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Want to save $5000 in 26 weeks? Let’s take a look at a 26 week money saving challenge to get you there.
What is a Money Saving Challenge?
A money saving challenge is simply a challenge (goal) that you set out for yourself to save a certain amount of money.
These are wildly popular and if you search Google or Pinterest you are almost guaranteed to find one to fit your money saving goals.
Biweekly Savings Plan
Now that you know what a money saving challenge is, you need to decide what your savings goals will be for your challenge. In this article we will focus on saving $5,000, but you can 100% customize these plans to meet your savings goals.
DIY Biweekly Savings Plan
If you’ve been budgeting your biweekly paychecks for more than a minute, you know what a challenge it can be some months to make your income and expenses work together seamlessly.
My first suggestion would be to take a look at your budget and see currently where and when you have extra money you can throw towards your savings goals.
If you know that you have an extra $25 you could put towards your challenge, start there.
If you are able to cut back expenses or make a little extra cash, you can add that in as well.
Money Saving Challenge – Biweekly | Saving $5000 in 26 Weeks
If you don’t like the idea of DIY, here is a printable made just for you. It will help you save more money to meet your financial goals.
There are two things to keep in mind when planning out your success with theses money challenges:
First, you will greatly improve your odds of success by paying yourself first when you get your paychecks. If you wait to pay yourself with the leftovers—you get the leftovers!
Second, I would highly recommend that you save for your challenge in an account where you won’t be tempted to touch it and preferably something that earns a little interest.
Two banks that I often use for my savings goals are Ally Bank and Capital One 360 Savings accounts. I’m not an affiliate for either, just a happy customer!
They both get a little more interest than your typical savings account and because they are not my everyday bank, it really helps to solidify those funds as a separate entity and adds another step if you find yourself tempted to dip into savings.
Get Instant Access & Start Customizing Your
Digital BiWeekly Savings Plan
Save $5000 in just 26 weeks! Use this savings plan or create your own. Fully customizable with this Google Sheets biweekly savings plan. Can also be downloaded as an Excel Spreadsheet or Downloaded as a PDF.
$6.99 $4.99
Looking for the free printable version? Download the pre-made printable PDF.
How to Find More Money to Save.
Now that you know what a money saving challenge is and that you want to save $5,000, you make be wondering how you are going to make this work with your budget.
You have two real options when it comes to increasing your savings. You can either cut expenses or you can increase your income.
Cutting Expenses
Let’s take a quick look at a few common places people tend to overspend. If you want a more in depth look at where you can cut expenses, check out my favorite ways to cut expenses.
Food
One area where most people struggle is with budgeting food. Whether that’s meal planning or eating out.
So if you are looking for a starting point, this would be a great place to begin.
Entertainment
While $7 and $10 a month on subscription services may not seem like much, they definitely add up over time. Books, movies, concerts. If you are willing to put in a little work there are almost always free or cheaper alternatives.
Books: go to the library or used book stores.
Movies: Redbox is $1.75. Definitely cheaper than going to the movies or renting from Apple TV/ Amazon etc.
Concerts: Check your city’s websites. There are often free festivals and events.
Housing Costs
I know this seems like a crazy budget line to include, but for most people housing is their largest expense.
I’m not just talking your rent or mortgage payment, although that is a good place to start. Take a look at your utilities, insurance, etc.
Am I recommending you go out and sell your house? No. Each family’s financial situation is different. But consider if you are a family of 3 living in a 5 bedroom house that’s eating up 30% of your take home pay. Is that worth it?
If nothing else, I would invite you to take a look at the percentage of your take home pay that your housing costs are consuming.
For those who don’t like math: Just take your rent or mortgage and divide by your total take home pay. That will give you a number with a decimal. Once you get that number, multiply it by 100. Bada bing, bada boom.
People in high cost of living areas I hear you about how crazy housing costs are. I live in a high cost of living area, so I feel you on a deep emotional level. This is not going to work the same for 100% people.
You are just trying to find solutions for your problems.
Disposable products
Want to save money and the Earth too. Consider ditching disposable products and finding alternative options. Check out #4 in my article, Living Super Frugally aka living life on the cheap!
Make More Money
The other option is to make more money aka get yourself a side hustle. Here are a few quick and easy ways to make some extra cash.
This by no means is an exhaustive list, but it will definitely get you started.
Selling your stuff
Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Flea Markets, Garage Sales. Take a look around and see if there’s anything you no longer need or use. A pretty simple and straightforward way to make a little extra money.
Sell your services
Dog walker, baby sitter, house sitter, mother’s helper. This has little to no cost to you and is pretty simple to get started.
Become a Driver
Driving for Uber, Lift, Instacart, and there are tons more.
Take Surveys.
Vindale Research , Survey Junkie are just a few. There are tons of survey sites.
No you will not get rich doing surveys, but it is relatively easy money.
Bringing It All Together
Saving money on your biweekly paycheck can be accomplished with a clear plan and consistency. I would love to hear how you’ve rocked your money saving challenges.
Please comment below!
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