365 day challenge

Save Nearly $500 with the 30 Day Money Challenge

January 6, 2015 By Jeffrey Strain 7 Comments

Save $465 with the 30 day money challenge

One of the main issues some people have with the 52 week money challenge is the length of time it takes to save the money. That challenge is a year long commitment, and there are some who would rather focus on saving money in a shorter period of time. For those people, the 30 Day Money Challenge may be the perfect solution (click on the image above to print out the challenge).

Build Good Habits with the 30 Day Money Challenge

The challenge works in the same way as the 52 week money challenge, but instead of spreading out over 52 weeks, it’s done in a period of one month. On the first day you save $1, on day two you save $2 and on day three you save $3. You continue doing this on a daily basis until you reach day 30, when you save $30. By following this schedule, at the end of the month you’ll have saved $465. Even better, you will have established a solid savings habit that you can use to save even more money during the following months if you decide to.

Find Your “Hurt Point”

One of the big advantages of the 30 day money challenge over the 52 week money challenge and the 356 day money challenge is that you’ll learn where your savings “hurt point” is much more quickly. That is, when the amount you’re saving turns from being easy to being a struggle to save.

While it may be easy to save $1 the first day, there is going to come a point during the 30 days when you realize saving a certain amount is difficult (or impossible). Finding out this hurt point quickly shouldn’t be seen as a failure of the challenge, but a great piece of information so that you can develop a challenge that works the best for you. While it could take months to find out the hurt point on the 52 week challenge, you’ll know what it is in less than a month with the 30 day money challenge.

The 30 Day Money Challenge is Highly Flexible

Another great aspect of the challenge is it doesn’t need to be done at the beginning of the year. You have 12 opportunities each year to begin as each new month gives you another chance to work at the challenge. You may want to do it 12 times in a row, or you may have certain months when you feel you have a better opportunity of completing the challenge. It gives you a bit more flexibility throughout the year to save during the times you’re most motivated.

The shortened period of time also doesn’t make the challenge appear to last forever. Many people have trouble focusing on something for an entire year, while they don’t have as much of a problem remaining engaged for 30 days. While this isn’t true for everyone, those who like to focus on shorter periods of time may find this money saving challenge geared more toward the way they like to save money.

The 30 Day Money Challenge is simply an alternative way to save money which will appeal to a certain group who want to begin saving. If it sounds like it would be a better fit than the other challenges out there, give it a go. As with all these challenges, the most important aspect is finding something that works for you so you can turn saving money into a lifetime habit.

For those of you who feel this might be too ambitious to begin with, you can also try the 30 day quarter challenge which uses the same principle, and will net you just over $100 after 30 days.

Supplement With Passive Savings

The past few years have been great for automated savings apps. A couple of good options you should check out are digit.co and acorns.com. Between the two, digit.co is certainly the most well known. This is because it is pretty much the ideal passive savings tool. You just create an account and let digit.co read your checking account’s transaction information. Digit will deduct a small amount – not enough to bounce any checks – and will sweep the results into an account you control. Pretty much all you need to do is sit back and watch the savings build up. Click here to learn more.

The 365 Day Money Challenge 2015

January 1, 2015 By Jeffrey Strain 4 Comments

Save money with the 365 day money challenge

The 52 week money challenge has become a popular method for saving money over the past couple of years, but it’s not the only way to increase one’s savings. For some people, the weekly method simply doesn’t meet their savings style. They need to concentrate on savings small amounts on a daily basis. Last year I had someone come to me with exactly that issue. She had attempted the 52 week money challenge, but failed and wanted to know if there was a challenge she could try that would help her get into a savings habit by doing it daily.

For those who need to begin the savings game, but aren’t confident they can do so because of past failures, the 365 day money challenge is the perfect place to begin. This is because it requires the participant to save a small amount of money each day, but the amounts are so small that even a child could do it. Since it is being done on a daily basis, there’s a much better chance the savings becomes a habit.

