Editor’s note: This is the third installment of a three-week series on programs designed to pay off a mortgage quicker.

The CMG Mortgage program involves refinancing your first mortgage to a line of credit that also serves as your checking account. The U First program, on the other hand, does not require you to refinance. Instead, you obtain a small line of credit that is also your checking account.
With both of the previous two programs, you could pay off your mortgage more quickly by earning mortgage-level interest rates on your bank accounts, making money on the float in your checking account, and applying future monthly savings to your mortgage. Software programs help keep you focused on opportunities to pay down the mortgage quicker.
We’ll call the third program the financial planner side fund approach. This is a much more comprehensive program that involves all elements of financial planning, including the optimum method for dealing with your mortgage.
In this case, you do not directly pay down your mortgage quicker. Instead, you establish a side fund to obtain a return on the lazy equity in your property that is not currently giving you a return.
Put this side fund, along with your savings into tax free or tax deferred investments that give you a higher yield than paying down your mortgage would. Finally, you maximize your interest deductions on your mortgage and let Uncle Sam help you build wealth.
One example that is provided shows you how to pay your mortgage off in 13.5 years using this method.
A good book for exploring this third alternative is “Missed Fortune 101, a starter kit to becoming a millionaire.”
The author, Douglas R. Andrew, a financial strategist and well known adviser to the mortgage industry, starts with the question, “Isn’t it time you became wealthy?”
There are numerous concepts addressed in this comprehensive book. To give you a glimpse of the subjects covered, here is a summary of topics included on the jacket cover:
-- Put the lazy, idle dollars trapped in your home to work safely — and reap as much as an extra million.
-- Discover hidden and perfectly legal tax breaks.
-- Play the bankers’ favorite game — borrow at one rate and invest at a higher one.
-- Explore lesser known retirement vehicles — and avoid falling into a higher tax bracket when you stop working.
-- Turn your life insurance policy into an investment and keep your taxes down and your capital up.
-- Find out which low-return instruments should be in your portfolio today — and why they’ll become high-return stars tomorrow.
-- Reach your “freedom point”— your financial independence — long before retirement age.
-- Learn the real rules of smart investing — maximize your wealth.
If you wish to further investigate these financial planning concepts you may want to call
Andrew’s office at Paramount Financial Services (888) 987-5665, or go to his Web site, www.missedfortune.com. 
Regardless of which three approaches for paying down your mortgage quicker fits your individual circumstances, think about Andrew’s question: Isn’t it time you became wealthy?
Mike Ferguson is with Windsor Financial Services in Granite Bay. His Web address is www.windsorFS.com.