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The importance of planning
Creating a plan can help keep your interest costs down while paying down your mortgage.
By looking at your budget, your savings and your debt, there are a few ways to feel prepared and keep your mortgage on track:
- Review your budget to see if you can set money aside to help manage higher mortgage payments
- Reallocate part of your savings contributions to your mortgage payment
- Speak to an RBC Advisor about ways to lower your debt payments or save on interest costs
Along with your existing mortgage payment options, some or all of these ideas may be right for you.
Your Budget
Review and adjust your monthly budget
By taking a closer look at your budget, you may be able to identify areas to trim spending and free up savings every month to increase your mortgage payment.
- Use the RBC Create a Budget Calculator to calculate your available cash after expenses
Look for ways to increase your cash flow by:
- Reducing variable and discretionary expenses where possible
- Tapping into alternative sources of income, if available to you
Your Savings
Reallocate part of your savings contributions to your mortgage payment
Do you have savings set aside in non-registered accounts (such as a GIC or high interest savings account) or registered accounts (such as a TFSA or RRSP)? If so, you may be able to leverage these savings to ease the impact of a higher mortgage payment. Consider taking these steps:
- Review any regular savings contributions, optional payroll deductions, or dividend re-investments you make today. Pausing these temporarily to allocate the savings to your mortgage payment could help to reduce the impact of higher mortgage interest rates.
- Check the balances of your non-registered and registered savings accounts and determine if they could help cover your higher mortgage payments. It’s important to understand if there are tax implications, withdrawal penalties and future needs for these funds before using them. An RBC Advisor can help guide you in this decision.
Your Debt
Speak to an RBC Advisor on options to manage all your debt obligations, lower your regular payments, or save on interest costs
If you’re carrying debt on one or more credit cards, or have outstanding balances on personal loans or lines of credit, you may be able to cut down on the amount you’re paying in interest by consolidating debt into lower-interest accounts.
- Switch balances from higher interest rate accounts (such as a credit card) to a lower interest rate account (such as a low interest credit card or home equity line of credit)
- If you have multiple loans, consider consolidating them into a single loan with a lower monthly payment
- Consider refinancing your mortgage to consolidate existing loans into one payment at the lowest available interest rate
- Determine if extending your amortization period to lower your mortgage payments makes sense for you
Speak with an RBC Advisor Today
We can review these options together and help you find the solutions that are right for you.
Call 1-866-485-2604
