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By Anne Purcell
Many people enter the new year with goals to try and save money. However, many people give up on their New Year’s resolutions by the second Friday in January, also known as quitting day. This is often due to not having a set plan or too high expectations.
This year, around 31% of Americans set out to spend less and save more, but if you are one of those who have already given up on that goal due to not having a plan in place or having too high expectations from the get-go, it isn’t too late to get back on track. Here are three money saving challenges to help you get on track with your saving goals.
To start this challenge, label 100 envelopes from 1 to 100. The number on the envelope dictates how much money you will put away on that day. For the next 100 days, pick a new envelope, put the corresponding amount of cash inside it, and then put the envelope aside. By the end of the 100 days, you will have put away over $5,000 in savings.
Once you complete this challenge, instead of keeping the money in the envelope, use it to open a certificate. Certificates often have higher rates than traditional saving accounts, and you can choose flexible maturity dates between three months and five years. This way, after you set aside the money you saved during your challenge, your money can grow without much extra effort from you.
This challenge helps you ensure that you are putting money away each week. With this challenge, you start by moving $1 into your savings account and upping that amount by another dollar each week. By the end of the year, you will have moved $1,378 into your savings account. Before beginning this challenge, check the interest rate you receive at your financial institution. Savings accounts have different rates, and by comparing savings accounts, you may find a bank or credit union that will help you save more without extra work.
A variation of this challenge is to move the money into your account bi-weekly. In this case, instead of putting in $1 on week one and $2 on week two, you could put in $2 on week one, $4 on week three, and so on. You can also tailor this challenge to your income and goals to save more or less.
There are multiple ways to go about completing this challenge, either by setting a time frame where you cut out unnecessary expenses or by picking a day of the week.
To start this challenge, pick a time frame and decide what to cut from your budget for that period. For example, if you want to cut down on money spent on takeout, make your no-spend money saving challenge that you will only eat at home for the next three months, no eating out or takeout. Another idea would be to pick something to cut each month. For example, cut out takeout for the first month, cut coffee from coffee shops for the second month and so on, for the rest of the year. Instead of spending that money, put the money you would have spent on those luxuries into your savings account.
Another way to accomplish the no-spending challenge is to pick a day of the week when you do not spend any money on unnecessary items. For example, if you are used to getting coffee and lunch every week while at work, eliminate that every Tuesday. While it may not seem like you are saving a lot, cutting out one day of unnecessary spending is a great way to save slowly.
If you already feel a little behind on your 2024 saving goals, you still have many months to get back on track. Instead of just pushing your goals out the window, try to incorporate one of the challenges above into your life to jumpstart your saving goals.
If the above saving goal challenges aren’t for you, there are many other ways to save. Open up a high-yield savings account or check out Alliant’s certificate rates— both of these are great resources to help aid your savings goal by allowing your money to work for you.
Want to read more about budgeting and saving? Check out one of these blogs:
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