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52 week money challenge

30 Day Money Saving Challenge: Save $100 in One Month with Quarters

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30 day money saving challenge
Now that the new year is underway, people across the country are striving to make their resolutions a reality. If your goal is to increase your emergency savings (or even start your first emergency savings account), a quick money challenge can be an excellent option. While popular approaches like the 52-Week and 365-Day challenges are great choices, they do require a full year commitment. If you want to start with something shorter, this 30-day money saving challenge might be right for you.

How to Save $100 in a 30 Days

If you want to start slow or simply have a need for a quick $100, you can painlessly get the money you need with a 30-day quarter challenge. This approach is great for individuals who are living paycheck to paycheck, as the daily deposits never exceed $7.50.

On day one, deposit $0.25 in your savings account, the value of one quarter. Then, on day two, you deposit two quarters instead of one, making your deposit into your savings account $0.50 and bringing your balance up to $0.75.

As you proceed with the challenge, you just add $0.25, or one quarter, to the deposit amount from the previous day. On day 10, your deposit will be $2.50. On day 20, you’ll reach $5.00. Finally, your day 30 deposit is only $7.50.

You can also remember the amount by recognizing that the number of quarters you deposit matches the day of the challenge. For example, on day 10, you would deposit 10 quarters, which have a value of $2.50.

At the end of the challenge, you’ll have $116.25 in your account. Plus, if you put the money in a high-yield savings account, you might even earn a little bit of interest too.

If you would rather do the challenge in cash, you can place the appropriate number of quarters into a jar at home instead. However, you won’t earn any interest this way, and you might have to wrap up your change in rolls before depositing it into a savings account.

Want to Save $500 in 30 Days Instead?

If you want to challenge yourself, and pull together almost $500 instead of $100, then use dollars instead of quarters. On day one, deposit $1.00. Then, deposit $2.00 on day two, $3.00 on day three, and so on until you finish the 30 days.

At the end of a 30-day dollar challenge, you’ll have $465 in the bank. Plus, your largest deposit is just $30, the cost of a single fast food meal for many families of four.

Benefits of the 30-Day Money Saving Challenge

While the biggest benefit of completing the 30-day challenge is increasing the balance in your savings account, you also get more out of it than that. Along the way, you are setting good savings habits, helping you create a solid financial cushion in case of an emergency.

Plus, there is nothing to say that you have to stop after 30 days. You could always keep going, increasing your deposit by $0.25 each day until you reach a particular savings goal or hit the end of the year. Alternatively, if you are living paycheck to paycheck, you can start over each month, using the date to guide the size of your deposit. That way, your largest daily deposit never exceeds $7.75, making it much more manageable for anyone with a tight budget.

Consider Money Saving Apps

A great way to supplement your savings is the automated approach with an application like Empower

Simply sign up and let the program analyze your checking account. The app will then make automated withdrawals which don’t impact your spending and sweeps them to an account you control. It is a super easy way to save money without a lot of effort. Click here to check it out.

In either case, you are creating an easy way to bolster your savings, ensuring that you have a health emergency fund in place at all times.

Do you have a tip for saving $100 a month? Share it in the comments below.

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30 day money saving challenge

Kickstart Your Savings With The Original 52 Week Money Challenge

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saving money challenge

A few years ago different challenges began to pop up on the internet. Whether it be a challenge to help you lose weight or save money people were (and still are) going crazy for them. One of the most popular of these online challenges was the 52-week money challenge.

What is the 52 Week Money Challenge?

The 52-week money challenge was designed to help people kickstart or add to their savings over the span of a year. Week-by-week you add to your savings until you reach the grand total of $1,378 at the end of the year. Finding a challenge like this helps many people stick to a savings plan (if they didn’t have one already). It is also a great way for those new to saving to get started.  Challenges are also really excellent ways to develop good savings habits and they can be a fun way to get connected with other savers.

How to Do The 52 Week Money Challenge

If you’re interested in trying out the 52-week money challenge you’ll be joining a community of thousands of people that have done the same.  Internet searches for the 52-week money challenge show that the challenge receives about 600,000 searches per year – it’s very popular.

