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Having a hard time saving money? Sometimes motivation can be hard to find when it feels like you’ll be trying to save for the rest of your life. Breaking up the savings goals into manageable pieces and making a game of it can help! Try out one of the below saving challenges to help hit your savings goals while having a little fun at the same time.
1. 52 Week Saving Challenge
The 52 Week Saving Challenge is a very popular money saving challenge because it is a super simple way to accumulate cash. The basic challenge starts by saving $1 during week 1, saving $2 during week 2, and continuing on like that until on the 52nd week you’re saving $52. By the end of the year-long challenge, you will have saved over $1,300. Because the challenge starts small, each incremental amount saved seems achievable. You can also customize this challenge to fit your goals- like doubling the weekly amounts resulting in a savings of over $2,500.
2. No Spend Challenge
It can be very easy to get swept up in buying discretionary things we think we need- like clothes, makeup, or multiple rounds of drinks at bars. It can be very hard to break those habits once we start them. The No Spend Challenge does a great job of breaking up your routine by halting spending on different items every month.
Examples of “no spend month” ideas:
- Clothing
- Makeup or other beauty products
- Alcohol purchased out
- Eating out
- Certain stores that you love to impulse shop at
- Books
3. Weather Wednesday Saving Challenge
If you want a little spontaneity in your savings challenge, then look no further than the Weather Wednesday Savings Challenge. The challenge suggests that every Wednesday you save the high temperature for that day. Depending on where you live this can add up quickly! You could also opt to save the low temperature if you live in a hot climate and $100 every week seems ambitious.
4. Spare Change Challenge
The spare change challenge is simple- any time you make a purchase, put the remaining spare change in your savings account. This can add up quickly if you are diligent about tracking your spare change. We recommend reviewing your purchases at the end of every day or week, adding up all of the remaining change and depositing the total into your savings. There are some apps like Digit, which will automatically put your spare change in a savings account for you.
5. Bi-Weekly Money Saving Challenge
The Bi-Weekly Money Challenge is the least flashy of the challenges, but potentially the most effective and most long lasting. In the Bi-Weekly Money Challenge, every time you get your paycheck automatically put a set amount of money in your savings account as soon as you get it. This works even better if you can automate this, so you don’t even miss the money to begin with. We recommend $25 to start with, but shoot high and you will end up with a huge savings balance at the end of the year you didn’t realize you had.
Need help figuring out how to meet your money saving goals? Start with Budgeting 101.