The 365 day money challenge concept is simple. A year consists of 365 days, so in the challenge, every day before you start your day, you are required to pay yourself. This is mandatory. Of all the things you pay on a daily basis, learning to pay yourself something is vitally important. For those who aren’t used to putting aside money for their future, the best way to instill this habit to to begin with small amounts. Conventional wisdom says it takes 3 weeks of doing something daily to form a habit, so making saving as easy as possible makes sense for the first 21 days to ensure success. In fact, it doesn’t hurt to spend more time in this habit-forming stage to make sure the habit truly takes hold.

(click on image to enlarge and print)Each morning when you start your day, you’ll pay yourself an amount of your choosing before you do any other activity. You can set the payment amount anywhere between one cent and $3.65. After you make the payment to yourself, you cross out the corresponding box on a 365 day money challenge sheet. The next morning, your payment can match any of the remaining amounts on your chart. You keep doing this day after day, each morning for a whole year. By the time you are done with the chart, you will have an extra $667.95 in savings. What’s more, you’ll have the financial habit of paying yourself to create savings, which will greatly reward and benefit you for the rest of your life.

There are two essential steps which will help you do the challenge. The first step is to print your challenge sheet, and place it somewhere where you will see it every single morning. You want to place it somewhere where it’s impossible to avoid. A good example would be to place it on the mirror in your bathroom. This way, it’ll be the first thing you see in the morning, before you even brush your teeth. Another good place would be right next to your coffee maker if you have a cup of coffee every morning. It should be in your sight at the beginning of each day so there’s no way to “accidentally” forget about the challenge.

The second step is to add a concrete action of actually paying yourself every morning. You need to do more than think, “Oh, I have that money so I’ll transfer it into my bank account the the end of the week.” You should physically go into your wallet or purse and place that day’s payment to yourself into a jar, or some other type of container specifically chosen just for this challenge. This container should be in the same spot where you have your challenge sheet so you’ll see it every morning when you get up. You’re making a payment to yourself, and it’s just as important as any payment you’d make to a store, bill or service provider. The truth is, it’s even more important, and it’s definitely the most crucial payment you’re going to make each day. Why? Because it’s a payment devoted to establishing your financial future.

For people who have had a hard time getting their finances together, the 365 day money challenge has advantages over the 52 week money challenge in two significant ways. The first is that anyone, no matter what their financial situation may be, can jump right in because anyone can afford to participate no matter what their current financial situation. If you can only afford to pay the absolute lowest amounts for the whole first month, you will have only have to find $4.65 after 30 days. It does not take a huge amount of money to receive the benefits the 365 day money challenge has to offer.

The second advantage is the 365 day money challenge is done each day instead of weekly. This requires you to think about saving money every day. By thinking about and taking a savings action daily, you are in a much better position to make saving money into a habit. Even if what you save each day isn’t a large amount, you benefit from thinking about it and taking an action on it.

By the time 2016 arrives (although it’s okay to begin the challenge at any time), you will be naturally conditioned to paying yourself first, and saving money will have become a part of your daily routine. On the other hand, only thinking about saving your money once a week makes it more difficult to form the savings habit. Since it takes 21 days of action to form the habit, instead of having that foundation after the first month, the 52 week money challenge will take about 5 months for the habit to form since the action is only being done once a week.

If you tried the 52 week money challenge in years past, and you were unable to finish it for whatever reason, give the 365 day money challenge a serious try. The same goes for any friends you have you have tried and failed. A $668 emergency fund is a great place to start when building your savings, but even more importantly, you’ll be in a position to save a lot more money in the years to come.

Zero Effort Money Saving Hacks

In recent years there has been an explosion in smartphone apps designed to help people save money and keep better track of their finances. One great savings app is digit.co. What digit does is take a look at your savings account balances and then makes small withdrawals to deposit into savings. It is easy to install and makes saving virtually effortless. Check it out at digit.co.

31 Tips to Help with the First Month of the 365 Day Money Challenge

January 2, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 2 Comments

If you’ve decided to participate in the 365 Day Money Challenge, as part of the challenge you need to make a payment to yourself each morning. In order to do that, you’ll need to begin thinking about simple changes that you can make to save money, as well as steps that you can take to earn more money in your spare time. By implementing both money saving and making opportunities, you’ll ensure that you have plenty of extra money to put toward the challenge. To get you started, here are 31 things you can do in January to help make sure that the challenge gets off to a great beginning.

