Simple 52 Week Money Saving Challenges [Save Money Fast] (2024)

Do you want to reach financial success without putting too much stress on yourself? Check out these different 52-week money saving challenge ideas that will save you money without even noticing!

Saving money is very important if you want to reach financial success.

BUT, most people don’t save much money.

People think spending money is more fun than saving money.

Is it?

In the short term, most people will agree with that. In the long term, most people are not prepared for financial setbacks or big expenses.

The majority of people can’t cover a $400 emergency, that’s just a minor medical expense or a car repair. Most people can’t retire with enough money. Or pay cash for their car. Or afford their holiday.

This is the majority, but this is not you! You are different.

Saving money is awesome and saving will get you ahead financially in major ways!

At this point, everyone’s money journey is different. That’s why there are a couple of different 52-week money challenges lined up for you.

That means that you can decide the best challenge for your situation.

Let’s dive in and see how much should I be saving every week?

What Is A 52 Week Money Saving Challenge?

A money saving challenge is a challenge that will help you save money throughout the year. Every week you set a preset amount of money aside and you push yourself to make your goal. After 52 weeks you will have a major amount of cash saved!

Challenges are great, this is the opportunity for you to show yourself that you can accomplish any challenge!

To work towards your saving goals, a money saving challenge can be a fun way to go about it. You put some money away every month and you keep yourself motivated by crossing off the past weeks on the money saving challenge printables that are in this post.

How Does The 52 Week Savings Challenge Work?

This money saving challenge is designed to get you into the habit of saving money. That means that every week you will set aside a certain amount of money and push yourself to make the savings goals you have set for yourself.

Dedicate yourself to this challenge and simply start!

When you take action on a weekly basis, you can be proud of yourself at the end of the 52 weeks.

An important point: if you happen to get behind on the plan, DON’T QUIT. Don’t give up!!!

Make a plan for how you can catch up and how you will be able to finish the saving challenge.

Why Is A Money Saving Challenge Important?

The importance of the challenge is to save money to reach your dream life and your financial goals. When you’re able to save money and build up a financial foundation, you will feel much more at ease when making certain decisions. You could take a mini-retirement off work, you could quit your job and start your own business, or you could work less to spend more time doing the things you love.

Who doesn’t want more freedom to do what they love?

(FYI, this was a rhetorical question. I’m assuming you want that!)

Okay, I am very much aware that everyone has different goals and possibilities in their current situation. That’s why we are going into 4 different money saving challenges for this year.

The money of money you will save in 52 weeks depends on the money saving challenge that you pick. In the end you will have:

• $1,378
• $2,756
• $5,000
• $10,000

What Can You Do With All That Money?

I want to be clear with you: there is a lot you can do with that amount of money. It’s important to have a goal in mind: why are you saving that money? This will make it easier to stay motivated and to bring your 52-week money saving challenge to a successful end.

With that money, you can:

• Save for (early) retirement. It’s great to have that amount of money to put towards your retirement accounts and speed up your way to early retirement. Read how it is possible for you to reach early retirement, in this ultimate guide to financial independence and retire early.
• Build up your emergency fund. An emergency fund is extremely important for peace of mind and to cover unexpected expenses coming your way. It prevents that you have to take on extra debt what these unexpected costs present themselves. Three to six months of living expenses saved in your emergency fund is the general guideline.
• Take a mini-retirement. While a mini-retirement is not for anyone, it can be a great time to live your dream life and do what you have always wanted to do. Here is the ultimate guide to a mini-retirement for all the ins and outs you need to know.
• Invest. When you’re putting your money in the stock market, you’re making the money work for you. While there will be drops in the stock market, this is nothing to be afraid of. Eventually, the trend of the market always goes up. Here is the ultimate guide to investing.

How To Complete The 52 Week Money Saving Challenge

Most people want to start their saving challenges in January because of the new year starting. That doesn’t mean that you can’t start a saving challenge at any time during the year. You totally can!

The best time is to start saving now, so why wait another couple of months?

The thing you need to be successful at this challenge and to be motivated for this entire 52 weeks, is finding a method that works for your personal situation.

There are several ways that you can start saving money every week.

1. Regular Way

Start at week 1 and save money week by week, going down one of the helpful templates. Go through the weeks in order and after 52 weeks you will have your saving goal met.

This is the method most people choose because it is easy to follow a plan and stick to it over the course of the weeks. It becomes a habit and you become used to it.

2. Backward

When you want to do the heavy lifting early on in the challenge, this can be a great way for you to do that. You are still motivated and you get the most challenging part out of the way first.

