• Select your mortgage. This needs to be a residential mortgage.
• Configure your overpayments. Every mortgage will be slightly different in terms of overpayments but most will allow up to 10% interest-free. You can manually set your overpayment limit. When you turn on the autosave function, Sprive will monitor your spending and create savings. You can set up autosave for between £25 and £750 per month. Each month Sprive will transfer a random amount within the limit you set. But don’t worry, it won’t take more than your bank account and lifestyle can handle. You can then choose to pay this to your mortgage or simply withdraw the money (should you need it for anything).

That’s pretty much it for the setup. You’re now one step closer to paying off your mortgage quicker. Now let’s look at some of the other key features of the app and how it can help you further.

Key Sprive app features

• You can view live mortgage deals which are updated daily. From this screen, you can see the most popular lenders and their current offers to see where you can save when it’s time to renew your mortgage.
• View your loan to value. This is great as when you get to 60% you’ll be open to better mortgage rates. You can set yourself goals to reach this faster.
• View your current mortgage progress and when you will be mortgage free. This is a great visual representation for setting yourself overpayment goals.
• View how much of your home you currently own. Another great visual representation for setting goals.
• View free independant advice. Top tips for saving money on your mortgage.
• Earn more free money towards your mortgage. You can get £25 for referring friends to the app.

So in a nutshell, Sprive gives you full transparency over your mortgage, helps you make overpayments quickly and easily and helps you prepare for remortgage time.

Here are some common questions people ask about Sprive.

Is Sprive safe? Sprive is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (FRN 900010) for the issuing of electronic money. So whilst you might feel a little anxious about handing over all your personal details, bank and mortgage information it’s important to know you and your money are completely protected.

Is Sprive secure? Sprive uses a number of security protocols to ensure your data is safe and secure. They never ask for or store your bank account login information. They use symmetric cryptography (AES) to store any sensitive data. Finally, they use 256-bit TLS encryption to communicate between the Sprive app and our servers. This is currently the highest level of security available for digital information.

How much does Sprive charge for their service? NOTHING! It’s absolutely free to use. Sprive makes its money from recommending mortgage deals to you. Should you remortgage via one of these then they will take a commission. (Just as a broker would.)

Which lenders do Sprive currently support? Sprive is only available in the United Kingdom and works with Nationwide, First Direct, HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays, Santander, RBS, Virgin Money, Halifax, Natwest, Yorkshire Building Society, and TSB Bank.

So Sprive is an easy and safe way to make overpayments on your mortgage. Best of all it’s free.

What are the benefits of overpaying your mortgage?

Most mortgage lenders will allow you to overpay your mortgage up to a certain amount without incurring fees. In most cases, this is 10% but you should check before making any overpayments. Overpayments over this amount (normally 10%) will mean additional interest is added.

So whilst you are paying interest on your regular payments, there is no additional charge for overpayments up to 10% of your total repayments. For example. If you have borrowed £120,000 then you could overpay £12,000 per year on top of your regular payments. That’s an extra £1000 per month. All interest-free.

This helps you reduce your term and your interest in one go. Here is a great visual representation based on a mortgage of £120,000 for 25 years at 3.5%. If you were to overpay the maximum penalty-free amount of £1000 per month you could clear your mortgage in about 7 years. That’s about 12 years earlier than normal.

So it makes good financial sense to overpay on your mortgage. If you are able to overpay the maximum 10% then it’s a wise route. If not, then any amount of overpayment is beneficial. Most people won’t be able to overpay their mortgage in the amount listed above so let’s take a look at an overpayment of just £75 per month.

Here is the same example but with a £75 over payment.

As you can see the mortgage will be paid off about 4 years earlier than normal, saving over £10,000. So this shows that any overpayment can be beneficial to your finances.

You can find the above mortgage overpayment calculator here.

Is it better to overpay your mortgage or put it in savings?

This of course depends on the amount you have to save and the amount of your mortgage but in general, the money you would save on interest often beats the returns possible by putting it in savings. Whilst this isn’t always the case it’s worth researching the specifics based on personal circumstances.

More great ways to pay off your mortgage faster

Sprive is a great way to chip away at your mortgage and keep an eye on things but there are a few more ways to help pay back your mortgage quicker.

