£7bn has been overpaid on mortgages over the past six months, according to Lifesearch.

The life insurance broker found that 7% of Brits have overpaid on their mortgages over the same period, at an average of £319 a month.

Millennials are particularly switched on to the benefits of overpaying. They are almost twice as likely to have overpaid on their mortgage in the last six months than the average homeowner.

Money management

As well as repaying mortgages, a further 14% of Brits have repaid debts in the last six months, rising to 20% of millennials (aged 25-39). An average of £319 was repaid per month, £14.1bn over the six months nationwide.

In addition, 39% of Brits claim to have saved some money in the last six months – on average they saved £281 a month.

Emma Walker, chief marketing officer at LifeSearch, which commissioned the study, said: “It’s encouraging to see the nation’s wealth begin to recover again after a long period of uncertainty and anxiety for so many.

“While the record levels of household savings seen in 2020 have fallen as spending has recovered, we’ve found that a significant number of people are still choosing to save. But we can also see that many are also choosing to overpay on their mortgage and repay debts.

“When you consider that an overpayment of just £200 a month could take more than seven years and over £12k off the average 25 year mortgage, so it makes sense that many are choosing to overpay.”