Mortgage Reduction using Backyard Treasures

Happiness can be defined, in part at least, as the fruit of the desire and ability to sacrifice what we want now for what we want eventually.
Stephen R. Covey

In the popular fable, The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, Santiago the Andalusian shepherd boy follows his dream and sets off on a journey. In search of a hidden treasure, he wanders off to faraway places, into the desert. After years and years of endless searching far and beyond, scouring foreign lands, living with Bedouins and Arabians, Santiago finally returns home only to find the elusive treasure is actually in his own backyard.

So what on earth does this have to do with mortgage reduction, you're thinking? Just as Santiago was looking in faraway places for the answer, you too may be looking outside of yourself for the hidden treasure. You've got the dream home, and maybe even an investment property, and you're now hoping for the magic pill that's going to miraculously wipe out your mortgage overnight.

We've got news for you: the answer is inside of you. There are some fundamental tools you can use to help you on your journey, which we will reveal later, but ultimately it's your resolve which is the determinant of your success. Paying off a mortgage requires sacrifice and the discipline, and both of these elements must come from within.

?Tricks? of the trade, such as re-paying a loan fortnightly rather than monthly, will help you slash years off a mortgage (we'll explain how this works later on), but in and of themselves they are not enough. Mortgage reduction is like many things in life: you must be prepared to make the sacrifices required for success.