This method can be great if you know that you start your projects full of enthusiasm and can slip back a bit over time.

3. Random

When you’re having an irregular income or you want to be free to choose, you can do the saving challenge randomly. That means that you’re saving that month whatever amount you feel like saving.

This way you will have more freedom to decide when is the time to save more and when is the time to save less.

52 Week Money Saving Challenge

Let’s go through a couple of 52-week money saving challenges. We will discuss saving challenges here that will make you end with:

• $1,378
• $2,756
• $5,000
• $10,000

Money Saving Challenge 1 – Save $1378 In 52 Weeks

The traditional 52-week money saving challenge is simple. You set aside $1 and every week you add $1 to that. That means in week 2 you will save $2 and in week 52 you will save $52.

At the end of the 52 weeks, you saved $1378! Woooo!

In the beginning, you will start finding dollars here and there as you are starting the challenge. Throughout the year, you really need to keep up and show yourself that you are capable of saving that money.

This is something amazing for your money mindset, believing that you can reach any financial goal you set for yourself.

Do you want to save the same amount of money per week? Simply save $27 per week and you’re good to go.

One tip: if you really want to start this thing off right, this is the perfect saving challenge to do in reverse. Kickstart your saving and towards the end of the year, you can save less.

Money Saving Challenge 2 – Save $2,756 In 52 Weeks

The second challenge is very much like challenge #1, but double.

You set aside $2 and every week you add $2 to that. That means in week 2 you will save $4 and in week 52 you will save $104.

At the end of the 52 weeks, you saved $2,756! Whaaaat?! That’s a lot of money!

If you want to challenge yourself more than in challenge #1, go for this one! $2 sounds like little money, but it adds up over time.

This challenge means that you need to stretch yourself more towards the end of the challenge. You can prove to yourself that you are able to save money. You are great with money!

Do you want to save the same amount of money per week? Simply save $53 per week and you’re good to go.

Challenge 3 – $5,000 52 Week Money Saving Challenge

Okay, this challenge is really about going to the next level.

You will be saving $5,000 in 52 weeks. This is really about showing yourself that you are great at saving money.

When you have a big savings goal, like having a long vacation or building your emergency fund, this money challenge is perfect.

This will be one of the first steps that you can take in working towards financial independence. You see that you can create any lifestyle goals that you want for yourself.

Plus, you can avoid lifestyle inflation or even deflate your lifestyle with this money saving challenge.

Are you ready??!!

Do you want to save the same amount of money per week? Simply save $97 per week and you’re good to go.

Challenge 4 – $10,000 52 Week Money Saving Challenge

Are you saving money really taking seriously the next 52 weeks? Like are you ready to cut your spending, save money on groceries, and cut your utility bill in half?

This is the Radical money saving challenge – are you ready?!

You could be saving $10,000 for your early retirement, paying down your debt, or buying a new car (don’t lease!).

At the end of this 52-week money saving challenge, you officially have an awesome money mindset. Your foundation is there and you can be more than proud of yourself!

Do you want to save the same amount of money per week? Simply save $193 per week and you’ll be high-fiving yourself at the end of the 52 weeks.

By paying yourself first, the opportunities become endless on how your life and decisions will be impacted.

When you want to reach long-term success, you NEED to know the reason you are saving money. That will help your motivation in completing the 52-week money saving challenge.

Make sure to sign up for our special tips on saving money with any of these money saving challenges!

How To Save Money This Year

When you’re doing these savings challenges, you’re wondering: where the heck am I going to get that money from?

Ya girl is here to help you out. Here are 6 quick tips that will help you save that money for your 52-week money saving challenge!

1. Find One Bill To Cut

When you’re starting out with your 52-week money challenge, cutting costs and saving money will motivate you to keep going. Once yet get the hang of it, you want to cut more and more costs.

Here are simple places to start:

• Cable TV – cable TV costs a LOT of money and most of us don’t even use it that much. When you cut your cable and go for streaming services or a digital antenna, costs can come out wayyy lower!
• Cancel some of your subscriptions – canceling unused subscriptions can be a GREAT way to free up cash flow. Do you want to cancel unused subscriptions without lifting a finger?

2. Make A Budget

Making a budget can be a great way to know where your money is going every month. Create a budget that works for YOU, where you are actually empowered knowing where your money is going.

My philosophy is: don’t spend money on things that aren’t valuable to you, so you free up money to spend on the things you love.

