52 Week Money Challenge Free Printable.
There are a lot of different ways to save money. But perhaps one of the most fun ways to approach saving is with a challenge! Challenging yourself to save more and more as the year goes on is very motivating to many people, and a great way to put aside $1,000+ in your savings/emergency fund by the end of the year. So if you’ve struggled with saving before, here’s how toSave Money with the 52 Week Money Saving Challenge! Free printable included!
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While this challenge is designed to be started in January, if you’re coming across this later in the year, that’s okay. Just add up the amount from the weeks you missed, put that into savings, then go ahead with the challenge as normal. That’s why the challenge starts with the smallest amounts first!
Save Money with the 52 Week Money Saving Challenge
I wish I could say that I invented the 52 week money saving challenge, but I didn’t. I actually don’t know who created it, but I think it started around 2012/2013, or at least that’s when it became popular online. And unlike some money saving trends, the 52 week challenge has stayed strong across the years, with newcomers and old challengers doing it every year since its creation. That’s because the challenge works! It takes away the stress of figuring out how much to save and when to set it aside, and tells you exactly what to do and when.
But that doesn’t mean you have to stick strictly to the challenge’s rules. If you get paid every other week, it’s fine to combine the suggested savings for two weeks and deposit your savings twice a month instead of every week. You could even combine the savings for a whole month into one big monthly savings deposit. Whatever works for you and your budget. But if you know it’s likely you’ll spend the money on non-necessities if you have it on hand, it’d be best to put it into savings every week, just to keep it safe.
There are some variations on this challenge out there. Some use higher weekly amounts, allowing you to save more throughout the year. But I think a +$1 saving system is easier if you’re new to saving, or are on a tight budget. I’ve also seen some challenges arranged in the reverse order, with the highest savings at the start of the year. But my feeling with that is that at the start of the year, people are more likely to have tight budgets as a result of the holidays, so are more likely to give up on the challenge faster. Also, it’s less encouraging to put less away as the year goes on, because the amount you’ll see in your savings will go up less and less. But those are personal preferences, because really, there’s no wrong way to save!
52 Week Money Saving Challenge Tips
Here are my tips on how to best succeed with the 52 week money saving challenge:
First, I would put the money away as soon as you get paid. If you get paid on an irregular schedule or every 2 weeks, pick a day to be savings day, like every Friday. Since the savings amounts are always changing, you won’t be able to set up an automatic deposit for the challenge, you’ll have to transfer the money manually.
Second, I suggest putting the savings in an actual savings account or money market account. Those types of accounts have a limit on withdrawls (6 per month). If you put the money in a checking account you can take it out without any limits, but a savings/money market account’s limits will (hopefully) make you think twice before dipping into your savings. Savings/money market accounts also tend to have better interest rates than checking accounts, so your money will grow a bit more in them.
Lastly, I’d have a goal for this money. That way when the year is over, you won’t just transfer it into checking and use it on something non-essential. Putting it into your emergency fund is never a bad idea, or you could use it as a sinking fund for something you’ll need to buy the following year. Or just use the money to pay down debt (I have a printable worksheet for that, too!).
Download Your 52 Week Money Saving Challenge Free Printable Here
If you complete this challenge you’ll have a little over $1,300 set aside, which is a good sum of money! Good luck!
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Have you ever completed the 52 week money saving challenge before?
You might also be interested in: 25 Free Budgeting Printables
FAQs
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.
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!
Is 52-week money challenge worth it? ›
The 52-week savings plan
If you're new to the 52-week money challenge, the first month or so you might wonder if it will take 52 years to see progress because you start so small. But know that this savings plan is effective, and it can help you sock away more than a thousand dollars in a year — $1,378 to be exact.
What is the $3 52-week money challenge? ›
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.
How to save $5000 in 3 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 much is $1 dollar a day for a year? ›
The answer to that question depends on interest rates or rates of return. With no interest involved, putting one dollar a day into a bank account (or a jar at home) will see you end up with $365 in a year. Multiply that amount by 30 years and you'll end up with $10,950.
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.
How much would I have if I saved $100 for 100 days? ›
Since this is social media, after all, said envelopes should look really cool for the videos. On day one, put $1 in envelope 1. On day 2, put $2 in envelope 2. Continue this way until day 100, when your final savings deposit of $100 will bring you to a grand total of $5,050.
What is the 100 envelope savings challenge? ›
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.
How do you save $1 a week then $2? ›
You can complete the 52-week money challenge in three simple steps: Start by depositing $1 in week one, $2 in week two, $3 in week three and so on. Stash your cash in a high-yield savings account. Keep up the momentum by automating future savings.
Each day for 100 days, you'll set aside a predetermined dollar amount in different envelopes. After just over 3 months, you could have more than $5,000 saved.
How much money can you save with the 52 week challenge? ›
Check out our guide on how to budget to start getting a handle on your spending and saving. You'll end the challenge with over $1,300 saved If you successfully complete the 52-week money challenge, you'll have $1,378 set aside.
What is the $5 challenge? ›
You simply save every single $5 bill you get. So, whenever you get change you will be hoarding those $5 bills like a chipmunk collecting nuts for winter. You can use a piggy bank or simply make a $5 challenge envelope to keep your cold hard cash in.
What is the $5000 challenge in a year? ›
“Chunk” Your Savings
The first step to saving $5,000 in a year is to break down your savings goal into manageable portions. The easiest way to do this is to “chunk” your savings contributions so they align with your pay schedule. For instance, if you're paid weekly, aim to save around $97 each week.
What is the 2 dollar a week savings challenge? ›
The concept is simple: Start off by saving one dollar the first week, two dollars the second week, three dollars the third week and so on. If you stick with this for a whole year, your savings will amount to $1378.00! Another option to the challenge is doing it backwards.
How to save $5,000 in a year challenge? ›
Here are eight ways to save $5,000 in a year with small, manageable steps.
- “Chunk” Your Savings. ...
- Automate Your Savings. ...
- Save in a High-Yield Saving Account. ...
- Track Your Cash Flow. ...
- Boost Your Earnings. ...
- Declutter for Cash. ...
- Evaluate Your Subscriptions. ...
- Challenge Yourself.
You can save over $5,000 in just over three months with the 100 envelope challenge. 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.
What is the $5000 savings challenge? ›
The 100-envelope challenge can make it fun to dedicate more cash to savings. Using envelopes labeled 1 to 100, you could set aside more than $5,000 over 100 days. If you can't afford to stash that much, you could halve the amount of cash you set aside or stretch out the number of days the challenge lasts.
What is the $5 52 week money challenge? ›
52 Week $5 Challenge
For this challenge you save $5 your first week, and add an additional $5 every week going forward. So, week one is $5, week two is $10, week three is $15, and so on. When you finish at 52 weeks, you will have a whopping balance of $6,890!
