52-Week Money Challenge + Other Money Challenges to Save Money Fast

Do you want an easy way to save money fast in 2020? Check out the 52 week money challenge!

Whatever your financial goals, this savings challenge is a super simple way to create a solid savings habit and there is no better time to start a new savings habit than at the beginning of the new year. 

What is the 52 week Money Challenge?

The 52-week money challenge is an incremental savings plan where you save each week.

One of the reasons this challenge is one of the easiest to start with is that you can start saving money with as little as a dollar a week.

The premise of this money challenge is simple: each week the amount you save is equivalent to week of the year you are currently in.

For example, in Week 1, you save $1, in Week 2 you save $2– all the way up to Week 52. Saving $52 in the last week of the year.

How much money do you save on the 52 week challenge?

By the end of the year, you will have saved a total of $1,378.

How to Get Started with the Money Savings Challenge?

Savings goal?

One of the first decisions you need to make when you get started with this money challenge is what is your savings goal?

Are you funding your Emergency Fund? Are you putting money aside for your next car?

What is the goal of the Challenge?

Where will you save your money?

Are you automating your savings and putting your money into a savings account? Are you putting it into a piggy bank?

A great option if you don’t mind opening a separate bank account is to look into high yield savings accounts.

While you aren’t going to make tons of money, the interest tends to be better than your traditional savings account and certainly better than stuffing your money into a jar.

Pros and Cons of the 52 week money challenge

Like anything there are certainly pros and cons to consider when deciding if this money challenge is for you.

Money Challenge Pros

  • Easy to begin
  • Very straightforward
  • Cultivates savings habit
  • Builds savings momentum making it easier to stick with the savings plan.
  • Weekly savings feels more attainable than a larger lump sum payment

Money Challenge Cons

  • Maintaining a weekly savings schedule can be difficult to remember.
  • The last few weeks of the challenge are when you are putting aside the most money and this coincides with peak Holiday times and typically when families have less money to save. Saving $51 the week of Christmas may be problematic for some people.
  • The length of the challenge may feel discouraging.

52 Week Money Challenge Printable

If you are looking to get started with your very own 52 week money challenge, grab your very own blank 52 week money challenge printable below:

52 week money challenge

Other Money Challenges

The 52 week money challenge may not be for you, but all hope is not lost. There are tons of other options when it comes to saving money.

What is the $1 Challenge

The $1 challenge is just what it sounds like– you are saving dollar bills.

Typically in this challenge every dollar bill you come across or receive as change you can put into a savings account or some people have a special savings jar where they collect their $1’s.

What is the $5 Challenge

Similarly to the $1 Challenge, you will be saving all of the $5 bills that you come across.

One of the nice perks of these type challenges is there is not alot of pressure involved in saving.

They are low dollar amounts, making it easier to tuck these bills away without missing them too much, but still (surprisingly) over the course of months or the year you will still manage to put away quite a nest egg for yourself.

What is the Penny a Day Challenge?

The penny a day challenge is similar to the $1 and $5 challenge except that you are saving one penny for every day you are into the year.

Day 1 is $.01. Day 2 is $.02. And so on and so forth.

At the end of this challenge you will have saved $667.95.

Families on a tight budget may find this money challenge much more manageable as you can typically find coins around your house, on the ground, you can even recycle cans to come up with the change you need!

Bringing it all together

Savings challenges are a simple and straightforward way to start saving money and cultivate solid savings habits.

While it doesn’t matter which money challenge you choose or if you come up with your own, the important first steps are to have a savings goal and then creating a plan to get there.

One of my favorite twists to saving more money is saying no to impulse purchases and putting the money I would have spent on that quick snack or coffee and transferring the money over into my savings account.

If you have a fun money challenge that you love, please drop it below in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!

How to Save More Money with the 52 Week Money Challenge

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Kristen

Kristen is the founder and content creator at Mom Managing Chaos where she teaches busy moms how to simplify and organize their life and finances. She writes about frugal living, budgeting, productivity and organization.