5 Money-Saving Challenges That’ll Help Fatten Up Your Bank Account in 2023

Q: What are Money Saving Challenges?

Money Saving Challenges are structured, time-based plans that encourage regular saving through simple rules—examples include no-spend weeks, the penny challenge, and the 52-week challenge.

Q: How much can I save with the 52-week challenge?

The traditional 52-week challenge yields $1,378 over one year by increasing weekly deposits by $1, though you can modify amounts to suit your cash flow.

Q: Is the penny challenge worth doing?

Yes; the penny challenge builds a saving habit and nets $667.95 in a year if you increase deposits daily by one cent. You can also combine daily totals into monthly transfers for convenience.

Q: How do I succeed at a no-spend challenge?

Set clear rules (what counts as essential), choose a realistic duration, plan activities that don’t require spending, and redirect what you would have spent into savings to stay motivated.

Q: Can I combine different Money Saving Challenges?

Absolutely. Mixing smaller challenges (like the five dollar challenge) with periodic no-spend days or a modified 52-week plan can accelerate savings while keeping the process enjoyable.

Published by

Clara

Dec 7

Money Saving Challenges to Boost Your Savings

We all recognize that putting money aside is something we should do, yet it frequently feels like a task we’ll tackle “one day.”

It’s time to change that mindset and treat saving as an enjoyable challenge instead.

Let’s commit to bulking up our emergency funds and building bigger cash buffers. Small victories add up — one dollar at a time.

5 Savings Challenges to Supercharge Your Bank Balance

Looking for a strategy to get started? Below are five savings challenges that can help you grow your account throughout the year.

1. The Pantry Challenge

This challenge gives your budget a breather from routine grocery runs. Skip the store for a week and get inventive with what’s already in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer.

When Savinly contributor Maria Evans tried the pantry challenge, her household survived on limp vegetables, freezer-scuffed veggie patties and a motley mix of long-forgotten staples. They made it through the week and avoided about $150 in grocery spending.

2. The No-Spend Challenge

The no-spend challenge is exactly as it sounds: you halt discretionary spending (aside from essentials and bills) for a period you choose, and bank the money you would have otherwise spent.

The traditional approach is to eliminate all nonessential purchases for a month, but there are many ways to run a no-spend challenge. You could set a number of no-spend days per month, target a particular temptation like no new clothing for 90 days, or opt to skip gift-giving for a holiday and spend time with family instead.

3. The Five Dollar Challenge

With the five dollar challenge, you stash away every $5 bill you receive as change. If you’re paying with cash and the cashier returns a Lincoln bill, that note goes straight into your savings pile.

If you save just two $5 bills per week, you’ll have $520 after one year. If you come across more $5 bills, even better.

Prefer cards over cash? You can adapt this challenge by transferring $5 from checking to savings each time you’d normally spend with a debit or credit card.

4. The Penny Challenge

This challenge begins by saving one penny (yes, a single cent) and increasing the deposit by one cent each day. On day two you save $0.02; on day 200 you add $2.00 (200 pennies).

Complete the penny challenge for a full year and you’ll accumulate $667.95. To make it easier, group your daily totals by month and move that lump sum from checking to savings instead of digging up change every day.

5. The 52-Week Money Challenge

The 52-week challenge helps you set aside $1,378 over a year with weekly contributions. Traditionally, you save $1 during week one, $2 in week two, $3 in week three, and continue increasing by $1 each week.

It starts painless but becomes tougher as the year progresses. If you’d rather not be faced with a $200+ savings hit in December when holiday costs rise, tweak the plan to fit your cash flow.

Try one of the 52-week money challenge hacks, such as choosing each week’s deposit by random draw instead of following a strict ascending sequence. For more ideas, check out these money saving hacks.