Saving challenges have grown in popularity recently. Across the net, I’ve seen the popular 365 day money saving challenge springing up everywhere in various forms. Many sites offer these free printable money saving challenges and they are popular in people looking to systematically fund the following year’s Christmas outlay. Or, to recover from the depressing finances of a previous December.
We all like the positive vibes of seeing a savings pot grow, it’s human nature. Brand saving schemes like Sainsbury’s popular Nectar scheme and their double-up event, show how this is the case.
I’ve also regularly seen people fail these free printable money saving challenges because of the way they are designed. In 2023, most will fail in their saving endeavours using these free challenges because of the nature of how costs, expenditures and inflation change during a year.
The traditional 365 day, 52 week saving challenge and why it fails
The most common saving challenge sets out the guidelines for saving an increasing amount every day. For example, on the first day, you’ll put 1p into a jar. On day two, you’ll add in 2p, and so on throughout the year. While you’ll amass a good amount if you succeed, it will mean you’re paying out around £25 a week in the last month of 2023. This last month is December, therefore it’s the time when most people are usually cash-strapped.
Similarly, the well-publicised 365-day £1 money saving challenge has potential flaws. This is where you’re putting in £1 in week 1, £2 in week 2 etc. It still ends up with weeks 48-52 requiring a staggering £200 from your funds at the worst time for finances. Let’s face it, for most in 2023, December is going to be the trickiest to save in – particularly if heating costs are rising and temperatures are dropping.
Try the Free Reverse Saving Challenge or The Peak Challenge
You can adapt the previously mentioned challenges to start or end and other times of the year. This might help some savers, depending on their saving personality. But for us, we still wanted funds available for the winter pot for the family to use.
OPTION 1: The Free Peak Money Saving Challenge
Start easy in January with £1 increments per week. Until week 26 where you’ll have raised £351. Then at that point, carry on saving week by week with decreasing amounts. Reducing by £1 a week from that point makes it at it’s most affordable in the last months. Making it manageable. You’ll have £351 from either side of the “peak”, meaning a £702pot, which is realistic for most.
OPTION 2: The Reverse Printable Money Saving Challenge
This works with either of the traditional 365 money saving challenges. But it sets out to have the biggest outlays in the beginning of the year, meaning you’re getting the worst out of the way first. I’m a big fan of the book “Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy. The American author sets out great methods for life that prioritise getting life’s biggest chores and tasks out of the way first. With this reverse money saving challenge, you are doing just that. You’re tackling the biggest, ugliest payments your going to face and popping them into your savings first. You’re “Eating that frog!” and making a great start to saving in 2023!
The reverse saving is pretty straight forwards. But, I’ve included below a free downloadable planner for my Peak Saving Idea, please do feel free to print them off and trial them. Hopefully, you’ll find these methods of saving truly effective at not only saving – but also succeeding.
It should be added that I’ve found this particularly useful for helping out with unexpected winter events like boiler issues. Having this pot meant I didn’t have to dip into the main family finances for anything.
Download our free printable money saving challenge PDF here (1mb download)
Please let us know during the year how you get on if you choose to try our saving challenge.
The 100-envelope challenge is pretty straightforward: You take 100 envelopes, number each of them and then save the corresponding dollar amount in each envelope. For instance, you put $1 in “Envelope 1,” $2 in “Envelope 2,” and so on. By the end of 100 days, you'll have saved $5,050.
Each day, fill up one envelope with the amount of cash corresponding to the number on the envelope. You can fill up the envelopes in order or pick them at random. After you've filled up all the envelopes, you'll have a total savings of $5,050.
Take stock of your savings At the end of 100 days, you'll have 100 envelopes containing $5,050. That's right—1 + 2 + 3 + 4 and every other number through 100 equals just over $5,000.
Match each week's savings amount with the number of the week in your challenge. In other words, you'll save $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on until you put away $52 in week 52.
On each envelope, write the day number and the amount you need to save for that day. For instance, on the first envelope, you would write "Day 1: $1" and on the second envelope "Day 2: $2", and so on all the way to Day 100: $100. Each day, you take the envelope for that day and put the designated amount of cash inside.
The benefit of the 100 Envelopes Challenge is that it starts small and encourages constant, conscious saving that builds quickly. But the trend—and the internet's obsession with buying “aesthetic” envelopes for it—may not be the most effective way to put away money, according to financial experts.
Take 100 envelopes and write the number 1 to 100 on them. This number is the number of pounds you'll need to add to the envelope. Each week, pick out two envelopes at random and put the amount shown on the front into them.
The concept is simple: Take a few envelopes, write a specific expense category on each one — like groceries, rent or student loans — and then put the money you plan to spend on those things into the envelopes. Traditionally, people have used the envelope system on a monthly basis, using actual cash and envelopes.
Every week you pick two random envelopes and put the dollar amount on the envelopes and keep them in the green box. One year later you will have $5,050. For multiples of $5050 you multiply the number by the multiple you want to set your goal.
The 365-Day Penny Challenge: With this challenge, people make a daily savings deposit and increase their deposit by a penny a day. At the end of a year, they have $667.95 of savings.
The seven percent savings rule provides a simple yet powerful guideline—save seven percent of your gross income before any taxes or other deductions come out of your paycheck. Saving at this level can help you make continuous progress towards your financial goals through the inevitable ups and downs of life.
In other words, on Day 50, you'd grab envelope 50 and put $50 in it. By the end of the 100 days—if you can afford it—you will have saved $5,050. Since starting in July 2021, Jasmine Taylor, founder of Baddies & Budgets, has completed it three times, saving over $15,000.
There are 12 weeks in a 3-month timeline, which means there are 6 bi-weeks. In order to save $5,000 in three months, you'll need to save just over $833 every two weeks with your biweekly budget. If you're paid bi-weekly, you can easily compare your bi-weekly savings goal with your paycheck.
To begin, a good rule to follow is the 50/30/20 method: 50% of funds go to needs, 30% wants and 20% to financial goals. Make an envelope for each category that applies: rent, utilities, phone bill, gas, groceries, emergency, savings and leisure. Put aside cash in each envelope corresponding to the amount used.
If you want to save $5000 in 3 months, you'll need to save $1,667 per month, $416 per week, or $60 per day. While these numbers might seem overwhelming at first, by sticking to your financial plan you can reach your goal faster than you think.
Introduction: My name is Mr. See Jast, I am a open, jolly, gorgeous, courageous, inexpensive, friendly, homely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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