Saving just got a lot less boring.
Saving money is a great way to improve your financial security and increase your standard of living. But it can be really hard to lock all that money away when there are so many things you want to buy with it right now. Making a list of your goals and tracking your progress can be helpful, but it doesn't work for everyone.
That's why some people are turning to gamification to help them save, and it seems to be working. One Commonwealth study found that gamification helped customers save 25% more often than people who didn't use this strategy. If you're up for trying it, here are a few money-saving challenges you can try to complete in 2023.
1. No-Spend Challenge
The name pretty much sums up this challenge. You choose a time period you're comfortable with -- it could be a week or a month -- and during that time, you only spend money on essentials. So you'll still pay for your groceries and your mortgage, but you might skip desserts or trips to the movie theater.
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Put all the extra cash from your No-Spend Challenge into a high-yield savings account. This will help you earn a higher rate of interest on your funds, which can grow your net worth even faster.
2. 52-Week Saving Challenge
This challenge encourages you to build a savings habit by gradually saving a little more each week. During the first week of the year, you save $1. In the second week, you save $2. And the week after that, you save $3, and so on, until you reach $52 saved for the last week of the year. If you stick with this, you'll have saved $1,378 by the time we ring in 2024.
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And you can feel free to tweak this challenge if you feel it's too easy or too difficult. You could increase the amount you save by $5 intervals each week, for example, or aim to increase the amount you save every other week instead of every week.
3. "Who Can Save the Most?" Challenge
This is a great option for those who have a competitive streak or do best when they're working with someone else toward the same goal. Essentially, you compete to see which member of your household can reduce their average monthly spending the most.
Start by looking at a few of your previous month's expenses to get a baseline for what you normally spend. Then, cut discretionary purchases, use coupons, and employ whatever other tactics are necessary to cut your spending as much as possible. At the end of the month, compare your results with the rest of your household. You may even want to set up a prize for the winner.
4. Round-Up Challenge
The Round-Up Challenge involves rounding up every purchase to the nearest dollar and putting the excess change in savings. It might not seem like much, but it could still be possible to save several hundred dollars each year this way, depending on how much you normally buy.
If doing this math sounds too complicated for you, look for a budgeting app or bank account, like Chime, that will do this for you. There are even some investing apps, like Acorns, that have this round-up feature.
5. 2023 Challenge
In honor of the year 2023, make it your goal to save $2,023. This challenge doesn't have a ton of rules, so you can decide how you'll get there. Setting mini-targets along the way (i.e. saving half the total by July 1) is a great strategy for keeping yourself motivated and on track.
6. Pantry Challenge
We're all guilty of buying food that we don't get around to eating or ingredients that go bad before we can use them. This challenge encourages you to cut down on that food waste and slash your grocery bill in the process.
Do your best to use up some of the older items in your pantry before you buy new ones. There are apps out there that can help you find recipes based on the ingredients you already have if you're struggling to come up with ideas on your own. This could even help you find some new favorite dishes.
7. No Dining Out Challenge
If the Pantry Challenge sounds a little too daunting for you, opt for the No Dining Out Challenge instead. This is where you skip restaurants and takeout for a set amount of time. A month is a good starting point for a lot of people. Alternately, you could decide to limit yourself to only going out to eat a certain number of times per month during the year.
Or you could make your own
The above challenges are just suggestions of things you could try. But you know yourself best. If you want to tweak some of the rules above or create your own challenge to help yourself save, go for it. Keep refining it as the year goes on and track your progress to see how much your savings account balance has grown.
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FAQs
There are no complicated rules to remember. Week 1, you save $1.00. Week 2 you save $2.00, and it continues through the year, adding one more dollar to each week's savings goal. By Week 52, you'll set aside $52.00, which will bring the year's total savings to $1,378!
What is the 25 cent challenge? ›
Get started with the challenge
Kids start small and gradually deposit a little more into a kids savings account every week for 52 weeks — a full year. For example, during week one your child puts 25 cents into savings. On the second week, 50 cents is added. On the third week 75 cents gets deposited.
