Bank rates are falling and it’s tempting to rewrite and drop your payment. A smarter decision might be to take advantage of those new rates, but keep your payments the same.

For example, The Telegraph says that if you have a $100,000 mortgage at 7.75% and a payment of $755 you could enjoy the new rate of 7% it would reduce your payment to $707. However, if you continued to make your original payment on the lower rate you would save almost $35,000 and take almost 4 years off a 25-year mortgage.

You’re already used to making your original payment and the $47 a month isn’t really going to benefit your household. It’s much more beneficial to continue to put it on your payment.

If you ever have a lump sum of cash kicking around, maybe a bonus from work and you’re wondering what to do with it. Pop it on your mortgage and reap the benefits. Paying off a portion of your mortgage reduces the term of your mortgage. How much depends on the amount of your lump sum. Another benefit is that with dropping property prices that lump sum can keep you from negative equity.

Any time you have a few extra dollars consider putting it on your mortgage payment. I know what you’re thinking – when do I ever have extra cash. You might be surprised at how easy it is to put aside an extra $50 a month. And it will have an excellent impact on your mortgage.

Of course, if there’s ever any doubt that you’ll need that money at a later date, use cautions because once it’s on your mortgage you can consider it gone. You might want to look into an offset mortgage.

Paying down your mortgage is a smart financial decision. Taking care of the current interest rates to do that might be even smarter. Talk to your banker.