Saving money doesn’t have to feel boring or difficult! If you are looking for a money-saving challenge, this is the most complete guide you will find. These 20-plus money challenges for 2024 will help you save big!
Something I learned when I was a kid is that when you make something a game, even the most mundane task can be fun. That’s what is so magical about these money-saving challenges.
Instead of needing to create a new habit or discipline, doing a challenge makes saving your money so much more fun.
21 Money-Saving Challenges To Try in 2024
If you want to kick your savings into high gear, these challenges are where you need to start. Read through all of them and pick out the ones that sound the most enjoyable to you.
You’ll be even more successful if you do these challenges with your family and friends. Invite them to save money along with you.
The good news is that it’s never too late to get your finances in order!
1. No-Spend Challenge
The No-Spend Challenge is one of the most popular money saving challenges you will find. I wrote a guide to the No-Spend Challenge that lays out how to do it and get the most out of it.
At the most basic level, a no-spend challenge is where you go for a set amount of time and don’t spend any extra money. I’m talking about money beyond the basics of food/house/gas.
It’s like fasting, but with your spending habits.
You can do this for as long or as short of a time period as you want. Try it for a month or start out with just a week.
2. 52-Week Money Challenge Backwards
The typical 52-week money challenge is where you save $1 the first week, $2, the second week, and so on. By the end of the year, you would have saved $1,378.
Turn this challenge upside down and do it backward. This is how it will look:
- $52 into savings: week 1
- $51 into savings: week 2
- $50 into savings: week 3
- $49 into savings: week 4
Continue that pattern and decrease the amount you put away by a dollar each week. This is a great way to save money because by the time the holidays hit, you’ll be able to pay for Christmas gifts!
3. 8-Week Vacation Savings Plan
You can complete this challenge in just two months – talk about instant gratification. With this challenge, you’ll save $1,000 in 8 weeks instead of all year long.
The Soccer Mom Blog has all the details – and it has two parts. You have to put a set amount into savings each week. You also have to cut back on spending a certain amount over this time frame too.
4. Holiday Helper Fund
This is a way to get ahead of the huge expenses of the holidays. Starting January 1, set aside $20 from each week’s budget and put it into savings.
You can use this for holiday gift buying, or use it to save up for a vacation or another major expense. By the end of November, you will save an extra $960 on a bi-weekly budget.
You can even set aside your money in a Christmas Cash Envelope. Grab yours for free here.
5. 52-Week Savings Challenge
This is probably one of the most popular savings challenges on this list. If you follow this correctly, at the end of a year, you will have saved an additional $1,378.
Here’s how it work:
- $1 into savings: week 1
- $2 into savings: week 2
- $3 into savings: week 3
- $4 into savings: week 4
Keep doing this until week 52, when you will put $52 into savings!
If you want a free printable, A Helicopter Mom has one that is easy to follow and will help you stay on track.
6. 26-Week Bi-Weekly Savings Plan
Instead of a weekly challenge, this one challenges you to save money every-other week.
This is a better idea if you prefer to deposit money into savings on the same schedule as your paycheck.
By the end of this challenge, you could save $1,404 – it takes a year, just like the 52-week challenge.
This is how it will look:
- 1st week: put $4 into savings
- 3rd week: put $8 into savings
- 5th week: put $12 into savings
- 7th week: put $16 into savings
You simply increase the amount by $4 every two weeks, then you can enjoy watching your savings account grow.
7. 365-Day Nickel-Saving Challenge
This challenge is for anyone that feels overwhelmed making weekly or bi-weekly deposits – and you end up saving even more money with it.
This post explains how to do the challenge in detail.
Here is how this challenge works:
- 1st day, deposit $0.05 into savings
- 2nd day, deposit $0.10 into savings
- 3rd day, deposit $0.15 into savings
Basically, you add a nickel to the previous day’s savings every single day. Then by the last day, you will deposit $18.40.
