mega challenge

For those of you who want to really tackle a challenge this year, forget the 52 week money challenge and opt for the 52 week mega money challenge. The mega challenge is based on the standard challenge, but instead of beginning week one with a $1 deposit into the challenge fund, the mega challenge begins with $5. Then each week of the year, you multiply that week’s number by $5. In week two, the goal is $10, in week three it’s $15, and so on until the last week of the year (week 52) when you deposit $260 into the fund.

Although the price is steep, the reward is worth it. If you’re able to accomplish the challenge, you’ll have an extra $6,890 in your bank account at the end of the year.

Mega Money Challenge (click on image to print)

Since the numbers are much higher in this challenge, the amount you need to save toward the end of the year can be quite a bit. In fact, you need to save over $1,000 in December alone to accomplish the goal.

Flexible Challenge Alternative

For those who would like to make the payments with a more flexible schedule, the alternate version can help. In this version, all the amounts are listed at the bottom of the chart, and you choose which one you want to make each week. This allows you to knock off the larger amounts at anytime, and you can save the lower amounts when finances become unexpectedly tight. This version basically takes into account that life happens and the resources you thought you would have, might not materialize each month as expected. When this happens, there is enough flexibility that you can continue the challenge even if you don’t quite reach the amount you were shooting for each week.

Alternate Mega Money Challenge

(click on image to print)

This is an excellent challenge for those who are highly motivated and currently have the income to support saving more. That being said, the amount saved isn’t nearly as important as making it through the challenge. You would be much better off shooting for a lower amount and completing the entire challenge, than trying for a larger amount and quitting in the middle.

The purpose of all the 52 week challenge is to get you into the habit of saving money each week, and a side benefit is that you can begin to fund your emergency savings as well. Shoot for the highest amount you feel confident you can achieve, but definitely don’t overextend yourself to the point that you end up quitting.

The next question is why stop at $5 for the mega challenge? Why not do a $10 or $20 mega challenge? While these amounts could certainly be done, if you’re able to save these amounts, this type of challenge wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense, since you could be doing so much more with that amount of money than sticking it into a bank account or a jar.

In the end, the most important part of the money saving challenge is picking the one that is the best fit for your savings habits. If large amounts motivate you to do everything possible to save, then the mega challenge might be perfect for you. If not, then you may want to consider some of the other variations:

365 Days
52 Week Standard
52 Week Variation
52 Week Make Money
52 Week Double
52 Week Mini
52 Week Kids
26 Bi-Weekly
24 Bi-Monthly
12 Monthly

Zero Effort Money Saving Hacks

If money challenges don’t seem like the thing for you, you may want to use your smartphone to help you save some cash. One of the best savings apps out there is digit.co. What digit does is take a look at your savings balances and then automatically makes a series of small withdrawals to place into savings for you. It is easy to install and once you’ve activated your account, Digit does the rest. It truly makes saving effortless. Check it out at digit.co.