1. The lower the interest rate, the faster your balance will decrease.

2. The more principal you pay each month, the faster your balance will decrease.

Center your debt reduction strategies on these two things, and you will see results.

Here are some strategies for paying off your mortgage early.

 Refinance your mortgage if you can get a significantly better interest rate. If you have a large balance on your mortgage, and you plan to live at that property for more than five years, and you currently have a high interest rate on your mortgage, then you will save thousands of dollars by refinancing. Look for a loan where the closing costs are low. If you have other high interest rate debts, such as credit card balances, then consider refinancing enough to cover these debts as well. This will not help your mortgage go down in the short term, but it will help your overall debt situation as long as you have the discipline to avoid additional debt. By doing this, you will make your non-mortgage debts tax deductible, and save yourself some money by having a lower interest rate. Your monthly payments will be lower too, and you will then have additional funds to apply to the principal portion of your monthly payment. This brings us to the next strategy.
 Make additional principal payments. Every mortgage payment is has two main components (excluding escrow deposits for taxes and insurance), principal and interest. When someone begins making payments on a 30-year mortgage, most of the payments go to pay the interest, and only a small portion of the payment goes to principal. By the end of the thirty years, most of the payment will be applied to principal and only a little will be allocated to interest. If you have a 30-year mortgage, and you find that your balance is only going down by $200/month, then if you make an additional principal payment of $200, which would be the same as making one month's payment. These extra payments are the fastest and best way to reduce your mortgage because there is no interest taken out of them. Every cent reduces your balance.
 Set up a bi-monthly payment plan with your mortgage company. Some employees get paid every two weeks. Since there are 52 weeks during the year, this means 26 pay checks a year, or 13 monthly payments. By setting up this kind of plan, not only is it more convenient for how these employees get paid, but it's like making an extra principal payment of one whole payment each year. This will significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to pay off the mortgage without any extra effort.
 Move to a less expensive home. If you have considerable equity in your current home, and you are ready to pay off your mortgage, then moving to a less expensive home is a quick way to finish off or dramatically reduce your mortgage. Check with your tax advisor before doing this.

You pay off your mortgage like you eat an elephant, one bite at a time. With persistence, patience, a little sacrifice, and a little shopping around, you will not only cause your monthly cash flow to go up, but make yourself more financially secure with one of the best investments you will ever make, your home.