Take the 52-Week Money Challenge

What is the 52-Week Money Challenge?

The 52-week money challenge is a year-long savings plan that has you deposit an increasing amount of money every week. Traditionally, in the first week of the challenge, you’d save $1. In the second week, you’d put $2 in savings. By the 30th week, you should be setting aside $30 and in the last week of the challenge, you save $52. Your grand savings total by the end of the 52-week challenge should be $1,378.

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How to Get Started on the 52-Week Savings Challenge

Before you get started, you’ll need somewhere to store your money. While some people may prefer to use a piggy bank or an old coffee can, a savings account at a bank or credit union is a lot safer. Plus, you’ll be less tempted to dip into your savings before the end of the challenge if it isn’t physically in front of you. You might even choose to set up an automatic deposit to make sure you never miss a week.

Make sure you’re depositing your weekly savings in a high-yield savings account in your local bank or credit union, so that you can reap the benefits of earned interest. You also might choose to add the money you save during the challenge to an IRA, so that it can benefit you when you reach retirement.

Why is a Savings Challenge a Great Idea?

Participating in the 52-week money challenge won’t solve all your money issues, but it’s a great place to start, especially if saving money is a sore spot for you. There are other benefits of participating in a saving challenge, too!

• Due to the incremental nature of the challenge, it can give your more confidence about your ability to manage your finances. Think of how amazing you’ll feel when you complete the whole year and manage to save the entire amount.
• Not only is a savings challenge a chance to build your financial confidence, but it also gives you practice with budgeting. Since you must save different amounts each week, you have to think about how you’re spending your money every week in order to deposit the required amount.
• The 52-week savings challenge is more flexible than it seems. There’s no requirement that you have to start on January 1; you can start at any time, so long as you’re saving for the entire year. You don’t even have to go in numerical order! Feel free to start at depositing $52 the first week and count backwards until you’re only depositing $1 the last week. You might even choose to skip around a little and deposit different amounts every week. This is absolutely an option, so long as you deposit the entire amount.
• One of the greatest benefits to participating in a savings challenge is doing it with a friend and keeping each other accountable. It’s easy to want to skip a deposit, especially if you’d rather spend that money somewhere else, but having someone around to keep you on track can help you finish strong.

If you find it difficult to save money, the 52-week money challenge can be an excellent way to get started.