A Suze Orman exclusive

I know, I know, some of you are ready to start screaming at me about where in the heck I think you can possibly come up with this extra money to get your mortgage paid off in half the time. Calm down. Because you won't have the burden of a mortgage to worry about in retirement, it makes sense that you will need less income in retirement. Right? So we're going to find you mortgage money today by reducing what you are putting away today for retirement.

Specifically, I want you to scale back on your 401(k) investing. You are to always—and I mean always—invest enough so you are assured of getting the maximum annual matching contribution from your boss. But after you reach that threshold, you should consider suspending your payments for the rest of the year and using the extra money that will show up in your paycheck to pay down your mortgage. Just be sure to "re-join" your 401(k) plan in time to start contributions for the next year, so you can once again get the company match. Then just repeat the process year in and year out.

And while it is true that contributing less to the 401(k) now will boost your taxable income, I think that's an okay tradeoff. First, tax rates are near historic lows, so the value of that benefit isn't as great as in the past. Second, and more importantly, remember that making sure you can afford to retire, and that you are at no risk of losing your home, comprise such an essential element of your security and happiness in retirement that they are worth a great deal of possible savings from clever tax maneuvering.

Now, if that doesn't give you enough money to boost your mortgage payments, then you need to look at other money drains in your life. If, for example, you are saving for your children's college education, I want you to divert as much of that money as you need for your mortgage acceleration program. I know that's another unpopular bit of advice. But what's popular isn't always wisest. You need to keep in mind that while there are loans available for your kids' college costs, there are absolutely no loans out there for retirement.

The great added benefit of this strategy is that if you find yourself in a financial squeeze when retirement rolls around, your home could save you. You could use the 100 percent equity in your home to generate income by taking out a reverse equity mortgage. By getting your mortgage paid off, you have not only reduced your income needs in retirement, but you have created a huge emergency cash fund.

Finally, one important caveat: an accelerated mortgage strategy only makes sense if you are in a home you intend to stay in for a long time. If you are in your 20s or 30s and anticipate trading up, then don't rush to pay down the mortgage just yet. Focus on maxing out on all your retirement savings plans. But once you do trade up into your "keeper" home, your goal is to choose a mortgage and payment schedule you can finish before you kick back in retirement.

Now that's not so scary, is it? In fact, the simplicity of it ought to start easing your fears right away. No complicated stratagems are required to really begin meeting the challenge of a secure retirement. Simply spending more now on paying off your mortgage can make it possible to clear retirement's biggest hurdle with room to spare.