New Year's Resolution

10 Great Alternatives to the Classic 52 Week Money Challenge

January 1, 2015 By Jeffrey Strain 12 Comments

10 alternatives to the 52 week money challenge

It’s that time of year when people are looking to improve their finances as part of their upcoming New Year’s resolutions. One way that many decide to do this is through the 52 week money challenge. However, this doesn’t work for everyone, so instead, here are 10 alternatives.

How the 52 Week Money Challenge Works

The challenge is a simple and effective way to save money. All you have to do is save $1 corresponding to the week of the year. For example, during week one, you would save $1. During week two you would save $2 and during week three you would save $3. You continue this every week of the year until the last week when you would save $52. By doing this each week, at the end of the year you will save $1,378.

Limitations of the Challenge

While the classic challenge can help a lot of people save money, there are some limitations to it. The challenge doesn’t always fit everyone’s financial situation. Because of this, there are numerous alternatives to this challenge – one of which is likely to fit nicely with your current finances and financial goals. Below you’ll find ten alternatives to the 52 week money challenge to consider.

Click on the headlines for more details about each challenge and to print that specific challenge sheet.

1) Modified 52 Week Money Challenge

The modified 52 week money challenge allows you to choose how much you save each week from $1 to $52. Instead of going in order from $1 to $52, you can choose any amount left on your challenge chart. Since it’s difficult to predict when you will have a week where you can’t save as much as you had hoped, this modified challenge gives you more flexibility to succeed. The goals should always be to save the highest amount on your chart, but if you can’t for whatever reason, you can substitute it for a smaller amount.

2) 26 Bi-Weekly Money Challenge

Some people get paid bi-weekly and find it easier to save the money for the challenge when they get paid, rather than each week. They find that when it comes to week 2 after they have been paid, they may not have the money left to save. For them, it’s easier to pay the money for the two weeks as soon as they get paid and they have it available. You can also try the twice a month money challenge if you get paid this way rather than bi-weekly.

3) Monthly Money Challenge

Much like the issue that people who get paid bi-weekly have, those who get paid monthly also can find it difficult to save the money the week before they’re paid. Many find it easier to pay for the entire month when they get paid and have the money. It’s the classic “you don’t miss what you can’t see” philosophy behind pay yourself first.

4) Double 52 Week Money Challengeempo

For those who want a bit more of a challenge than simply $1 a week, they can try the 52 week double challenge. In this challenge all the numbers are doubled, so at the end of the year you end up with $2,756 instead of $1,378. It’s a great challenge for those who believe they can save a little more and want to challenge their savings a bit more.

5) Mega 52 Week Money Challenge

For those who are really looking to jumpstart their savings, the mega 52 week money challenge might be exactly what they’re looking for. Instead of $1 a week, the mega challenge shoots for $5 a week. For those able to complete the mega challenge, they will find an extra $6,890 in their bank account at the end of the year.

6) 52 Week Mini Money Challenge

Also called the 52 week half challenge, this one uses $0.50 each week instead of $1. This makes it easier to save the money, but it also means you’ll end up with half as much at the end of the year ($674 instead of $1,378). For those who want to take the challenge, but start a bit slower, this can be the perfect alternative.

7) 52 Week Coin Challenge

On the opposite end of the double and mega challenges is the 52 week change challenge. In this challenge, you simply save the number of coins for each week of the year. In week one you save a single coin, while in week fifty-two, you save 52 coins. The amount you save will depend on the value of the coins you save each week. Another option is to save specific coins during the year such as a 52 week challenge for pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

8) 52 Week Bill Challenge

The 52 week bill challenge is like the coin challenge, but uses bills instead. In the first week, you save a single bill (it could be a $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100 bill), week two, 2 bills and week fifty-two, 52 different bills. In this challenge you would save a minimum of $1,378 (if you only used $1 bills), but it could be much more depending on the bill denominations you save each week.

9) 365 Day Money Challenge

Some people find that in order to save money, they need to do it on a daily rather than weekly basis. For those who want to make sure saving money becomes a habit this year, the 365 day money challenge can be a great alternative. In this challenge, you begin with a penny on day one and end with $3.65 on day 365.

10) Create Your Own 52 Week Money Challenge

None of the above money challenges meet exactly what you’re looking for? That isn’t a problem. You can simply create your own 52 week challenge which meets the exact specifications and needs you want. You know yourself better than anyone else, so creating your own specific challenged will give you the best chance of completing it.

Savings Habits Matter

For all these challenges, it’s important to remember the actual amount you decide to try and save is not nearly as important as creating the habit of saving money on a consistent basis. Once this habit has been formed, you can then increase the amount you save to meet your current financial situation. While each challenge is an important step to jump-start your savings, it’s the habit of consistency which will help your finances in the long run.