1. Reduce Shaving Costs

Buy an electric razor or a safety razor to replace disposable razors. If you like disposables, sharpen them by running them across your jeans 20 times in each direction (see video) so they last a month or more longer than usual:

Here are some more simple tips on how to save money on shaving.

2. Avoid ATM Fees

Take a look at your bank records to see how much you have been paying in ATM fees. The answer should be $0.00. If you have paid ATM fees in the last year, you need to create a strategy where you will only use ATMs at your bank or credit union where there are no fees.

3. Improve Your Driving

Learn to be a better driver and increase the gas mileage you get. Don’t rev the engine or sprint start. Use cruise control on the highway. Drive the speed limit. Making minor changes to your driving habits can greatly increase your gas mileage. You can even save more gas with these tips.

4. Buy Discounted Gift Cards

Buy gift cards for retailers you frequent on the secondary market at discounted prices. You can usually get gas gift cards for 5% – 10% off retail. Grocery store gift cards can be found for about 5% off. Other retailers can be found for as much as 20% off. As long as the cards are for stores you frequent and for purchases that you’d regularly make, all the discounts are savings over paying by cash or debit card.

5. Take Advantage of Discounts

Take advantage of the discounts that are available to you. If you’re a student, always ask for a student discount. Check with your personnel department to see if your work offers discounts at local businesses. If you’re a member of AAA, become familiar with the discounts they offer. Always be on the lookout for discounts that are available to you.

6. Look for Lost Money

As you walk along this year, keep your eyes on the ground to find lost coins. There are plenty of places to find them. Even if you find only a few coins all year, they can still help toward days of the challenge.

7. Collect Box Tops for Education

Most people don’t know this, but Box Tops for Education are worth money and they’re easy to sell to parents who want to give them to their kids. Instead of throwing them away, save them, sell them, and use them to help you reach the challenge goal.

8. Use Your Library

Your library is a wonderful resource which can help you cut costs in many areas. Take some time to find out all of the things it has to offer, including all of the free services. You’ll likely be surprised by what they can offer and how much you can save with their resources. While you’re there, check out a book or two on personal finance and saving money.

9. Drink More Water

Start drinking more water to improve your health, and to cut down on the cost of other beverages. Doing so can save you $1000 in a year. The more water you drink, the less you will spend on other beverages.

10. Sell Stuff You Don’t Need

There’s a good chance that you have a lot of stuff around your house that has value, but you’re not using. If that’s the case, sell it. Not only will you get some extra money for it, you’ll be decluttering you place. There should be plenty of opportunities to do this throughout the year.

11. Wash Clothes in Cold Water

Unless your clothes are super dirty, there is no reason these days to wash them in hot or warm water. Most detergents work wonderfully in cold water, and your clothes should come out just as clean. Give it a try and it could save you quite a bit, since you’ll no longer need to heat water to wash your clothes. Here are some other tips that can save you money when washing clothes.

12. Buy Food in Season

There are many ways to save money on food, but one of the easiest is to learn to buy only fruits and vegetables that are in season. They taste great, and they’re a fraction of the cost of out of season produce.

13. Cut Back on Buying a Daily Coffee

If you’re in the habit of buying coffee on a regular basis, attempt skipping that cup at least once a week. You could also start making coffee at home and taking it with you to reduce the costs. You can even try to score free coffee.

14. Clip Coupons

Get in the habit of keeping your eyes open for coupons that you can use. Just be sure that they are for products that you already use which would buy even if you didn’t have the coupon, and not for new products that you’ve never tried before. Each coupon you use this way is just extra money in your pocket.

15. Don’t Drive Short Distances

When you need to go a short distance, choose to either walk or bike instead of getting in the car, at least some of the time. It’s a great habit to get into that will not only reduce your gas costs, but it will also help you get into better shape.

16. Take Advantage of Free Events

When you’re looking for entertainment, try to find options that are free. Many museums have a day each month with free admission. National Parks offer free entrance days several times a year. Local colleges and community centers may also offer entertainment at no cost.