When you look at those numbers, they seem so doable! The best thing is that when you add it all up, the total you will put into savings will be a whopping $3,300!
8. $1 Bill Save
The $1 bill challenge is super self-explanatory. Every time you get a one dollar bill as change, put it in your savings envelope.
This challenge works best if you already use the envelope system. If your envelope becomes too large, then consider adding all your $1 bills to a large jar. Count it out at the end of the year and use it on something FUN. You’ll be surprised just how much money you can save!
9. Weather Savings Challenge
This is a really fun challenge that is really random! This blogger in Arizona came up with this idea. Once a week, you deposit money into savings that matches the high temperature that day.
If you live somewhere mild, this will be easy. Living in Arizona, this blogger deposited as much as $105 some weeks.
Don’t want to make weekly deposits? Then look back at the end of the month for the average high temperature each week. Multiply it by 4 and deposit that much into your account!
10. 31-Days To Improve Your Financial Life
Want something that is a lot more challenging? Follow this challenge from Part-Time Money. It will take you step-by-step through an entire month of financial habits that will completely change how you save and spend your money.
They give you a brand new task or challenge each day, and then give you the tools and resources to do them. This is the perfect 31-Day challenge for beginners!
11. 3-Month Savings Money Challenge
This challenge only lasts for 3 months, so if you don’t want to commit to something all year long, this is the one for you.
If you follow this challenge, you can save up to $1,000 in those three months.
You’ll do this by saving exactly $84 per week. Sound tough? Browse our saving money tips for insights and inspiration.
12. Spare Change
Lots of people have used this challenge as a way to save money. Remember the opening clip in the movie Up? They did it too.
Whenever you get loose change, you put it in a jar or piggy bank. When that jar fills up, take it to the bank and put it in your savings account.
If you have never tried to save your loose change, it might surprise you how much you can accumulate.
The only downside to this challenge is that it won’t work that well if you never pay with cash.
13. Expense Tracking Challenge
Have you ever tracked your expenses before? It’s a really effective way to visually see where your money is going and how to save more.
If you haven’t tracked expenses, use this as an opportunity to start. Challenge yourself to write and categorize every single purchase for an entire month.
You might be shocked at how much you spend on certain things!
14. 26 Paycheck Challenge For Smaller Budgets
This challenge is for anyone that budgets every paycheck – which is a lot of people!
You increase the amount you put into savings by $10 each week. The first week you deposit $10 and the 2nd week you deposit $20.
The cool thing about this challenge is that it caps at $60 which is perfect for those with smaller budgets.
At the end of 26 paychecks (which is about a year), you will have an extra $1,000 in savings!
15. No Eating Out Challenge
This challenge is for anyone that needs something with a quick-win! If saving up money seems too intimidating, try to just stop eating out for an entire month.
This one habit might help you save more money than you realize. That’s the fun thing about these little challenges.
You can even choose 3 months out of the year for this savings challenge. You’ll be shocked by how much money you can save when you cut out restaurants. Plus, you can pair this challenge with another easy one like the $1 bill challenge and save even more.
16. The Penny Challenge
This challenge is a lot like the spare change challenge. The only difference is that you are saving all of your pennies, not all of the loose change.
It’s pretty surprising to take a large jar of pennies to the bank and discover how much you have.
Put all of this money directly into savings as soon as your jar fills up.
17. Cancellation Challenge
The cancellation challenge is just as simple as the “no eating out” challenge.
Sit down with your spouse and look at all of your subscriptions. Cancel as many as possible.
Then, take it a step farther. What about other places you spend money? Do you spend money each month on any apps? What about reloading cards like a Starbucks account?
Cancel as many things as possible and put the money you would spend on them directly into savings.
18. Little Vices Savings Challenge
The little vices challenge will take a little more effort and time. You’ll have to think about every single purchase and decide whether it is a vice or a necessary one.