Consider Automating Your Savings

The 52 week savings challenge and its alternatives are ways of actively managing your savings. If you are hard core about saving money and want both an active approach and a passive approach do two things. First, select one of the challenges here and second, supplement your savings with a “fire and forget” automated approach. A great way to implement this automated approach is to go with an application like digit.co or acorns.com.

Digit.co is a favorite because all you need to do is sign up and let the program analyze your checking account. Once the program is completed, it makes automated withdrawals which don’t impact your spending and sweeps them into an account you control. It is a super easy way to save money without a lot of effort. Click here to check it out.

(Photo Credit: Sami Keinanen)

Join the 52 Week Money Challenge to Save $1400 in 2014

December 28, 2013 By Jeffrey Strain 3 Comments

Click image to enlarge or print here (pdf)It’s that time again to begin thinking about ways to save money for the coming year. For those of you who don’t have an emergency fund, this is especially important. A popular challenge that many like to begin with the New Year with is the 52 Week Save Money Challenge. This year I’m going to do the challenge with you. A lot of people started off great last year, but then lost steam during the year and didn’t finish the challenge. Part of the problem is that when you’re doing it alone, it’s a lot more difficult to stay motivated. This year, by doing the challenge with anyone who wants to participate, I hope to keep you motivated so that you’re able to save the entire $1,378 during the year.

For those who are learning about the challenge for the first time, the concept is pretty straight forward and easy to understand. The first week you begin the challenge, you need to save $1 since it’s week one. The second week of the challenge you need to save $2 since it’s week 2. The third week, $3. The fourth week, $4. You continue to match the week’s number all the way through the 52 weeks of the year at the end, you have saved $1,378.

I will actually be using a modified version of this challenge that you can print above. The modified version allows more flexibility so that when you have good weeks, you can save the larger amounts, and when you have tougher weeks, you can save the smaller amounts. The problem with the standard version is that it doesn’t allow you to have a tough week toward the end of the year. With the modified version, you always shoot for the highest amount you can save each week, and then cross off the number that you were able to actually save that week. The greater flexibility should help everyone ultimately reach the savings goal more easily. If you have kids, you might also try to get them involved by giving them their own kid’s money challenge.

In addition to keeping track of the amounts I’m able to save each week, I’ll actually take you through the process of how I went about it. This can be an important resource for those who have a difficult time creating ways to save money on their own. While not every way that I save money will necessarily apply to you, it should help some weeks, and it should also create a situation where you can get your creative juices flowing. This will hopefully give you better resources and motivation to actually achieve the goal this year. In addition, we have a section in the forums where you can actually keep track of how you’re doing if you feel you need even more motivation, or you can simply leave a comment each week to say how you have been doing. Of course, questions and comments are always welcome.

For anyone considering taking on this challenge, I encourage you to simply begin. This is truly the most important step in the process. It doesn’t matter if you are only able to save small amounts during the first few weeks or months. The fact is you’ll be saving something. And doing that something will help you create a habit. Once the habit becomes a part of your week, you’ll be able to save the larger amounts. Take the opportunity to at least try to put yourself in a better financial position at the end of next year than you currently find yourself.

Join the 52 Week Money Challenge to Save $1,400 in 2014

December 28, 2013 By Jeffrey Strain 3 Comments

Two Resolutions in One: Weight Loss and Saving Money

December 27, 2011 By Jennifer Derrick 4 Comments

If you’re like many people, you’ll be making a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, save more money, or both. If you’re trying to do both, the good news is that weight loss and saving money often go hand in hand. It’s like accomplishing two resolutions at once. Even if you only choose one, chances are you’ll find yourself accomplishing the other without really trying. Here’s how these two resolutions work together.

Restaurant eating is curtailed

When you resolve to lose weight, eating out is often one of the first things to go. Portions are huge and you get too much fat and too many calories. The good news is that limiting restaurant meals also saves money. If you resolve to save money by not eating out, chances are you’ll lose weight, too, even if you don’t intend to.

Unhealthy foods are limited

When dieting, you rely more on fresh produce and simple ingredients. The boxed dinners, frozen foods, and convenience snacks go by the wayside. This is good news for your wallet, too. Processed convenience foods are more expensive than fresh, simple ingredients you prepare yourself. You can make healthier equivalents of your favorite processed foods for far less than the boxed version. Similarly, if you resolve to save money by ditching convenience foods, you’ll lose weight.

Impulse buying of snacks goes down

If weight loss is your goal, you’re likely to think twice before just popping into Starbucks for a treat, or buying a candy bar and a soda as you wait in the checkout lane at the store. Not only does this help control your weight, but it also saves money. Treats purchased in convenience stores, check out lanes, and specialty shops are expensive. Buying too many of them can put a dent in your wallet and expand your waistline. If you want to save money, you’re always encouraged to stop wasting money on the little things. When you stop buying treats, your savings rate goes up.