The 52-week money challenge is fairly simple to follow. The first week (week one) you save $1; week two, $2; week three, $3. At the end of the year (on week 52) you will save $52 (illustrated in the photo below).

52 Week Money Challenge
After the 52 weeks is over you’ll have more than $1,300 stashed away (a great emergency fund, starting savings or even additional savings). If you would like to track your 52-week money challenge, download and print the blank challenge sheet.

A lot of people start the 52-week money challenge but never end up finishing.  One great way to solve this problem is to find some friends who can help you.  A good place to do this is the savings advice forums.  Many of the forum members are doing the challenge themselves and it is a good place to discuss any financial questions you might have.  Click here to check out the forums.

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Other Fun Money Challenges

Because thousands of people have tried the 52-week money challenge there are many variations on it and the other money challenges out there to try as well. Many people have shortened it, made the savings contribution less or more. Here are just a few 52-week money challenge alternatives:

You can also create your own money challenge by downloading and creating your own chart and system based on your own personal finances. For instance, if you can save $20 a week through the year you can use the same 52-week chart with alternative numbers.

Try This Cool Savings Hack

If you don’t want to try the 52-week money challenge (or any other money challenge) but still want to save money, there’s an app for that! There are a ton of awesome apps that help you hack savings. One of the best apps to do so is Empower. Empoer analyzes your individual savings and automatically withdrawals small amounts of money over time to deposit into savings. All you have to do is download the app, sign up and Empower does the rest. Download the Empower app now and start saving today!

Photo: Odyssey Online

Take The Reverse Money Challenge

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Reverse Money Challenge
Money challenge articles and savings challenges began to take over the Internet and social media sites, such as Pinterest, a few years ago. These challenges offered people an opportunity to get started saving or make saving a fun activity for the family to do together.

Savings challenges and money challenges have helped tons of people to reach short-term savings goals. Some of the most popular challenges include the 365 Day Money Challenge, the 52-Week Money Challenge and the 12-Week Money Challenge. Each of these has variations to the rules because, as you know, saving isn’t the same for everyone.

One popular variation on a money challenge is the reverse 52-Week Money Challenge. For many people the reverse money challenge is easier to pull off than the original.

52-Week Money Challenge

The 52-Week Money Challenge is a challenge that, in theory, starts the first week of the year. Many people begin this challenge as a part of their New Year’s resolution to save more money in the new year. The challenge starts out with the participant saving $1 in the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week and so on. At the end of the challenge you save $1,378.

Like many savings plans and challenges people found issues. What worked for some did not work for everyone. The main complaint surrounding the 52-Week Money Challenge is that you are required (by the plan) to save more money around the holidays. Since this time of year is when most people are low on money because they are buying gifts and preparing larger meals many found it difficult to save more. That is when the Reverse Money Challenge was thought of.

Reverse Money Challenge

The Reverse Money Challenge is just like the 52-Week Money Challenge described above. The only difference is that in the first week of the challenge you save $52. You then go on to save $51 the second week, $50 the third week, $49 the fourth week and so on. The last week of the year you save $1 and you still save the grand total of $1,378.

Many people like this approach for multiple reasons. As previously stated many people have a difficult time saving more money around the holidays. There are also quite a few people that feel more motivated at the beginning of a challenge than the end. As your enthusiasm about the challenge fades the amount of money that you will have to save will decrease. This will make it easier to stick to the savings plan in the long run for many people.

If you are looking to adopt a savings plan or take on a money challenge, make sure to do your research. Many money challenges are year-long challenges. If your need for the money saved is more urgent you may want to try something like the 12-Week Money Challenge, which helps you save $1,000 in 12 weeks. There are also money challenges for couples, kids and college students as well. You can find a savings plan or money challenge to suit your savings needs.