When you want to make these savings challenges work, a great tip is to put them into your budget. When you are budgeting for them, you KNOW that you’re going to have the money and meet your savings goals.

Related Articles:

• How To Stick To Your Budget – 9 Tips To Try
• 5 Reason Why You Need A Budget

3. Automate Your Savings

When you are working towards your goals, one easy way to make sure to make your goals is to automate your savings.

Automating your savings can be done in two ways:

1. Pay yourself first – where you set aside money the moment your paycheck comes in, so that money can’t be used for something else.
2. Use a micro-savings app – there are several micro-savings apps out there that will automate your savings. An app that is widely used is Acorns, which rounds up any purchases you make. No amount of savings is too small to put towards your money saving goals! Sign up now and get your $20 bonus.

4. Get Used To Spending Less

A way to put more money towards your saving goals is to get used to spending less.

This can be done through:

• No-spend weekend – a no-spend period is where you don’t spend any money. You can set your own rules that work for you. Want to know more? Here is my ultimate guide to a no-spend challenge plus all the lessons they’ve taught me.
• Do things that don’t cost any money – a couple of suggestions are only buying what you love, doing things that don’t cost any money, learning to have frugal fun, and learn to enjoy it.

I truly believe that if you spend your money aligned with your values, you will not feel deprived by a budget. I save over half my income every month, which I did way back when I was earning $26,000 per year.

Rethinking your money habits is a great thing to do when you are doing one of these money saving challenges. The mindset shift will be here to stay.

When you want to take on a money saving challenge but it seems too overwhelming for you, ask someone to join you. This can be your partner, a friend, or a colleague.

The moment you are sharing your goals with others, you are more likely to stay accountable and on track for the ride.

You can arrange a monthly or weekly moment where you just check in with each other and see how things are going.

Having someone to talk about this challenge is important and will move you forward over the long term.

6. Try Multiple Ways To Make More Money

What is the best way to save more money if you need money now? Make more money! While I believe it’s extremely important to have your mindset on the right track in terms of saving and spending, making more money will open a whole new world.

When you have trimmed the fat out of your budget and you are living aligned with your values, that’s when you can start thinking about making more money.

Start a side hustle or search for an under-the-table job to increase your income – it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme and you WILL need to put in the hours. That will give you some extra dough in the long term, which is why I’m all for it.

Here are a couple of my favorite side hustles:

• Start testing websites – want to earn money from the comfort of your home? This is a great side hustle for you! Plus the pay is not bad at all, you often get $10 per 15 minutes. The only thing is that you may need to be patient, as there are many people doing it so spots fill fast.
• Start a transcription job – this is making money from home typing. This is NOT a making-money-while-you-sleep kind of thing. BUT, the faster you type, the more money you make! Check it out and see if that is something you want to try.
• Start a data entry side hustle – data entry is a side hustle that has a very low barrier, you can simply sign up with a platform and start. Also, if you’re looking for a marketplace of jobs, Fiverr can just be what you’re looking for!
• Walk dogs – okay, we can’t skip the dogs. Go walk dogs with Rover and make some extra bucks to put towards your money making machine. Who doesn’t love dogs? That was a rhetorical question – I assume the majority.
• Sell things around your house – selling things can be as easy as walking around and picking up things you don’t enjoy anymore. Someone was actually just at my house to pick up a Nintendo game and I made $10. So, if you find anything that you want to sell, simply list it on eBay and sell it to the highest bidder.
• Start a blog – blogging is awesome and I enjoy the heck out of it. Start writing about your favorite topic and start your blog using Bluehost for only $3.95 including free domain name and with a 30-day money-back guarantee. What do you have to lose?
• Get a raise – last but not least, increase your earnings at your current job. Getting a raise is something that is often overlooked but is low-hanging fruit when it comes to making more money!

For more side hustle ideas, check out the 23 Best Side Hustle Ideas (Make $1,000+ Per Month).

All In All – Simple 52 Week Money Saving Challenges

Yes, it will take some work to get to your money goals. With this money saving challenge, you are creating a plan that you can follow. Take the steps necessary and don’t stop taking action until you have reached your goals!

When you take on a money challenge like this, the lessons you learn will be the foundation for the rest of your money actions.

Make your future self extremely proud. Set the goal, take the steps, and SLAY any goal you set for yourself.

At the end of this, you know how to save money, make more money, and reach yourself. You will be SO proud of yourself!

What 52-week challenge are you going to pick today? Comment below. Also, make sure to sign up for our money saving challenge for more money saving tips!

Have you ever done a 52-week money saving challenge?

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