Pay a lump sum when remortgaging

When it comes to remortgage time it makes sense to make any large payments before signing a new deal. If you have the capital available then a large payment towards your mortgage is a wise choice. You can make single lump sum payments when still in a fixed-term mortgage but only up to 10% within the year. (or whatever overpayment threshold your particular mortgage specifies).

Commit to a shorter term when you remortgage

Reducing your term will increase your monthly payments but this will in turn reduce the interest over the life of the loan. In most cases, a 20-year mortgage will carry a slightly lower interest rate compared to a 30-year term. So whilst you will be paying more each month the amount of interest you pay will be reduced.

Setup a direct debit payment

You can make larger monthly overpayments than the £750 maximum from Sprive. If you’ve recently had a pay rise or come into a sum of money then this is a great option. You can set up a recurring monthly direct debit to your mortgage account. Automated monthly overpayments are a great way to pay off your mortgage early.

Make use of the Sprive referral programme

Referring friends and family to the sprive app will help you generate payments towards your mortgage. For every 3 friends/family you successfully invite, you will be rewarded with £25 in your Sprive account. Your friends/family will also receive £5 in their account to pay towards their mortgage. You can use my Sprive sign up bonus to get started. Code: 26QQH8XE

Sprive and our top tips to get mortgage free faster

We’ve been hammering our mortgage over the last year or so and there are a number of things we’ve implemented to help us achieve mortgage freedom. Here are some of our favourite:

• Make Extra Payments: Allocate a portion of your monthly budget to make additional payments toward your mortgage principal. Even a small extra payment can add up over time.
• Biweekly Payments: Instead of making monthly payments, consider making half of your monthly payment every two weeks. This results in 26 half-payments each year, equivalent to 13 full payments, which can significantly reduce your loan term.
• Round Up Payments: Round up your monthly mortgage payment to the nearest hundred or even thousand. The extra amount goes directly toward reducing your principal.
• Use Windfalls: Apply any windfalls, such as tax refunds, work bonuses, or inheritance money, directly to your mortgage principal.
• Refinance to a Shorter Term: If interest rates are lower than when you first got your mortgage, consider refinancing to a shorter-term loan, like a 15-year mortgage. This can increase your monthly payments but drastically reduce the overall interest you pay.
• Make One Extra Payment Per Year: Commit to making one extra mortgage payment per year. This can be done as a lump sum or spread out over the course of the year, such as making an extra 1/12th of your monthly payment each month.
• Create a Budget: Create a detailed budget to track your expenses and identify areas where you can cut back. Allocate these savings toward your mortgage.
• Side Hustles and Additional Income: Consider taking on a part-time job or freelancing to generate extra income specifically earmarked for your mortgage payments.
• Avoid Lifestyle Inflation: As your income grows, resist the temptation to increase your spending on non-essential items. Instead, put that extra income towards your mortgage.
• Prioritize High-Interest Debt: If you have other high-interest debts (like credit card debt), focus on paying them off first, as they often have higher interest rates than mortgages. Once those are cleared, redirect those payments toward your mortgage.
• Make Lump Sum Payments: Whenever you have a significant amount of money saved or invested, consider using a portion of it to make a lump sum payment on your mortgage principal.
• Consider a Recast: Some lenders offer mortgage recasting, which allows you to make a large payment toward your principal and then re-amortize your loan with lower monthly payments.
• Keep an Eye on Interest Rates: If interest rates drop significantly, consider refinancing your mortgage to a lower rate, which can help you pay it off faster.

Round up – How to get mortgage free faster with Sprive

Does it feel like you’re not getting anywhere with your mortgage? You’re not alone if you do. With very little visibility over your mortgage repayments other than a monthly statement, it can be a little frustrating. With the Sprive app, you have a much greater overview of your mortgage and can actually start seeing a difference in your overpayments. Work towards mortgage freedom certainly starts to feel like a reality with this app.

Overpaying your mortgage has many benefits. Firstly you’re going to be paying interest on a smaller amount of debt which means you might be able to get a cheaper deal when you come to remortgaging. And as your loan to value drops you get better access to rates across the board.

With the above tips and the Sprive app you can make huge savings on your mortgage, all whilst keeping an eye on things. The £5 Sprive sign up bonus is exactly that, a little bonus for you, your friends and your family.