One year ago you took out a $300,000, 25-year fixed-rate mortgage at a rate of 3.5%, compounded semi-annually. You have made 12 monthly payments. Your mortgage loan offers a prepayment privilege of $5,000 to be applied directly against the mortgage balance. If you take advantage of this prepayment privilege today and maintain the same level of monthly payments, by how much will you reduce your mortgage amortization period?

Round to the nearest month. Select one:

a. 4 months

b. 6 months

c. 8 months

d. 2 months