What is the best money saving challenge? ›
The 52-week money challenge works like this: Start by depositing $1 in week one, $2 in week two, $3 in week three and so on. Keep the funds you save in an interest-bearing savings account. By week 52, you'll have amassed a full $1,378 in savings.
How to save $10,000 in 365 days? ›
You do that by breaking it down into smaller chunks. Instead of thinking about saving $10,000 in a year, try focusing on saving $27.40 per day – what's also known as the “27.40 rule” because $27.40 multiplied by 365 equals $10,001.
How to save $5,000 with the 52-week money challenge? ›
Here are a few more ways to save $5,000 by the end of 2023:
- Save $96.16 every week.
- Save $192.31 every two weeks.
- Save $416.67 every month.
- Save $1,250 every quarter.
- Save $2,500 every six months.
So, you'll deposit $1 into your savings account during Week One, $2 during Week Two, and so on, until you reach Week 52 and deposit $52. Your total savings over the 52 weeks should total to $1,378.
What is the $3 a week savings challenge? ›
The plan is refreshingly easy, even for the math-challenged: set aside $3 in the first week and put it into a savings account. Then add another $3 each week after, so $6 is saved in week two, $9 in week three, and so on. By week 26, when the final deposit of $78 is made, the savings will total $1,053.
What is the 1 penny challenge? ›
The 1p saving challenge is a popular money saving challenge where you make a minimal daily deposit to grow your savings over time. This challenge requires you to save 1 penny on the first day, gradually increasing the amount by adding 1 penny each day, and maintaining the daily incremental increase for 365 days.
What is the $50 challenge? ›
Save $50 a week with this 52 Week Savings challenge will help you to meet all of your savings goals. Each week you tick of each amount in order to save the full 2600 in the amount of weeks in a year. Saving can be hard but with this you can make it a fun challenge. Safe enough a week to add to the savings pot.
What is the 5 savings challenge? ›
The fiver challenge - save £7,000
This challenge works the same as the 52 week challenge, but you go up in multiples of £5 rather than £1. So week one = £5, week two = £10, all the way up to week 52 at £260. Alternatively, if you're not in the position to save these larger amounts, you could save £5 every week instead.
It works like this: Gather 100 envelopes and number them from 1 to 100. 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.
What is the $10 savings challenge? ›
"Save $10 a week with this 52 Week Savings challenge will help you to meet all of your savings goals. Each week you tick of each amount in order to save the full 520 in the amount of weeks in a year. Saving can be hard but with this you can make it a fun challenge. Safe enough a week to add to the savings pot.
How can I save $5000 in 6 months with 100 envelopes? ›
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.
How to save up $100,000 fast? ›
Five tips to help you save $100,000 faster
- Live below your means and cut frivolous spending. ...
- Be hyper-aware of every monthly expense and ruthlessly cut back to save faster. ...
- Pay down high-interest debts like credit cards first. ...
- Find the financial institution that will get you the highest interest rate.
The $27.40 Rule is a straightforward savings strategy — it involves setting aside $27.40 every day. This amount, seemingly small and manageable for many, adds up significantly over time. Saving $27.40 daily leads to approximately $10,000 in savings annually.
What is the weekly money challenge? ›
Getting started is simple: During your first week, you save $1. The next week, stash away $2. Increase the amount saved by $1 each week for 52 weeks — a full year.
How much money will you save with the 52 week challenge? ›
The idea is simple – you start by saving $1 at the end of week 1, $2 at the end of week 2, and so on until the end of the year, and by then you will have amassed $1,378!
What if I save $100 every 2 weeks for a year? ›
If you save $100 every two weeks for a year, you will have a total of $2,600 [1]. Here's the breakdown: There are 52 weeks in a year, and if you save every two weeks, you will save 26 times in a year. Each time you save $100, you will accumulate a total of $2,600 over the course of the year.
