We’d all like to save a little more every year. With money tight all around, it’s not easy to always stick to a saving plan. The new year is just around the corner, so now is the time to set yourself a target with a money saving challenge! With a 52 week savings challenge you can save some serious cash!
The Weekly Challenge
You may have heard about the 52 week savings challenge before and the, perhaps traditional method of running the challenge is to save £1 in week 1, then £2 in week 2. By the end of the year you’ll have saved £1378! How does that sound for a years worth of saving? Whilst you might find it easy during January, it might get a little bit harder towards the end of the year. Especially in December when you’ll need to find around £50 a week for your savings pot. If that doesn’t sound manageable to you, I’ve figure out an alternative 52 weeks savings challenge.
Save Towards A Specific Target
The first thing to do in this alternative 52 weeks savings challenge is to decide on the amount you want to save. It could be £200. It could be £500. Maybe you want a couple of grand in your savings pot by the end of 2021? Whatever the target, divide it by 52. This gives you your weekly amount to save. If your target is £200, you need to save £3.85 each week. £500 would be £9.62. I’ll leave you to figure out the weekly amount for your money saving challenge target.
Where Do I Put My 52 Week Savings Challenge Money?
You need to decide exactly where you’re going to save your 52 week savings challenge money. Where will you put it? Some people use a money savings jar. My idea is to set up a separate savings account attached to your current account. You should be able to do this online, by creating an e-saver or similar. This is now your new savings pot for the challenge. Some banks will even let you rename it within your banking profile so it’s easier to identify. Automatic payments are now your friend. If you’re saving the same amount each week to hit a specific money saving challenge target, set up a money transfer between your current account and new savings account. It’s easy to do via your online banking and you can select which day of the week the cash will move and simply input the amount to transfer and the 52 weekly payments. Once this is set up, it’s done. You need not think anything more about it. This might be slightly more difficult with a different amount each week but it’s still possible.
Start Saving & Be Happy
For many of us it’s hard to find the money to save right now. Be realistic with your target too. Another idea is to put away £10 in the first month, £20 in the second. Whilst it’s not technically a 52 week savings challenge it might be more attainable for some people and it will save you £780 over the course of the year. Do what works for you, save what you can and be happy!
