Should I pay my mortgage one month ahead or should I?

It really depends on what else you might do with that money. If you pay it against your principal, you are in effect investing the money at whatever interest rate you pay on your mortgage. So, if you are paying 6% on your mortgage, prepaying a month is like depositing it into a savings account that pays 6%, which is good.

The only thing that is bad with this strategy is that, unlike a savings account, you can't easily get the money back if you need it later.

So, I would say if you are still paying off other debts (car loan, credit card or student loan) pay those off first before paying anything extra against your mortgage.

If you loans are fully caught up, make sure you have an emergency fund in the bank that you can get at that covers at least four months of your expenses.

Once that is done, make sure you are putting the maximum you can into retirement savings accounts (such as a 401k or IRA or Roth IRA).

If you are already doing these three things, and still have some spare cash, then go ahead and pay extra toward the principal.

Your idea for saving on costs is very good. Just do it in a way that makes sure you have some easy to get at cash first, in case of an emergency.

Apply your extra money to the principle. I paid off my mortgage in four years and am glad I did.

If you have other bill at higher interest pay them instead.

If you try to pay ahead, they will put it against principal.