Easy Money Saving Challenges
Whether you want to save for an emergency fund or for a large purchase, but you are finding it difficult to begin, consider doing one or more of the following easy money saving challenges to motivate you. These money saving challenges are ideal for building good saving and spending habits, and for squirrelling away some extra money for a rainy day.
52- week challenge
This is a popular money challenge and a good one to start with. The basic idea is that there are 52 weeks in a year and for each week you save a certain amount. You can start small – on week 1, save $1, on week 2, $2 and so on. Start by making a list of the 52 weeks and the amounts next to them. Tick them off as you complete each week. If you finish this challenge, at the end you will save $1,378.
Switch it up
You can save the amounts in any order you want, and not necessarily in an increasing order.
$2 challenge
This is an easy one. Simply save all your $2 coins in a piggy bank or a jar. At the end of the year, you can go the bank and deposit them or exchange them for notes.
Switch it up
Do this with $5 notes which will increase the amount that you save.
Save your change challenge
Similar to the $2 challenge, empty out your wallet every day for loose change and save them. You may be surprised how much you end up with in a year.
Switch it up
If you rarely use cash, then some banks give you the option of rounding up your purchases to the nearest dollar amount and moving the rest to a savings account. There are also apps which do the same thing and invest the extra amount. Signing up for such a service is a painless way to do this challenge and save some extra cash.
Pantry and Freezer challenge
Every few months, make it a challenge to use up items in your freezer and pantry before buying new groceries. Not only will you save money and reduce waste, but you may also end up with some creative new recipes!
Switch it up
Extend this to other areas of your home- e.g. household and personal items. Challenge yourself to use up what you have first before buying new products.
No Buy/ No Spend challenge
This challenge is ideal for you if you want to reset your spending habits. Start by choosing a time frame when you want to do this challenge. Next, decide on the areas that you want to impose no buy. For e.g., you can decide to not spend on eating out for a whole month, or you can do a complete no spend weekend. You are free to make up your own rules for this challenge but make sure that you keep them realistic so that you can stick to them.
Switch it up
If a no buy challenge doesn’t seem feasible, opt for a low buy challenge. So, instead of no buy coffee, you can do a low buy coffee challenge.
No matter which challenge you decide to do, as an added boost, keep a running tally of how much you are saving. Seeing that number in front of you will provide the extra encouragement you need to complete the challenge.
