Boost Your Budget with a Money-Saving Challenge
Saving money can be difficult, but by turning it into a fun challenge you can create healthy saving habits that require minimal time and effort.
Whether you’re making a belated new year’s resolution, or have something in mind you’d like to save for, these simple challenges can provide the inspiration you need to make small changes today that will reward you tomorrow.
No matter what your goals, budget, or amount of time you’d like to save for, we’ve put together a selection of the most popular saving challenges so you can choose the one that’s most likely to keep you motivated.
Make a year-round goal with 365 day challenges:
Start small with the 1p money saving challenge:
The 1p challenge is probably one of the most well-known of all the savings challenges. The idea is you start small, but by sticking to your saving goals you can earn a surprising amount.
You’ll begin by saving 1p on your first day, and then add a penny to the amount you save each day. For example:
- On day 1 you save: 1p
- On day 2 you save: 2p
- On day 3 you save: 3p
Complete this challenge over the course of a year, and add £3.65 to your savings pot on the final day. The result? In total, you’ll have saved £667.95!
The idea is to begin the challenge at the beginning of the year, but you can start whenever suits you best. There’s no need to wait until the new year!
Try the £1 challenge to develop consistent savings habits:
The £1 challenge is all about building consistent savings habits. Simply save £1 per day for a year and enjoy savings of £365 by the end of the challenge.
Build a nest egg with the £1500 challenge:
The £1500 challenge is probably one of the tougher of the bunch and takes a bit of organisation. But, by completing the challenge you can enjoy the reward of nearly £1500 (or £1456 to be exact).
The challenge works by increasing the amount of money you save each day, as follows:
- Monday: save £1
- Tuesday: save £2
- Wednesday: save £3
- Thursday: save £4
- Friday: save £5
- Saturday: save £6
- Sunday: save £7
Then, you start again at £1 on the next Monday and repeat this cycle every week. Saving £28 a week may sound like a big commitment, but it is possible. You can help make your money go further by making small changes elsewhere, such as making coffee at home rather than buying a takeaway one.
Take on the monthly savings challenge
The monthly savings challenge is great for encouraging new savers to put some money away every month. And the formula for saving is simple too. All you need to do is add £10 per month to the amount you plan on saving, so your yearly savings will look like:
- January: save £10
- February: save £20
- March: save £30
- April: save £40
- And so on, for the rest of the year
Once you have completed the challenge, you’ll have saved an impressive £780. You can also begin this challenge when it works best for you, just keep track of the amount you need to save each month.
Save big with the 52 week money saving challenge
This challenge aims to help you save weekly as opposed to daily, with the amount you put away gradually increasing each week. So you’ll save £1 on week 1, £2 on week 2, and so on. Eventually on week 52 you’ll save £52, and have a total savings pot of £1,378.
You can ease yourself into saving at the beginning of the year, but bear in mind that towards the end you will be adding quite large amounts to your savings pot. You may have to watch the pennies elsewhere to really boost your budget.
Discover the 26 week challenge if you get paid fortnightly
The 26 week challenge follows the same principle as the 52 week challenge, but is more tailored toward people who get paid every fortnight.
By the end you’ll still save a total of £1,378 but it takes a little planning to avoid any confusion. With the 26 week challenge, you’ll be start on week 2 and save:
- Week 2: save £3 (£1 from week 1 and £2 from week 2)
- Week 4: save £7 (£3 from week 3 and £4 from week 4)
You might find it tricky to follow at first, but by keeping a log you’ll be able to keep track of what you owe and when. As you become more confident, saving will become second nature.
Make saving exciting with the 100-envelope challenge:
The 100-envelope challenge helps to add an element of fun and excitement to your savings goals.
All you need to do is find 100 envelopes and write the number 1 to 100 on them. The numbers represent the number of pounds you’ll need to pop into the envelope. Then, choose two envelopes each week and add the amount on the front into the envelopes. In 50 weeks, you will have saved £5,050!
It does require potentially saving large amounts of money at any one time, but if you think this might be too much to save, you can always number the envelopes 1 to 25 instead.
Saving goals aren’t just for New Year’s resolutions
Making changes to your saving habits is a positive step forward at any time of year, not just January. So if you’ve missed the chance to add a money saving challenge to your New Year’s resolutions, don’t worry.
Whenever you decide to start saving, make sure you choose a savings challenge based on how much you can afford each month. This will help you to stay positive and make sure you get to enjoy your hard-earned rewards at the end.
Our Beyond The Grid hub is the perfect place to find more money saving tips around the home and garden.
