Boost Your Savings with the 52 Week Money Challenge
You may be familiar with the 52 week challenge for saving money. It's a basic change that is frequently included in financial new year's resolutions and it's a way you can take a simple step every week to save money for something that you want. This article will introduce the basics of the 52 week money challenge, discuss modifications you can make to allow this money saving challenge to work for you, and I'll also provide a 52 week money challenge template to help you get started.
What is the 52 Week Challenge?
The 52 week money challenge is a way to motivate yourself to add money to your savings account each week. Each week is assigned a dollar value to represent that week in a 52 week year, and you will deposit that amount of money into your savings account that week.
For example the first week you will deposit $1, the second week you will deposit $2, the third week $3, etc. until you reach $52 on the 52nd (and final) week of the year. By taking the 52 week money challenge, you will sock away a whopping $1,378 in a year, which is probably more than enough to cover holiday shopping at the end of the year, a small vacation, wardrobe updates, a nice piece of furniture you've been wanting, or a small DIY renovation of your home or apartment.
Even better, use the money to start or pad your emergency / rainy-day fund to get it to where you want it to be. Most experts recommend that you have 3-6 months of living expenses (rent, food, utilities, bills, etc.) saved up in the event that you lose your job, have an accident, or something major goes wrong with your residence or vehicle.
For example the first week you will deposit $1, the second week you will deposit $2, the third week $3, etc. until you reach $52 on the 52nd (and final) week of the year. By taking the 52 week money challenge, you will sock away a whopping $1,378 in a year, which is probably more than enough to cover holiday shopping at the end of the year, a small vacation, wardrobe updates, a nice piece of furniture you've been wanting, or a small DIY renovation of your home or apartment.
Even better, use the money to start or pad your emergency / rainy-day fund to get it to where you want it to be. Most experts recommend that you have 3-6 months of living expenses (rent, food, utilities, bills, etc.) saved up in the event that you lose your job, have an accident, or something major goes wrong with your residence or vehicle.
Why Bother with a Weekly Savings Plan?
It can be difficult to motivate yourself to save money. Automating the process by segmenting a portion of your direct deposit to go directly into a separate savings account can help, but I see other benefits to taking a 52 week money challenge.
You are forcing yourself to be reminded of your commitment to saving money every single week for a year. Set a calendar reminder to go off the first day of every week reminding you to make the transfer, and you will start each week feeling good that you did something to meet your savings goals. Over the course of the year this can help to re-wire you into a saving mindset from a spending mindset, and you will probably make other good financial decisions as a result. It's simple, easy, and habit-forming, and it's a great way to take a step toward correcting poor financial habits.
You are forcing yourself to be reminded of your commitment to saving money every single week for a year. Set a calendar reminder to go off the first day of every week reminding you to make the transfer, and you will start each week feeling good that you did something to meet your savings goals. Over the course of the year this can help to re-wire you into a saving mindset from a spending mindset, and you will probably make other good financial decisions as a result. It's simple, easy, and habit-forming, and it's a great way to take a step toward correcting poor financial habits.
Money Is Tight Right Now, Can I Start Later?
Yes you can, but you should not. You are committing to depositing $1 in your first week. Most of us can accomplish that by cleaning out the spare change on our bedside table, or in the center console of our car. Your first 4 deposits will total $10. Don't put it off, don't make excuses, just begin!
Money is always Tight Around the Holidays...
If you are starting in January but are concerned that the $202 required to meet the last 4 weeks of this savings plan will be difficult in December, flip the schedule. Start with a $52 deposit on week 1, $51 on week 2, etc. Not only will your December commitment shrink from $202 to $10, but by saving more earlier in the year you can earn extra interest over the course of the year ... especially if you put the money into a high yield savings account.
How to Modify the 52-Week money Challenge
If you're still apprehensive about whether or not you can commit to a rigid weekly saving schedule, consider modifying the program to fit you. Print out a chart with all of the weekly deposits, and make one per week ... going in a random order that's dictated by your current finances and what you feel comfortable with.
