With the current economical difficulties we are going through, we have to find ways to maximize the use of our money. To do so, you want to change the way you see money and how you can shift your habits to take advantage of every dollar you make.

For example, most people are happy with having most of their money in a checking or saving account where they get little return. In this case, the bank is the one taking advantage of the use of your money.

Another common example is a mortgage. With a traditional 30 year mortgage, it takes 20 years and 2 months to come to the point where the portion that we pay toward the principal equals the portion we pay toward the interest.

Since most American only lives in their homes between 5 and 7 years, we barely decrease the principal in our mortgage. This is so because the way the mortgage is structured heavily favors the banks since at the beginning most of the money goes to pay the interest portion.

For over two decades, homeowners in countries such as the U.K., Australia and Canada have been using mortgage accelerator programs to pay off their mortgages in 10-15 years saving over $150,000 on payments. The good news is that this type of program is now available in the U.S.

A mortgage accelerator works by making sure that the bank's money works for you at all times. It works in four basic steps:

1. At the start of the month, you use a piece of software to find out the optimal amount to pay toward your first mortgage to ensure you are paying as little in interest as possible. You use an advance line of credit (HELOC) to pay for this mortgage payment. This operation decreases the debt in your first home mortgage and moves you further down the amortization schedule.

2. You then deposit your monthly income in the HELOC in order to reduce the balance on your HELOC. By doing so, you decrease the interest paid in the HELOC.

3. You charge your daily expenses on one credit card to allow your money to sit in the HELOC for as long as possible.

4. At the end of the month, you pay off the credit card before creating any interest charges from your credit card.

By doing a few changes in your financial habits, you can start making the bank's money work for you and no the other way around. Using other people's money (the bank's money) is one of the surest and fastest ways to become financially independent.

Even though it may take a little to get use to the changes, you can think of the alternative; After all, how much time and effort would it take you to make the money you would save if you could pay off your mortgage in half the time?