Zero Effort Money Saving Hacks

Smartphone applications are made to make your life easier. In recent years more and more personal finance apps have begun to surface. One great savings app is Empower. Empower studies your income and spending and then makes withdrawals to place in your savings account automatically. * Once you’ve registered for Empower, all you have to do is set your weekly savings target and from there Empower does the rest. Check it out at Empower

* Banking services for new accounts provided by nbkc bank, Member FDIC.

Photo: Flickr: 401(K) 2012

10 Money Saving Challenges to Try

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10 Savings Challenges
It seems that social media has blown up with “challenges” in recent years. “Like and comment this many times and I’ll do 50 pushups” or year-long savings challenges seem to be all over sites like Facebook and Pinterest. Some of these challenges, however, can really help your wallet. Let’s take a look at 10 of the best savings challenges on the Web:

1.Track Everything Challenge

This challenge will give you a better idea of where your money is going. Take 30 days and track every penny you spend and what you spend it on. At the end of the month, draw up a budget and pick places where you think you spend too much money and make some cuts. This is a great idea to not only save money but also get better control of your finances. The longer you keep this tracking challenge up, the more conscious you’ll become of how you are spending your money and it will affect your long-term financial health.

2. The 52 Week Savings Challenge

The 52 week savings challenge is a great way to save if you’ve made saving money your New Year’s resolution. You start the savings plan out with saving $1 the first week, $2 the second, $3 the third and so on. Many people use this base model of a savings challenge and alter it to their specific needs. Some people start with saving $52 and regress back to $1 the final week of the year (this makes it so that you don’t have to save as much around the holidays). At the end of the year you will have saved $1,378.00.

3.The 365 Day Money Challenge

The 365 Day Money Challenge is similar to the 52 Week Money Challenge. The major difference is that you are saving pennies at a time, not dollars and the amount increases daily instead of weekly. On day one of the challenge, you save $0.01 (usually people use a jar for this challenge). The second day you would save $0.02, the third $0.03 and so on. At the end of the 365 days you will have save $667.95.

4. The 12-Week Savings Challenge

This savings challenge approach is a bit more aggressive than the two previously listed. The 12-week savings challenge starts with you saving $60 in the first week and increasing each week by $5 (Week 2: $65, Week 3: $70, Week 4: $75 and so on). At the end of the 12 weeks you will have saved $1,000. This is recommended if you are looking to save $1,000 within a specific period of time. Some people also just repeat this savings challenge over and over again, saving $1,000 at a time.

5. The Bi-Weekly Money Challenge

The 52-Week Money Challenge can be difficult for those who don’t get paid weekly. Because of this, the bi-weekly money challenge was created. You still save the grand total of $1,378, however, you don’t have to put money aside weekly. Instead you start out by saving $3 the first week and increasing by $4 each week after that (Week 2: $7, Week 3: $11, Week 4: $15 and so on).

6. Mega 52 Week Money Challenge

If you are looking to save more than $1,378, you may want to try the Mega 52-Week Money Challenge. The mega challenge starts out by saving $5 and increasing by $5 each week (Week 2: $10, Week 3: $15, Week 4: $20 and so on). By the end of the year you will have saved $6,890. If this is something you are able to pull off, it is a great way to save a fair amount of money throughout the year.

7. 52 Week Mini Money Challenge

Like the mega money challenge allows people to save more money, the mini money challenge allows people to save a little less over the span of the year. It is still over the span of 52 weeks, however, you start with a smaller amount ($0.50). Week one you save $0.50, week two $1, week three $1.50 and so on. At the end of the year you will have saved $674.

8. The ‘No Spend’ Challenge

The “no spend” challenge is much like the tracking challenge. You return to the basics. The “no spend” challenge forces people to only pay for the necessities (rent, utilities, bills, gas, food, etc.). For the “no spend” challenge you would cease to spend money on things like going out to eat, shopping (clothing, etc) and going to events or places like the movies. If you have to spend money on it and it is not a necessity, you simply don’t do it. This challenge can save you a ton of money if you are able to pull it off over a long span of time.