This way you could start with $33 (cross off week 33), do $2 the following week (cross off week 2) and continue all year just picking the highest remaining value that you feel comfortable with on any given week. You'll end up saving the same amount of money, and you'll give yourself more financial flexibility throughout the year if money is tight.
This way you could start with $33 (cross off week 33), do $2 the following week (cross off week 2) and continue all year just picking the highest remaining value that you feel comfortable with on any given week. You'll end up saving the same amount of money, and you'll give yourself more financial flexibility throughout the year if money is tight.
Ready for a Bigger Challenge? Try the 104-Week Challenge
Many people are so motivated by the end of the first year that they decide to keep going and complete a second year saving challenge. Now you could just start over, and add an extra $1378 in year two, but if you continue to increase your savings deposit by $1 each week, you can build about $5,500 in a rainy day fund in two years!
52 Week Money Challenge Template
This table will help you visualize how your savings will accumulate in a year when you take on the 52 week money challenge:
Week Number |
Amount to Deposit |
Savings Total |
Week 1 |
$1.00 |
$1.00 |
Week 2 |
$2.00 |
$3.00 |
Week 3 |
$3.00 |
$6.00 |
Week 4 |
$4.00 |
$10.00 |
Week 5 |
$5.00 |
$15.00 |
Week 6 |
$6.00 |
$21.00 |
Week 7 |
$7.00 |
$28.00 |
Week 8 |
$8.00 |
$36.00 |
Week 9 |
$9.00 |
$45.00 |
Week 10 |
$10.00 |
$55.00 |
Week 11 |
$11.00 |
$66.00 |
Week 12 |
$12.00 |
$78.00 |
Week 13 |
$13.00 |
$91.00 |
Week 14 |
$14.00 |
$105.00 |
Week 15 |
$15.00 |
$120.00 |
Week 16 |
$16.00 |
$136.00 |
Week 17 |
$17.00 |
$153.00 |
Week 18 |
$18.00 |
$171.00 |
Week 19 |
$19.00 |
$190.00 |
Week 20 |
$20.00 |
$210.00 |
Week 21 |
$21.00 |
$231.00 |
Week 22 |
$22.00 |
$253.00 |
Week 23 |
$23.00 |
$276.00 |
Week 24 |
$24.00 |
$300.00 |
Week 25 |
$25.00 |
$325.00 |
Week 26 |
$26.00 |
$351.00 |
Week 27 |
$27.00 |
$378.00 |
Week 28 |
$28.00 |
$406.00 |
Week 29 |
$29.00 |
$435.00 |
Week 30 |
$30.00 |
$465.00 |
Week 31 |
$31.00 |
$496.00 |
Week 32 |
$32.00 |
$528.00 |
Week 33 |
$33.00 |
$561.00 |
Week 34 |
$34.00 |
$595.00 |
Week 35 |
$35.00 |
$630.00 |
Week 36 |
$36.00 |
$666.00 |
Week 37 |
$37.00 |
$703.00 |
Week 38 |
$38.00 |
$741.00 |
Week 39 |
$39.00 |
$780.00 |
Week 40 |
$40.00 |
$820.00 |
Week 41 |
$41.00 |
$861.00 |
Week 42 |
$42.00 |
$903.00 |
Week 43 |
$43.00 |
$946.00 |
Week 44 |
$44.00 |
$990.00 |
Week 45 |
$45.00 |
$1,035.00 |
Week 46 |
$46.00 |
$1,081.00 |
Week 47 |
$47.00 |
$1,128.00 |
Week 48 |
$48.00 |
$1,176.00 |
Week 49 |
$49.00 |
$1,225.00 |
Week 50 |
$50.00 |
$1,275.00 |
Week 51 |
$51.00 |
$1,326.00 |
Week 52 |
$52.00 |
$1,378.00 |