Weekly Savings Challenge, Remix!

Weekly Savings Challenge

Many of us have seen that weekly savings challenge. On week 1, you save $1, week 2 you save $2, and so on. And several of my friends have tried it. I have started it three times and successfully completed it once. One. Single. Time.

That was the last time I attempted it and I want to share what worked for me. I didn’t stick with “the plan” as outlined! I admit, I am not the most organized, stringent, to-do list oriented person. I probably wouldn’t even remember to put into my retirement account if it weren’t for auto-transfer! And yet I also realize the importance of saving on a routine basis (again, thank you auto transfer !!). This envelope system, though, is a great way to become more disciplined in saving and can help with holiday spending, too! So here is what I did:

I gave myself permission to skip around. Face it, come November, few people have an extra $48 to save but maybe you do the week you get your tax refund? So put your $48 in the week you have an extra $48. And color the box in! What box? You may be asking…simple, I created the grid below, cut it out and taped it to a brown envelope. As I put the weekly savings of my choice in, I colored the box in. This way, when you need a smaller dollar amount to save—you can STILL stay on track to intentionally save. More important than that, to me, was getting in the habit of saving SOMETHING each week, the discipline of saying, “ I am going to look at my budget and put something into savings.” Then the behavior side of savings comes into play. I mean, I am pretty sure most of us are aware that saving money is probably a good thing to do. So why don’t we? In the two failed attempts, when I had to skip a week, I felt like I had fallen off the plan and failed. So it was less likely for me to put in the next week. Which created this downward spiral. By giving yourself permission to save the amount you can, you allow yourself to continue to be rewarded and keep at it the following week. Plus, I will admit, it was pretty gratifying to see my grid get colored in solid!

This year, I created a few extra squares—a bonus square and some partial squares. I have a son now and I have NO clue what extra expenses may come up throughout the year. There may come a week when I’ve already put my $1 in and I don’t have enough to put a full amount. So I will put in a partial amount, color that square in and keep at it! The point is to get into the habit of saving weekly.

I hope this helps you save for whatever financial goal(s) you may wish to achieve. I plan to stop the savings in December this year and apply it towards my Christmas spending. Because that is my plan, I give myself permission to deviate from this system. What will you do with the extra money you save?

Weekly Savings Challenge

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11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
51	52	Partial:	Partial:	Partial:	Bonus:	Bonus:	Bonus:	Bonus:	Total: