If you have a mortgage, you understand how important it is that your mortgage is paid each and every month. Most Americans are able and willing to pay their mortgage on a monthly basis. However, bi-monthly mortgages are becoming increasingly popular.

What are bi-monthly mortgage payments? These are mortgage payments that are paid every two weeks rather than once per month. Often times, these payments are approximately half of a regular payment. To calculate what your bi-monthly mortgage payment would be, take the total amount of your monthly payment and divide that number by two. This is the amount that would be paid every other week on a bi-monthly mortgage schedule.

Bi-monthly mortgage schedules allow the homeowner to put more towards the principal on their home each month. Interest is calculated and compounded daily. Instead of having the interest reset every month, it is reset every other week. Thus, the total amount paid in interest is less than what would be paid to interest if paid on a monthly schedule, in theory.

In order to have this work correctly, you must contact your mortgage company whether you have a standard home loan, VA loan, or some other option. You simply can’t just start making payments every two weeks. If you do this, you run the risk of not having your payment applied correctly.

Mortgage payments are at the mercy of the calendar month. Every month has a different number of days and so forth. There are 12 traditional mortgage payments in every calendar year. These total payments are comprised of 24 half payments, if you wish to look at the example that way. On a bi-monthly payment schedule, there are 26 half payments made throughout the year. As you can see, you end up paying two extra half payments or one extra full payment every year.

This extra payment or payments can reduce the principal of your mortgage. However, you must carefully consider whether or not you are in the financial position to make an extra month’s worth of mortgage payments every year. In theory, the bi-monthly mortgage plan is a strong one, but you must make sure that it is a good decision for you and your financial outlook.

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