The 52-week savings plan
If you’re new to the 52-week money challenge, the first month or so you might wonder if it will take 52 years to see progress because you start so small. But know that this savings plan is effective, and it can help you sock away more than a thousand dollars in a year — $1,378 to be exact. You could build up even more if you put the funds in a high-yield savings account. Doing the challenge takes commitment, but it’s easy to start.
How the 52-week money challenge works
Getting started is simple:
During your first week, you save $1.
The next week, stash away $2.
Increase the amount saved by $1 each week for 52 weeks — a full year.
And the money adds up. You can save well over $1,000 before the end of the year. But even more important, you may find that this is a good way to develop consistent savings habits.
Why it works
Putting away a few dollars per week at the beginning of the challenge is likely less painful than figuring out how to save a whole $500 for emergencies all at once. (Learn why having a savings emergency fund is important.)
The smaller weekly level-ups are manageable, and they encourage you to find ways to slowly cut back on spending or boost income. They also give you time to plan several months ahead, when the goals will be to save $30, $40 and eventually $52 in one week.
With this plan, you’ll save that $500 for emergencies, plus more, but on an easier timeline.
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Where to put your cash
Here’s a pro tip: Maximize every penny by depositing your funds in a high-yield savings account. In an account that earns interest, you’ll accumulate money on top of your savings.
The average savings account earns only 0.45% APY. But high-yield accounts, typically available from online banks, earn several times that.
Head over to NerdWallet’s savings calculator to determine how much interest you’d earn on your savings at different rates. You can even see how much you’d save if you reversed the savings challenge, putting aside $52 in the first week, and then decreasing your weekly deposits by a dollar until the challenge ends. You would have put away the same amount of money after a year, but your money might have earned a bit more interest because the larger deposits would have more time to grow.
Just choose an account without monthly maintenance fees, which can erode your savings. (See NerdWallet’s list of best savings accounts to find institutions with fee-free options.)
Stay motivated
The 52-week challenge can be tricky as time goes on because you’ll need to save larger amounts of money. But the beauty is that after a few months, you’ll be able to look back with satisfaction at the decent chunk of cash you’ve already put away.
Even if you don’t meet the challenge 100%, try to add whatever amount you can each week. The bottom line is not to give up.
For more motivation, you can tell others about your savings goals. For example, if you’re saving for a new living room furniture set, let your family members know that you plan to pay for it with this savings. (Let’s assume you already have an emergency fund, which is a higher priority.) Your friends and family could offer encouragement along the way.
Once the 52-week time period is over, celebrate! But keep saving. Let it be a springboard for reaching other money goals, such as a college fund and retirement. You will have built a healthy cash reserve and proven to yourself that you can meet a challenge.
FAQs
Match each week's savings amount with the number of the week in your challenge. In other words, you'll save $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on until you put away $52 in week 52.
How to start the 52-week money challenge? ›
Match each week's savings amount with the number of the week in your challenge. In other words, you'll save $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on until you put away $52 in week 52.
What is the formula for the 52-week money challenge? ›
There are no complicated rules to remember. Week 1, you save $1.00. Week 2 you save $2.00, and it continues through the year, adding one more dollar to each week's savings goal. By Week 52, you'll set aside $52.00, which will bring the year's total savings to $1,378!
How do you do the 1 to 52-week savings challenge? ›
With this challenge, you save weekly rather than daily. And this amount goes up incrementally. Essentially, you save £1 for each week you are on in the year. So week one = £1 and week 52 = £52.
How to do the $100 dollar challenge? ›
The 100-envelope challenge is pretty straightforward: You take 100 envelopes, number each of them and then save the corresponding dollar amount in each envelope. For instance, you put $1 in “Envelope 1,” $2 in “Envelope 2,” and so on. By the end of 100 days, you'll have saved $5,050.
How to save $10,000 in 6 months? ›
How I Saved $10,000 in Six Months
- Set goals & practice visualization. ...
- Have an abundance mindset. ...
- Stop lying to yourself & making excuses. ...
- Cut out the excess. ...
- Make automatic deposits. ...
- Use Mint. ...
- Invest in long-term happiness. ...
- Use extra money as extra savings, not extra spending.
If you saved $1 a day for a year, do you know how much money you'd have? Roughly $30,000. This is totally 100% true.
Is 52-week money challenge worth it? ›
The 52-week savings plan
If you're new to the 52-week money challenge, the first month or so you might wonder if it will take 52 years to see progress because you start so small. But know that this savings plan is effective, and it can help you sock away more than a thousand dollars in a year — $1,378 to be exact.
How to save $5000 in 52 weeks? ›
Here are a few more ways to save $5,000 by the end of 2023:
- Save $96.16 every week.
- Save $192.31 every two weeks.
- Save $416.67 every month.
- Save $1,250 every quarter.
- Save $2,500 every six months.
If you want to save $2,000 in a month – aim to have money automatically transferred from your checking account into your savings account each week. This would amount to a weekly deposit of $500 to reach your goal.
Check out our guide on how to budget to start getting a handle on your spending and saving. You'll end the challenge with over $1,300 saved If you successfully complete the 52-week money challenge, you'll have $1,378 set aside.
How much will I make if I save $50 a week for a year? ›
Investing $50 a week, which translates to approximately $200 a month, is an excellent way to build your savings without putting a significant strain on your budget. Over a year, you'll have invested $2,600, and this consistency is key.
How to save $5000 in 3 months envelope? ›
You can save over $5,000 in just over three months with the 100 envelope challenge. It works like this: Gather 100 envelopes and number them from 1 to 100. Each day, fill up one envelope with the amount of cash corresponding to the number on the envelope. You can fill up the envelopes in order or pick them at random.
How to save $4000 quickly? ›
How to Save an Extra $4,000 a Year
- Step #1: Look at Your Budget. “The first step in being able to save is to do a deep dive into your budget. ...
- Step #2: Figure Out Where to Cut Spending. ...
- Step #3: Determine Where Most of Your Money Is Going. ...
- Step #4: Sexy Math. ...
- Step #5: Set Up Automatic Transfers. ...
- Extra Tips.
The five dollar challenge is an easy way to save money without cutting back on spending. All it requires is that you save every $5 bill you get as change.
What is the $100 in 30 days challenge? ›
The goal of the Challenge is simple: save $100 in a 30-day time period through a series of gradually increasing deposits. November has 30 days so every day is a savings day. As shown in the picture below, daily savings deposits start at $1 a day for five days followed by $2, $3, and $4 each for five days.