9. Spare Change Challenge

Many people think the spare change challenge is only useful if you spend cash daily. You spend cash but don’t touch the change and at the end of the day you place the change in a jar or piggy bank. However, many banks allow their members to set up “spare change” savings account. For instance, Wells Fargo has a round up option. You spend $3.55 on milk at the grocer, $.045 goes into savings (it rounds up to the next dollar). You will be surprised to see how quickly these savings stack up! Make the challenge more interesting and vow to not touch your spare change savings for an entire year and see how much money you can save.

10. Automate Your Savings

The easiest challenge of them all is one you don’t have to think about doing. Like the spare change accounts, you can also set up monthly, weekly and even daily withdraws from checking into savings. Or, you can use a savings app like digit.co, which takes small amounts and puts it away for you.

The saving advice forums is a great spot for discussing savings challenges, money management and more. Sign up here to continue the conversation.

Photo: Flickr: 401(K) 2012

The 52 Week Money Challenge Is About Much More Than Saving $1378

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the 52 week money challenge is about forming a savings habit
It’s the beginning of a New Year, and one place many people focus on improving is their finances. A popular challenge over the last two years has been the 52 week money challenge. The concept is pretty simple. Each week you save the dollar amount equal to the week it happens to be during the year. For example, in week one you need to put $1 aside. In week two, you put $2 aside. In week five you save $5 and in week fifty-two, your save $52. By the end of the year, if you succeed in saving each week, you will have amassed $1,378.

There is an assumption that the 52 week money challenge is all about trying to save $1,378 during a one year period. While this is the direct result if one accomplishes the entire challenge, it’s missing the bigger point of the challenge. What the 52 week money challenge is really trying to do, and what’s its true goal is, is getting you into the habit of saving money each and every week.

Think about it. There are plenty of ways you can go about saving $1,378. In fact, there are a number of actions you could take to earn that much much more quickly. You could sell a single object (or a variety) that you have in your home that’s worth that much. You could take on a second job and earn that much in a few months. It’s not so much the amount that’s important, but the way that amount of money is saved.

The true brilliance of the 52 week challenge is that it forces you to save every week, even if all you can save is a little bit of money. It instills a habit, and that habit is finding a way to save something, no matter how little, each and every week of the year.

It’s also brilliant in that you can begin forming the saving money habit with an amount that’s so small that anyone can do it. All you need to save the first week is $1. Anyone can do that. Once you do that, then you have the confidence you can also save $2. Then $3 in week three and $4 in week four. During the first twelve weeks, the most you will have to save in any one of those weeks is $12. That may not seem like a lot of money, but it’s an important three month period where you have formed the foundation of a new habit. That habit is to save money each week.

For those who are going to attempt to do the 52 week money challenge, the important lesson of the challenge isn’t to complete it, as much as to continue to do it for the entire year. The amounts saved each week are arbitrary. Whether you decide to do the classic 52 week challenge (start with $1 in week one and end with $52 in week fifty-two) or the alternative 52 week challenge (you choose the amount to save each week between $1 and $52), saving the $1,378 by 2016 is secondary to saving some amount each week. With that in mind, you should consider creating your own 52 week money challenge which tries to save this amount (part of the challenge is challenging you to save more money than you think you can), but where you won’t stop even if you don’t make your goal for one week. Far more important than saving a specific amount each week is to save something each week.

The reason this is important is because once you have established the habit, you can choose any amount to save at any time. You have made it a part of your regular life to put away something each week, and you can do it this year in and year out. Some weeks it will be a little, while other weeks it will be more, but every week you will be saving some amount of money. Establishing this habit is the foundation of learning to be debt free and save money for your future. It’s the cornerstone from which you can build the financial life that will keep you debt free and putting away money so you have it during emergencies.

Before you dismiss the 52 week money challenge as a gimmick, realize that beneath it is a an important habit-building program which can benefit you in numerous ways, and this is the reason you should do it. Do your best to achieve the challenge however you determine to lay it out for yourself, but never forget the true importance is to save some amount, any amount (yes, even a penny if that is all you can one week), each week for a year so you have an ingrained habit of saving money every week for the rest of your life.

