Financial Achievement Tasks: Thirteen Money-Saving Strategies to Reach Your Financial Objectives
In the pursuit of meeting financial goals, a variety of savings challenges can be highly effective. These challenges, as discussed in an article co-authored by Samantha Gorelick, CFP® and Cheyenne Main, provide a structured approach to saving money over specific periods.
One such challenge is the 52 Week Savings Challenge, where individuals save a gradually increasing amount each week for a year. By saving $1 more each week, one can accumulate approximately $4,134 in savings after 52 weeks. Alternatively, the 26 Week Savings Challenge involves saving a fixed amount each week for half the time, resulting in savings of about $2,067.
Another popular challenge is the Penny-a-Day Challenge, where individuals save $0.01 more each day, resulting in $667.95 saved after a year. If the challenge is stopped in the middle of the year (about 182 days in), one can still save $166.53. A more aggressive version of this challenge, the Penny-a-Day Doubled Challenge, sees individuals doubling the amount saved each day, resulting in $1,335.90 saved by the end of the year.
Incremental savings challenges, such as the Weekly Increasing Savings Challenge, where individuals increase the amount saved by $2 weekly, can also be effective. By saving $2 more each week, one can save $2,500 in 50 weeks. Similarly, increasing the amount saved each week by $1.50 results in savings of about $2,509 after 57 weeks.
Besides these, the article also discusses the 1% Retirement Challenge, where individuals transfer 1% of each paycheck to a savings account for retirement. If one doesn't have access to a 401k, saving 1% of each paycheck and using it to pay off high-interest debt can be a viable alternative.
The Change Jar Challenge, where individuals throw all of their change into a jar until it's full, and the 100 Envelope Savings Challenge, where individuals label envelopes from 1 to 100 and put a specified amount into each envelope over time, are other unique ways to save money.
The Weather Report Challenge, where individuals check the temperature each week and add that amount to savings, can be adapted based on one's location. If you live somewhere cold, turning any negative degrees into positive dollar amounts and multiplying the temperature by 2 can help you save more. If you live somewhere hot, dividing the amount contributed in the Weather Report Challenge by 2 can help you save less during the warmer months.
The Subscription Cancellation Challenge, where individuals cancel any subscriptions they don't use and put that money in savings, is another effective way to save money. Negotiating with your phone service and shopping for better plans, preparing meals on the weekend to save money on lunches out, and creating a grocery list before shopping and sticking to store-brand items are additional strategies mentioned in the article.
Lastly, setting realistic, specific, and achievable savings targets, using automatic transfers, applying debt repayment methods like the avalanche or snowball approach, prioritizing financial goals, employing structured budgeting methods like the 70/10/10/10 rule, and continuously reviewing and adjusting goals are key elements for sustained financial progress.
Samantha Gorelick, CFP®, the Owner of Take Root Financial and a Financial Planner based in New York, New York, has held the Certified Financial Planner™ designation since 2017 and has 10 years of experience in the financial services industry. The article emphasizes the importance of these savings challenges in helping individuals save money towards various goals.
- To manage personal-finance effectively, one could follow the structured approach suggested by Samantha Gorelick and Cheyenne Main, which includes challenges like the Weekly Increasing Savings Challenge where one increases the amount saved by $2 weekly, resulting in substantial savings over specific periods.
- In addition to the 52 Week Savings Challenge or the Penny-a-Day Challenge, individuals can also explore less conventional savings methods such as the Subscription Cancellation Challenge, where canceling unused subscriptions and putting the saved money into savings can help one boost their personal-finance towards achieving their financial goals.