You find other things to do

If you want to lose weight, you quickly learn to find other things to do with your time besides sit around and get bored, which triggers eating. You may go for a walk, play with the kids, go to the gym, or take up a hobby. As long as you don’t turn to retail therapy, finding ways to deal with boredom helps your wallet, too. When you get bored, not only do you overeat, you may also engage in mindless online shopping or aimless mall wandering. When you have a constructive outlet for your boredom you not only lose weight, but you save money, too. If you want to save money, it’s essential that you find something to do with your time besides shop. If you take up physical activity or sport, you’ll lose weight, too.

You get healthier

As you lose weight, your overall health improves. The healthier you are, the easier it is to exercise and find the motivation to eat right, causing you to lose even more weight. As you get healthier, you’ll likely find your health care costs going down, too. You’ll probably get sick less often and find it easier to manage or completely eliminate many chronic conditions. If all you want to do is save money, a phone call to your insurer will likely reveal that they will give you a price break if you exercise, eat right, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. This will probably make you lose weight, too.

You might take up gardening

If you want to eat healthier, there’s no better source than your own garden. Gardening also gives you great exercise which leads to further weight loss. Gardening is also a great way to save money since you’re not paying inflated prices for your food. Because of the labor involved and the healthier eating, you’ll probably find yourself losing weight, even if that wasn’t your main goal.

Whether you’re resolving to save more money or lose weight this year, working on one will likely lead to results in both areas. The best thing is that you won’t have to consciously work on both resolutions. Pick your main goal and make that your focus, then enjoy the results you see on both sides. What a great way to take care of two problems with one resolution.

(Photo courtesy of Lauren Manning)

Have You Already Given Up?

January 23, 2009 By John Cain 3 Comments

The age-old list of New Year’s resolutions is common among most Americans. Eat less, learn more, play more, exercise more, and save more are fairly typical items on our lists. As you’ve probably witnessed though, most resolutions are left by the wayside before too many weeks have passed. It’s been three — are you still holding to yours?

One of the reasons our resolve gives, is that the resolutions are sometimes created as mere tasks without a clearly defined goal attached. What enjoyment do we get out of eating less? At least for me, the answer is “not much”. For resolutions to be meaningful and have a twinkling chance of success, the motivation for an end result should drive them. Therefore eating less shouldn’t be the resolution, but losing 15 pounds by July 4 or being able to fit into a certain size dress.

When it comes to money, the majority of people think that saving money is a worthy task, but it is so easy to venture away from that resolution. Saving money for the sake of saving money is not likely to be an extended successful venture. It is too difficult to withstand the onslaught of competing monetary demands without some other motivating factor. I have been a big money saver for years, but it is only recently that I have kicked it into hyper gear. The reason is that I now have a goal; a difficult, but worthy one nonetheless. My new goal for the family is to pay off our mortgage and be completely debt free within 6 years. We’ve only been in the house 4 years, but I want the freedom that comes from being completely debt free and that has made all my delayed gratification tasks that much easier to bear. By keeping our eyes on the “prize” the penny-pinching and budgeting becomes tolerable and even a little fun.

If you resolved to save money this year, consider changing that to a specific, achievable goal. For starters, I’ve given a list of goals that might make those tough money decisions a little easier.

Buy your next vehicle with cash
Develop a savings nest egg of $25,000 (or some other suitable amount)
Pay off your home mortgage in 5 years (or some other designated time period)
Pay for your child(ren)’s college education
Buy a boat
Take a 2-week vacation to Hawaii
Buy a vacation villa in Hilton Head or some other beachy location
Purchase that large screen television
Save enough to invest in the stock market
Retire at age 59

The above list is by no means exhaustive. There are hundreds of other worthy goals. The trick is to pick one that will really drive you. If you can make a goal the focus, saving money will be much easier.

Getting My Stuff Back in Balance

January 5, 2009 By Jennifer Derrick 4 Comments

Generally, I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. I tend to decide to do things throughout the year and then just get on with them. New Year’s resolutions come with to much pressure and they’ve always seemed forced to me. So I tend to avoid them. But this year is different. I have one New Year’s resolution and it has to do with my finances and my stuff. This year, I resolve to use up, complete, or otherwise deal with the stuff that I have bought/acquired but not yet used.