No Effort Money Saving Hacks

If you are making a conscious effort to save more money you may be looking for a savings hack. In recent years, smartphone applications that make saving money easier have become more popular. One great app is digit.co. It makes saving completely effortless by analyzing your account, making small withdrawals, and placing them into your savings accounts. Once you’ve downloaded it and activated your account, Digit does the rest. Check it out at digit.co.

The 52 Week Money Challenge Is About Much More Than Saving $1,378

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the 52 week money challenge is about forming a savings habit
It’s the beginning of a New Year, and one place many people focus on improving is their finances. A popular challenge over the last two years has been the 52 week money challenge. The concept is pretty simple. Each week you save the dollar amount equal to the week it happens to be during the year. For example, in week one you need to put $1 aside. In week two, you put $2 aside. In week five you save $5 and in week fifty-two, your save $52. By the end of the year, if you succeed in saving each week, you will have amassed $1,378.

There is an assumption that the 52 week money challenge is all about trying to save $1,378 during a one year period. While this is the direct result if one accomplishes the entire challenge, it’s missing the bigger point of the challenge. What the 52 week money challenge is really trying to do, and what’s its true goal is, is getting you into the habit of saving money each and every week.

Think about it. There are plenty of ways you can go about saving $1,378. In fact, there are a number of actions you could take to earn that much much more quickly. You could sell a single object (or a variety) that you have in your home that’s worth that much. You could take on a second job and earn that much in a few months. It’s not so much the amount that’s important, but the way that amount of money is saved.

The true brilliance of the 52 week challenge is that it forces you to save every week, even if all you can save is a little bit of money. It instills a habit, and that habit is finding a way to save something, no matter how little, each and every week of the year.

It’s also brilliant in that you can begin forming the saving money habit with an amount that’s so small that anyone can do it. All you need to save the first week is $1. Anyone can do that. Once you do that, then you have the confidence you can also save $2. Then $3 in week three and $4 in week four. During the first twelve weeks, the most you will have to save in any one of those weeks is $12. That may not seem like a lot of money, but it’s an important three month period where you have formed the foundation of a new habit. That habit is to save money each week.

For those who are going to attempt to do the 52 week money challenge, the important lesson of the challenge isn’t to complete it, as much as to continue to do it for the entire year. The amounts saved each week are arbitrary. Whether you decide to do the classic 52 week challenge (start with $1 in week one and end with $52 in week fifty-two) or the alternative 52 week challenge (you choose the amount to save each week between $1 and $52), saving the $1,378 by 2016 is secondary to saving some amount each week. With that in mind, you should consider creating your own 52 week money challenge which tries to save this amount (part of the challenge is challenging you to save more money than you think you can), but where you won’t stop even if you don’t make your goal for one week. Far more important than saving a specific amount each week is to save something each week.

The reason this is important is because once you have established the habit, you can choose any amount to save at any time. You have made it a part of your regular life to put away something each week, and you can do it this year in and year out. Some weeks it will be a little, while other weeks it will be more, but every week you will be saving some amount of money. Establishing this habit is the foundation of learning to be debt free and save money for your future. It’s the cornerstone from which you can build the financial life that will keep you debt free and putting away money so you have it during emergencies.

Before you dismiss the 52 week money challenge as a gimmick, realize that beneath it is a an important habit-building program which can benefit you in numerous ways, and this is the reason you should do it. Do your best to achieve the challenge however you determine to lay it out for yourself, but never forget the true importance is to save some amount, any amount (yes, even a penny if that is all you can one week), each week for a year so you have an ingrained habit of saving money every week for the rest of your life.

Zero Effort Money Saving Hacks

If you are making a conscious effort to save more money you may be looking for a savings hack. In recent years smartphone applications to make saving easier have become more popular. One great app is digit.co. It makes saving completely effortless by analyzing your account, making small withdrawals and placing them into your savings accounts. Once you’ve downloaded it and activated your account, Digit does the rest. Check it out at digit.co.