Way back in January of 2013 we presented you with an idea we had heard of and really latched onto called the 52 Week Saving Challenge. The premise is that by saving a little amount each and every week, you could end up with $1378 at the end of the year. This money can be used for any purpose that you wish – the main overall goal is that we are saving money. Saving can be hard, and unless you stick to a plan it is easy to fall off the saving wagon.
We used our $1378 to pay for holiday expenses and it worked perfectly! We are 100% committed to this plan again, and we are going to encourage you to join in the plan as well. Every Friday we’ll remind you to make your 52 Week Saving Challenge deposit. You can access a handy spreadsheet to show how the account balance will grow: 52 Week Money Challenge Spreadsheet
Here are some things to remember about the challenge:
- You can begin by depositing just $1 on week #1. The deposit amounts increase each week, so on week 2 you will deposit $2, week 3 is $3 and so on.
- You can also work in reverse, which is what we do. We deposit $52 on week 1, $51 on week 2 and so on.
- It’s easy to use an online bank account for your deposits, like CapitalOne360 or you local bank. This way there is no trip to the bank needed and it only takes a minute to make the weekly deposit.
- It is OK if you have to skip a week – just be sure to make up for the skipped week as soon as you can, so that you can stay on track.
You can do this, and take it from us that it feels really, really good to see that bank balance grow!
What about it, are you in for 2014?
I’m going to do this! Last year we tried it using cash in an envelope but kept “borrowing” from it. Going to use your idea of depositing it directly into my bank savings acct so I can’t touch it as easy. Thanks for the graph so can mark off each week. Blessings on a wonderful 2014 for you and Jim!!
Hooray Brenda! Yes, it works much better for us too to have it in a “hands off” account.
Here is to a GREAT 2014!
This worked great for me. And you can also switch it up a bit. If one week is good then put in the higher amount. But if one week is not so good choose a lower amount. Just make sure to cross of which week you choose as you go. And DON”T dip. For me it really helped that I didn’t tell anyone else in my house that I was doing this. This way no one could ask me for cash, other than what was in my wallet.
Thanks for the great idea! I will have to deposit it, as well, otherwise, I will borrow for kid’s lunch money!