Vice purchases are things you can live without. This includes impulse buys at the register or coffee while you are out doing errands.
You have a few options with this challenge. You can either cut out all vices for an entire month or cut out certain vices for an even longer period of time.
Do what works for you and pick a method that you will be able to follow.
19. Round-Up Money Saving Challenge
Some banks allow you to round up purchases to the nearest dollar and then deposit the change into a connected savings account.
If your bank doesn’t offer this, pick from one of these apps that can do it for you.
20. 1% Challenge
This is another challenge that you can do without even lifting a finger. Go into your workplace and increase your 401(k) contribution by 1%.
Then, in 2 months, go in and increase it by another 1%.
If you don’t have a retirement account or want to do this challenge without using one, just calculate 1% of your gross pay. Then, divide that by your total paychecks for the year, and put that amount into a savings account after your first paycheck.
Follow the same process when you increase your savings to a higher percentage, then enjoy watching your nest egg get bigger and bigger.
21. Money Throwdown
This one is a lot of fun! Challenge a friend or family member and see who can save the most money in a month.
You’ll just need to work out the rules and how you will evaluate how much you saved.
Stay Motivated During A Money Saving Challenge
Smaller and quicker challenges allow you to make progress without losing motivation. But what about the challenges that last all year?
The best way to stay motivated throughout a money saving challenge is to visually track your progress.
Grab the free printable below to track your progress. Simply color in a box each time you save $100. Post this page somewhere you’ll see it often to stay motivated!
Final Thoughts
Sometimes, doing a challenge is a really fun way to kickstart a new lifestyle of budgeting and saving money. Pick out a few of these challenges and discover how much you can save!
Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts
As an expert and enthusiast, I have personal experiences or opinions, but I can provide you with information on the concepts mentioned in this article. Here's a breakdown of the different money-saving challenges mentioned:
No-Spend Challenge
The No-Spend Challenge is a popular money-saving challenge where you go for a set amount of time without spending any extra money beyond the basics of food, housing, and gas. The challenge is similar to fasting, but with your spending habits. You can choose the duration of the challenge, whether it's a week or a month [[1]].
52-Week Money Challenge Backwards
The 52-Week Money Challenge is a savings challenge where you save a specific amount of money each week, starting with $1 and increasing by $1 each week. However, the article suggests doing the challenge backward, starting with $52 and decreasing by $1 each week. This way, you'll have more money saved by the end of the year, which can be used for holiday expenses [[2]].
8-Week Vacation Savings Plan
The 8-Week Vacation Savings Plan is a challenge that helps you save $1,000 in just two months. The challenge involves putting a set amount of money into savings each week and cutting back on spending during that time frame. The Soccer Mom Blog provides more details on how to complete this challenge [[3]].
Holiday Helper Fund
The Holiday Helper Fund is a challenge that helps you save money for the expenses of the holiday season. Starting from January 1, you set aside $20 from each week's budget and put it into savings. By the end of November, you will have saved an extra $960 on a bi-weekly budget. This money can be used for holiday gift buying or other major expenses [[4]].
52-Week Savings Challenge
The 52-Week Savings Challenge is a popular challenge where you save a specific amount of money each week, starting with $1 and increasing by $1 each week. By the end of the year, you will have saved an additional $1,378. A printable version of this challenge is available on A Helicopter Mom [[5]].
26-Week Bi-Weekly Savings Plan
The 26-Week Bi-Weekly Savings Plan is a challenge that involves saving money every other week, aligning with your paycheck schedule. The challenge suggests increasing the amount saved by $4 every two weeks. By the end of the challenge, you could save $1,404 in a year [[6]].
365-Day Nickel-Saving Challenge
The 365-Day Nickel-Saving Challenge is a challenge where you deposit a small amount of money into savings every day, starting with $0.05 and increasing by $0.05 each day. By the last day, you will deposit $18.40, resulting in a total savings of $3,300 [[7]].
