> AND save on the energy bills all at once.  When one considers the effect
 > of compound interest across 20-30 years on a dollar NOT saved, it was
 > easy to see how with a few simple strategies, one could save 40-60% on
 > their homes and another 25% upon maintenence and utility costs.  
Steven,
 Another way to save BIG on housing costs is to pay it off early. Although 
many folks think that this is impossible for the non-rich, it's simply not 
true. If you look at your mortgage payment schedule, you'll see that nearly 
all of your payment is INTEREST in the early years. You might have an $800.00 
payment, only $40.00 of which is actually paying down the principle. Paying 
an additional $40.00 is essentially making a double payment, eliminating the 
next month's interest! You can save 10's of thousands of dollars in this 
manner.
The only sticking point is to clear this with your bank first, and make sure 
that they understand that any extra payment goes to the PRINCIPLE on the 
loan. This will usually not buy you any grace, IE: making that extra $40.00 
payment doesn't mean that you can skip next month's.
You shouldn't even have to make a "double payment", you should be able to put 
whatever you want and can afford on it. If you can only afford an extra 
$20.00/month, put that much on it. The important thing is to make it regular, 
not just 20 bucks now and then. Some folks will dedicate any pay raise, 
bonus, or whatever to their mortgage principal.
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