Too often we find ourselves thinking, “if only I had a little extra money, I’d go on that trip, or I’d finally start that emergency fund.” Well how would you like to have an extra $1,378 in your bank account with very minimal effort? What if I told you that you could save that amount, without hurting your budget, whilst also having FUN!?
Enter the 52-week savings challenge! This challenge can help you to build up a lump sum of extra cash within a year to use towards whatever money goal you want! In this post we’ll talk about how it works, variations to try, and tips to make you successful.
What is the 52-Week Savings Challenge?
In the 52 week savings challenge you’ll transfer a small amount of money each week into your savings account. These are small transfers, between $1 and $52.
At the end of 52 weeks, you’ll have an extra $1,378 chilling in your savings account!!!
How it works:
Starting up the 52 week savings challenge is simple. All you need is a savings account and some self-discipline.
In the first week, you begin by transferring just $1 into your savings account. Then in the second week, $2.
As each week continues, you keep increasing the savings amount by $1… (so on week 25 you’ll save $25) and so on…
Then after 52 weeks, voila! You’ve completed the challenge and should have $1,378 in your account!
The Reverse 52 Week Saving Challenge:
If you’re like me and you like to frontload the hard work, you can do the challenge in reverse!
Start out by moving $52 into your savings account, then subtract a dollar each week as the year goes on. That way, you do more of the heavy lifting earlier into the challenge and every week feels easier afterwards.
The Randomized 52 Week Savings Challenge:
If you want to spice it up even further, you can write down the numbers 1-52 onto slips of paper and pull them from a hat or jar each week. Then, save the amount on the slip and repeat each week until you’ve pulled all the numbers.
Tips to Crush The 52-week Savings Challenge:
Sometimes, we struggle to finish out year long challenges because we lose motivation. Or we just simply forget. So here are a few tips to make sure you complete the 52-week savings challenge with ease!
Open a High Yield Savings Account
If you’re worried you’ll spend the money before the end of the year, it can be a good idea to open a separate savings account to house these funds. We would love to see you open a High Yield Savings Account with one of our favorite online banks because you’ll earn way more interest on your money and be rid of the bogus fees that big banks charge you!
One thing that can be helpful is to use the savings bucket feature with Ally. This lets you visually divvy up your savings account into different funds so that you can keep track of your progress towards different financial goals.
Either way, keeping your money in a high yield savings account apart from your checking can make it more difficult to access, meaning you’re less likely to spend it before the end of the challenge.
Set a Weekly Reminder
If you tend to fall on the forgetful side, it can be helpful to set a weekly reminder to transfer the money to your account. If you’re tech savvy, you can use your phone calendar or reminders app to notify you on the same day each week. Or you can go old school and write it each week on your physical wall calendar!
Automate It
If you’re like me and tend to still forget even with copious reminders, take an hour to schedule all 52 transfers within your banking app. Then, you can literally set it and forget it for the rest of the year, and one day 365 days from now you’ll just wake up with that money in your account!
Have a Goal in Mind
It’s so much easier to save more when you have a why behind it. That’s why it can be helpful to use your biggest financial goals as a way to motivate you.
Do you want to save up for a vacation? Aggressively attack your debt? Build an emergency fund to enjoy more peace of mind? Set it as your phone background to remind yourself why you’re doing this!
Treat Yourself Along The Way
This challenge is meant to be a fun way to save some money, so be sure to reward yourself as you reach important milestones!
Every 13 weeks, you’ll have tackled another quarter of the year. Set up some fun treats, like taking a PTO day, cooking your favorite food, or treating yourself to a specialty coffee or drink along the way. You don’t want to do something so big that it undoes your progress, but spending a few dollars here and there to reward yourself can go a long way in making sure you complete the challenge.
Rinse and Repeat!
The effects of this challenge are exponential when you repeat it year after year! That extra $1,378 when invested every year for 30 years could mean an extra $156,104.26 in your retirement accounts assuming an 8% return! Or it could equal 30 awesome family vacations full of memories you’ll never forget.
The Bottom Line:
If you complete the 52-week savings challenge, you’ll have a cool $1,378 in your pocket at the end. You can try it in reverse, randomized, or even double the money amounts if you want to save more.
By setting aside just a tiny amount each week, you’ll barely notice any squeeze on your budget. Saving money is all about consistency. Once you get in the habit, keep it going and try saving larger amounts with some of these other awesome money challenges!
Related:
- The Rule of 173 for Saving Money
- How to Gamify Your Finances
- Tips for more mindful spending in life