$1 Bill Challenge
The $1 Bill Challenge involves saving every one dollar bill you receive as change. You can put the bills in a savings envelope or a large jar. By the end of the year, you might be surprised by how much money you have saved [[8]].
Weather Savings Challenge
The Weather Savings Challenge is a fun and random challenge where you deposit money into savings that matches the high temperature of the day. This challenge allows you to save more money if you live in a place with higher temperatures. Alternatively, you can calculate the average high temperature for each week and deposit that amount into your account [[9]].
31-Days To Improve Your Financial Life
The 31-Days To Improve Your Financial Life challenge is a month-long challenge that provides daily tasks or challenges to help you improve your financial habits. It aims to change how you save and spend your money. Part-Time Money offers this challenge with tools and resources to support you [[10]].
3-Month Savings Money Challenge
The 3-Month Savings Money Challenge is a challenge that lasts for three months, allowing you to save up to $1,000. The challenge involves saving exactly $84 per week. This challenge is suitable for those who don't want to commit to a year-long challenge [[11]].
Spare Change Challenge
The Spare Change Challenge involves saving loose change in a jar or piggy bank. Once the jar is full, you can deposit the money into your savings account. This challenge can accumulate a surprising amount of money over time, especially if you frequently use cash for transactions [[12]].
Expense Tracking Challenge
The Expense Tracking Challenge involves tracking and categorizing every single purchase for an entire month. This challenge helps you visually see where your money is going and identify areas where you can save more. It can be an eye-opening experience to realize how much you spend on certain things [[13]].
26 Paycheck Challenge For Smaller Budgets
The 26 Paycheck Challenge is designed for those who budget every paycheck. It involves increasing the amount you save by $10 each week. By the end of 26 paychecks (approximately a year), you will have an extra $1,000 in savings. This challenge is suitable for those with smaller budgets [[14]].
No Eating Out Challenge
The No Eating Out Challenge involves refraining from eating out for a specific period, such as a month or three months. This challenge can help you save a significant amount of money by cutting out restaurant expenses. Combining this challenge with other savings challenges, such as the $1 bill challenge, can further increase your savings [[15]].
The Penny Challenge
The Penny Challenge is similar to the Spare Change Challenge, but specifically focuses on saving pennies. You save all your pennies in a jar and deposit them into your savings account once the jar is full. This challenge can accumulate a surprising amount of money over time [[16]].
Cancellation Challenge
The Cancellation Challenge involves reviewing your subscriptions and canceling as many as possible. Additionally, you can identify other areas where you spend money, such as monthly app subscriptions or reloading cards, and cancel or reduce those expenses. The money saved from canceled subscriptions can be redirected to your savings account [[17]].
Little Vices Savings Challenge
The Little Vices Savings Challenge involves identifying and cutting out unnecessary purchases or vices. This challenge requires careful consideration of each purchase to determine if it is a necessary expense or a vice. You can choose to cut out all vices for a month or eliminate specific vices for a longer period of time [[18]].
Round-Up Money Saving Challenge
The Round-Up Money Saving Challenge involves rounding up your purchases to the nearest dollar and depositing the change into a connected savings account. Some banks offer this feature, or you can use apps that provide round-up savings options [[19]].
1% Challenge
The 1% Challenge involves increasing your retirement account contribution by 1% every two months. If you don't have a retirement account, you can calculate 1% of your gross pay, divide it by the total number of paychecks for the year, and deposit that amount into a savings account after your first paycheck. This challenge helps you gradually increase your savings over time [[20]].
Money Throwdown
The Money Throwdown is a challenge where you compete with a friend or family member to see who can save the most money in a month. You can establish rules and evaluate the amount saved to determine the winner. This challenge adds a fun and competitive element to saving money [[21]].
Remember, these challenges are meant to make saving money more enjoyable and engaging. Choose the challenges that resonate with you and align with your financial goals.