I’m not a big collector of stuff, but I do buy some things and, rarely, it backs up on me. Books are a big weakness for me, as are movies (since we ditched the cable these form my library of entertainment). I also have a collection of blank notebooks that I’ve bought at after school sales. I use these for ideas, notes and project planning because I work better writing things down than doing it on the computer. Don’t even mention the collection of pencils, pens, and notepads (all of them freebies that I picked up at trade shows and fairs) that is making my top desk drawer bulge. I have a ton of VHS tapes taking up space that I keep intending to convert to DVD. I have a couple of craft projects that have been pushed to the back burner, half finished. And we have a few board games, video games, and puzzles that were gifts to us that we still haven’t had a chance to play with. I don’t even know if they’re fun.

Normally, stuff doesn’t back up on me like this. I buy things and then I use them, or I’m very conscientious about completing one project before beginning another. I’m normally very focused on how I acquire and use stuff. I pick up freebies at a show and use them before the next show. I use up all the notebooks I buy at the back to school sales before the next back to school season. I read magazines before the next issue comes in. And so on. I’m also a relentless purger of stuff. When I’m no longer using or receiving value from something, I clean it out and donate it to the Salvation Army or Goodwill, or I sell it to a secondhand store. So I usually only have the things I’m actively using or working on in my space. My stuff rarely exceeds my ability to use it up in a timely manner. Its a nice balance and it keeps my house from getting cluttered and me from wasting money on stuff I can’t use or already have.

However, 2008 was a weird year. I had a lot going on and every time I thought I might get to sit down and read or work on a project, I got interrupted by some happening. Usually I have some interruptions in my life (as do we all), but this year it was non-stop. Some interruptions were good, some were bad, and some were just nuisances, but all of them conspired against me. Of course I was stupid, too. I didn’t realize just how much time was getting away from me. So I kept bringing more stuff in, so used to having everything in balance that I didn’t notice the pencils piling up, the extra sets of notebooks, the books piling up on the nightstand, or the unwatched movies collecting dust on the shelf. I sort of assumed it was under control, like always, until suddenly it wasn’t.

My neat balance of stuff vs. my ability to use it tipped in the direction of the stuff. As a result, I have stuff around here that needs to be dealt with. I need to read the books I have, watch the movies, finish the crafts, use up the notebooks, pens and pencils, and convert those tapes to DVD. There are other things that need to be dealt with, as well. But this is where I need to start. And I need to do it before I bring one more thing into this house. I have to get my stuff back in balance with the time I have to dedicate to it. Otherwise, the stuff is likely to bury me within a few years. It’s already made getting to certain things much more difficult. Certain drawers and cabinets are blocked by the stuff, making it difficult to get to the stuff lower down. I hate it because I never live like this. However, as out of control as it feels to me, I suspect that my stuff problem is still on a very minor scale compared to some people’s stuff problems. I can still walk through the house and there are areas that are as they should be. My stuff overload is limited to a few key things. I know people who have a much worse stuff problem.

So I have a goal for this year. Now that I am fully aware of this problem, I am going to get my stuff back in balance with my ability to use it up. That means that I will buy nothing new, except for perishable stuff and stuff that I need, until the current stuff has been dealt with. No more books or movies until these are read, watched, and older ones either kept, sold or donated. No more games until I know whether the ones I have are fun or not. No more picking up pencils and pens at shows until I’ve used up the ones I have. No more notebooks bought at the back to school sales unless I am out by September. No more stuff comes in until I have achieved my balance. This goal also means purging some stuff, as well. I need to go through some of my older stuff and decide what to give away and sell. I also need to complete the projects I have hanging around before I start anything else. Fortunately, this goal wasn’t hampered by Christmas. We always have a very small Christmas so there wasn’t even more stuff coming in that I will have to deal with. That’s the small blessing.

I have set a goal of using, tossing, donating, or otherwise eliminating one thing per day. It doesn’t matter how small or insignificant, at least one thing goes away every day until I get where I need to be. Yesterday I used up a free sample of shampoo and conditioner. It felt good to toss those empty packets. I also sent a bunch of the pens, pencils, and notepads with my husband to his office. They will be used much quicker there than I could ever go through them. I donated two packs of notebooks to the local school supply drive. I know they’ll go to good use. And I converted two of my videos (home videos) to DVD and tossed the VHS cassettes, freeing up a small space on my shelf. I’m currently sorting through my books to decide which are out of date and can be donated. I’m on my way, but I have a long way to go.

The good news is that I expect this year to be much quieter than last. Although the unexpected might crop up, I should have more time available to deal with my stuff. The other good news is that my expenses should go way down in the coming months as I work to deal with my stuff. This will also teach me a lesson to be even more conscientious about stuff and how much of it I have at any one time. When I look at the stuff I sigh and think how much easier this all would have been if I had realized sooner that my stuff was getting away from me. It’s a valuable lesson and one that I hope never to repeat.