For most homeowners, mortgage costs are the largest regular expense in the family budget. How can you manage those costs in the most efficient way? We offer a few suggestions for reducing either short- or long-term mortgage expenses to fit your needs.

Refinance — When you are refinancing a mortgage, the most important thing is to identify what your goals are.

Do you want to accept a longer loan term and higher total costs over the time of the loan to minimize your monthly payment? Are you interested in the opposite path of shortening your loan term to pay off your loan more quickly and save on total costs?

For those looking to lower their payment, consider refinancing if you think you can shave a half to three-quarters of a percentage point off of your interest rate.

Rate shop — You can save on your initial mortgage or a refinancing by shopping around for a better rate. However, check your credit report first to make sure that an unexpected blemish on your report does not undermine your efforts. Credit reporting errors can — and do — occur. If you believe there is a mistake on your credit report, you can resolve it with a single click using our credit correction service.

Ask your current lender for a better rate — Banks and credit unions are keenly aware of their competition. If you have a suitable credit score and an excellent repayment record, try asking your bank to meet a potential competing rate. They may reject your request, but there’s no harm in asking.

Add payments toward principal — By adding an extra payment toward your principal each year, you can save significant amounts of money on interest while increasing your home equity. However, you must verify with your lender that extra payments are being applied only to principal.

Should you come into a large one-time windfall, some lenders will allow you to “reset” your mortgage by making a large payment toward principal and keeping the monthly payment the same, thus significantly reducing your loan term.

Avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI) — By making a down payment of at least 20 percent, you can avoid PMI altogether — but if that ship has already sailed, you can ask your lender to cancel the PMI once you reach a suitable level of equity in your home. This is accomplished when you reach 20% equity on your home.

With suitable planning and a collaborative effort with lenders, you can meet your mortgage reduction goals, whether they are based on lowering monthly payments, lowering overall costs, or any other financial objective.