There’s no denying the fact that the cost of living has been steadily creeping up. This has led to many people turning to refinancing, relocation or even second jobs in order to stretch their dollars further.
But that’s not going to solve the problem. Instead, we’ll need to look for ways to lower our spending. And that’s where these awesome money saving challenges come in.
I would recommend opening a specific money challenge saving account, which allows you to see how much progress you’re making, and you’ll be more inclined to succeed, if you can see the money increasing each day/week/month.
They’re all about saving money by doing things a little differently than most people. So, if you’re ready to take on a few ‘money saving challenges’ of your own, read on to find out more.
52 Week One Dollar Money Saving Challenge and the Reverse Way
For this challenge, you start by saving one dollar in the first week. In the second week, you save two dollars. You’re then increasing how many dollars you save each week throughout the year, so week thirty means saving thirty dollars, and week fifty-two means saving fifty-two dollars.
Once you’ve completed the full 52 weeks, you’ll have saved $1378. You could consider doing this challenge in October, so by next October, you’ll have a nice lump sump to pay towards Thanksgiving and Christmas expenses.
But you can start absolutely any time, and as it’s gradual, the increasing dollars each week, will build up nicely.
52 Week Two Dollar Money Saving Challenge and the Reverse Way
This money saving challenge is exactly the same as the above challenge, except it’s doubled. So instead of saving $1 in the first week, you save $2.
In week ten, you’re going to be saving $20, and for week fifty-two, you’ll be saving $104. By the end of this challenge, you’ll have amassed $2756, which is great!
52 Week “Extreme” Challenge
If you like the idea of the above two money saving challenges, how about trying the “extreme” version? What makes it extreme, I hear you ask? Well, this challenge requires you to save in $10 increments.
So, for week one, you’ll be saving $10. For week six, you’ll be saving $60, and for week fifty-two, you’ll be saving $520.
These are going to be big increments, so it won’t be for everyone, but if you have a good amount of disposable income, and you’d like to start saving, by the end of this challenge, you’ll have $13,780 – wow!
The Holiday Helping Challenge
If the holiday season stresses you out financially, perhaps consider a holiday-themed saving challenge. In this challenge, set aside a specific amount of money each week from the start of the year until the end of November.
It could be $20 a week, or it could be $50 a week, it’ll end up with you having a nice lump sum at the end which you could spend on food or gifts.
Daily Money Saving Challenge
If you want a slightly more detailed challenge, the Daily Money Saving Challenge could be the challenge for you. Each week, you’ll need to save $28, but the $28 is going to be broken down into seven days.
So, Monday means saving $1, Tuesday is $2, Wednesday is $3, Thursday is $4, Friday is $5, Saturday is $6 and Sunday is $7. Once we reach Monday again, it’s back to $1, and by the end of the year, you’ll have $1456.
Monthly Money Saving Challenge
If the idea of a year-long money challenge is a little off-putting, how about a month-long challenge? In a 31-day month, this challenge will allow you to save $496, and you’ll save the amount that matches the date.
For day one, you’ll save $1, day ten you’ll save $10 and day thirty-one is $31. You can do this challenge during any month you want, and it’s perfect for when you have a special occasion or something you’d like extra spending money for.
365 Day Money Saving Challenge
Back to another year-long challenge, we have the 365-Day Money Saving Challenge. By doing this challenge, we’ll have saved $667.95 by the end of it, and it involves starting with cents rather than dollars.
So for day number one, you’ll be saving 1 cent, day one hundred is $1, and say 365 is $3.65. They’re only small amounts, and it’s perfect for those with less disposable income each month.
52 Week Twenty Dollar Challenge
If you’re looking for a less complicated challenge, how about a challenge where you save the same amount all year round?
This challenge needs you to save $20 every single week, all year round. By the end of the challenge, you’ll have $1040, which is amazing! It’s nice and simple, and as it’s the same amount every week, it’s an easy one to stick to.
The $1 Bill Challenge
Are you looking for something simple and flexible? Well, this could be the challenge for you. Every time you have a $1 bill in your wallet / purse, pop it into a savings jar.
You won’t miss those $1 bills from your wallet, and by the end of the year, you’ll have amassed an impressive chunk of cash.
5,000 Dollar Challenge
This is a more focused challenge, which involves choosing a set amount you wish to save over the year, for example; $5000.
You can save as much or as little as you want, and as frequently as you want, but you have to have saved the full amount by the end of the year.
You could save $100 some months, $200 some months, or even $50. You’ll be able to see how close you are to your target, as the year goes on, so you could increase your saving increments to help you achieve that $5000.
10,000 Dollar Money Saving Challenge
This is the more ‘extreme’ version of the aforementioned $5000 dollar challenge. Are you wanting to book a vacation?
Or just want to build an important emergency fund, you could try to save $10,000 instead of $5000, but this will of course require a lot more willpower.
Spare Change Challenge
I don’t know about you, but I hate change in my pocket or purse, so this challenge is ideal for me. This challenge means you save all coin change you receive throughout the year, when purchasing anything.
Meaning you don’t spend any of your coin change all year, as it all goes into your savings jar, and by the end of the year, you’ll have a jar filled with coins, as coins add up very quickly.
Three Month Savings Challenge
Want a shorter money saving challenge? How about a three-month challenge? This challenge is super simple, and requires you to save $84 each week, for three months. It’s that simple, and by the end of the three months, you’ll have saved $1008.
Compete with Your Friends/Family
I always find I’m more inclined to complete a challenge if there’s competition involved. How about doing this challenge with your significant other, or a friend?
To see if you can both complete the challenge, or see if you can beat one another? This competition aspect can help to motivate you even more, and it makes the challenge a little more fun.
The No Spend Challenge
The No Spend Challenge is quite possibly the most popular money saving challenge you’ll find online, and perhaps the easiest too.
It involves you choosing a period of time, like a week, a month or a year, where you don’t spend any money on anything unless it’s food, bills or important things. So no eating out, no new clothes, and no frivolous purchases.
Other Ideas for Saving Money
If you use internet banking, most banks offer a service where they automatically transfer the pence / cents over to a savings account.
So if your balance in your main account is $1456.46 at midnight, they’ll transfer that 46 cents / pence over to your savings account.
You can always transfer back if you need to, but the idea is that you’re saving money all year round, without thinking about it, and without missing those cents / pence.
Now that you know more about some of the best money saving challenges out there, it’s time to get started. There’s no need to wait until you have a lump sum to start saving money.
Just start with the one of the smaller money challenges, and work your way up from there. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ll save in no time, and you could always start a second money challenge, or even a third, if you find yourself enjoying them. Happy saving!