Make your mortgage disappear: in case you don't win our super-sweepstakes (to find out all about it, turn the page), here are three ways to pay off your mortgage fast--and save.(GOOD FAMILY: FROM KIDS TO MONEY, WHAT TO KNOW NOW)

1 THE DOLLAR-A-MONTH PLAN Let's say you took out a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for $150,000 at 6 percent to-day. By adding an extra dollar to your $900 payment each month-one dollar the first month, two dollars the second month, three dollars the third, and so on--you would pay off your 30-year loan in 22 years, says Ginita Wall, CFP, CPA, director of the Women's Institute for Financial Education (wife.org). "If you're in your early 40s or so, this is a great way for your mortgage to retire when you do," says Wall. (Just be sure the loan has no prepayment penalty.)

And then there's the savings. Over 30 years, interest would probably total about $174,000; on the Dollar-a-Month Plan, you'd pay approximately $122,000, an impressive savings of $52,000. To rack up even greater results, start by paying an additional $20 a month, and then $21, $22, etc.

2 THE BIWEEKLY BOOSTER Instead of sending the bank one payment a month, break that amount into biweekly checks (on the loan described above, they'd be $450 each). If you go biweekly, you'll send 26 checks a year, which works out to one extra payment annually, with this surprising result: You'll be mortgage-free six years sooner--and save nearly $37,000 in interest.

Call your lender to work out the logistics of setting up a biweekly plan--and to make sure you won't be charged a hefty monthly fee for the privilege. Also, ask how quickly your extra payment will get credited. Some lenders wait until the first ...