17. Make Your Own Cleaners

The cleaning liquids you buy at the store can be quite expensive. Instead, opt for making your own cleaners for pennies on the dollar. They work just as well and they are more environmentally friendly as a bonus.

18. Cancel Memberships

A lot of times we join clubs and other facilities with the best intentions, but then life happens and we don’t use them like we imagined we would. Take the time to evaluate whether you’re getting the value out of any memberships that you are paying for each month. The ones that you aren’t using, cancel.

19. Use Half

Start using less of all the things that you have around the house. Many of the products that you use, you can use half the amount and they will still work perfectly well. Start with these 25 examples and try to find even more.

20. Check Your Dollar Bills

Start looking at the serial numbers of all the currency that you get back as change. If you get a bill that has a coveted number, it can be worth quite a bit. It only takes a second to look and could help you complete the challenge.

21. Pay Bills Online

If you haven’t already done so, check to see if you can pay your monthly bills online instead of by mail. It’s not only more convenient, you save the cost of the stamp and envelope as well. it can also help reduce the likelihood of a late payment and the fees that correspond with it.

22. Get an Energy Audit

Contact your local utility company and see if they offer free energy audits. Many do. If they don’t, they may offer them at a greatly discounted price. By getting one, you’ll see where your house is costing you money, and you’ll learn how you can fix those issues. You can also do a free home energy audit through Home Energy Saver which will let you compare what you pay with others in your area.

23. Maintain Your Weight

Get yourself to a healthy weight and maintain it. While there are numerous health benefits for doing this, it can also save you a fortune on clothes since you won’t have to be constantly buying new outfits.

24. Get on the Phone

Making a few phone calls can save you quite a bit of money and often times, all you have to do is ask. Here are ten that you should make at least once this year.

25. Pay Bills on Time

If you have ever made a late payment, and got charged for doing so, then you need to get yourself better organized so that it doesn’t happen again. One of these mistakes could be worth several days of payments toward the challenge, and there really isn’t an excuse for it. Take the time to put in a system so you know exactly when bills are due so that you don’t pay a late fee this year.

26. Watch Less TV

This is one of those tips that doesn’t seem like it will save you money on the surface, but really does if you start to practice it. In fact, it could give you the opportunity to create a whole new business and fund your entire retirement account. Start watching less and doing more of the things on your goal list.

27. Buy Used

If you need to purchase something, see if you can purchase it used instead of new. Most items drop drastically once they leave the store, so it’s possible to get new / nearly new items for much less, that still work great. Getting in the habit of purchasing lightly used products can save you a bundle of money.

28. Pack Your Own Food

Whether it’s a lunch for work or a meal and snacks for a day trip on the weekend, packing your own food will save you a lot versus eating out. Even better, you choose what goes in so it can be healthier. It takes a little time and effort to get into this habit, but it pays off tremendously for your pocket-book.

29. Throw in a Dry Towel

The next time that you need to use your dryer, throw in a dry beach towel along with the wet clothes (in fact, go and put one by your dryer right now so you remember to do it every time). The dry towel absorbs some of the moisture from the wet clothes enabling them all to dry faster. This cuts down on the time needed to dry them and the energy needed to run the dryer.

30. Fiverr

Take some time to think if there is anything that you would be willing to do or sell for $5. Maybe you have a skill that others might desire or you can make something that others want. Fiverr is a place where everything on offer is for $5. If you can find something that you don’t mind doing in your spare time at this price, this can be a great way to earn a bit of extra money.

31. Pet / House Sit

There is a good chance that there are families in your area who would love to find a reliable person who is able to pet / house sit for them. Most people don’t think of this as something to do in their spare time, but it can be. The best part is once you get a good reputation, you’ll have more work than you know what to do with.

These are just a few ways that you might be able to save or earn some extra money this month to help cross off some of those higher numbers on your challenge sheet. Adopt the ones you can and replace the ones you can’t with some other way to save or earn a little more in your spare time.

365 Day Money Challenge (click on image to print)

(Top photo courtesy of Kristy Johnson)

The 365 Day Money Challenge Will Save You $668, a Penny at a Time

January 1, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 91 Comments

The 52 week money challenge has gained quite a lot of popularity as a way to save money during the year, but it’s not the only way to save money. I had a good heart-to-heart talk with a woman who told me she loved the concept of the 52 week money challenge, but she simply couldn’t do it. She explained that each week when she needed to put aside the money for that week, she would panic. The first couple of months were okay because the dollar amounts were low, but as they started to increase, the weekend became a time of terror because she knew she needed to put away money that she didn’t have. She ended up giving up because the challenge was causing more stress than it was worth. She asked me if I knew of a different challenge that might be able to help her.

I didn’t know of any, but the more I thought about it, it became clear what she needed. She liked the concept, but dreaded when it was time to put money away, because she didn’t have it when the week ended. What she needed was a challenge that forced her to save money before it was gone. She also needed a challenge where the amount of money she was supposed to save was small until saving became a habit. This would help so that she didn’t panic. The idea I came up with was the 365 day money challenge.

Get In The Habit of Paying Yourself

The concept of the challenge is simple. There are 365 days in the year. Every day before you go out, you need to pay yourself first. This is vitally important. The panic the woman had was because she didn’t have the money to save each week because she waited until the end to pay toward the challenge. What she needed to do was pay herself first.

The second important point is that until paying yourself first becomes a habit, it needs to be extremely easy to do. They say it takes three weeks to form a habit, so it’s important to make saving as easy as possible for those first 21 days. Longer is even better.

This is how the challenge works. Each morning when you get up, you need to pay yourself some amount before you do anything else. The payment can be anywhere between a single penny to $3.65. Once you have made that payment to yourself, you “x” out the box on your chart. Your next payment the following morning can be any of the remaining amounts on the chart. You continue to do this each and every morning for the entire year. When you are done, you will have saved $667.95. Even better, you will have formed the essential financial habit of paying yourself first which will be an asset the rest of your life.

365 Day Money Challenge (click on image to print)

There are a couple of important steps that go along with the challenge. First, after printing out the challenge sheet, you need to place it somewhere where you’ll absolutely see it each and every morning – someplace like on the mirror in your bathroom. It needs to be visible and in your face each morning, so you’ll be less likely to forget about it.

The second step is that you physically need to make the payment each and every morning. You need to go to your purse or wallet and actually place the amount you decide to pay yourself that day into a jar (or other container) specifically for this challenge. Paying yourself is just as important as any payment you make to a store, bill or service. In fact it’s the most important payment you’ll make each day because it’s for your future benefit.

Advantages of This Challenge

There are two huge advantages of this challenge over the 52 week money challenge for those who have struggled to get their finances in order. The first is that you’re starting with such small amounts that anyone, no matter what their current financial situation, can participate. If all you can do is pay the absolute minimum amount each day for the first month, you’re only out $4.65 for 30 days. There is nothing holding anyone back from trying the challenge except themselves.

The second advantage is that this challenge is done on a daily basis. It requires you to think about saving every day. Even though the amount that needs to be saved isn’t much, the process of thinking about it will cross your mind each morning as you pay yourself. By the end of the year, paying yourself and saving money each day will be a natural part of your day. When you are only thinking about saving once a week, you might end up only thinking of it at the end of the week, and the entire process never gets instilled as a habit.

If you have attempted the 52 week challenge and failed (or you know a friend who has), you should seriously consider trying this challenge. $668 is a good start to an emergency fund, but even more important than that, you’ll put yourself in the position to save much more money in the following years. If you do attempt this challenge, it’s still worth following the 2014 Savings Challenge and 2014 Making Money Challenge as both will give you good ideas on how you can afford to make the higher daily payments.

Zero Effort Money Saving Hacks

Finally, the last few years have seen an explosion in applications designed to help people hack their savings. One great savings hack is to install digit.co. What digit does is analyze your savings account balances and then automatically makes small withdrawals which are swept into a savings account for you. It’s super easy to install. Once you have it activated, it takes pretty much no effort to save – Digit does all the work for you. Check it out at digit.co.

Finally, if you don’t like any of the options above, here are some other challenge articles that might fit your personality:

Twice a Month (Bi-Monthly)
Monthly
52 Week Alternatives
52 Week Standard
52 Week Variation
52 Week Make Money
52 Week Kids

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