Have you heard of the 52 Week Money Challenge?
It's an easy way to save over $1,000 in one year. $1,378 to be exact.
The 52 Week Money Challenge is realistic for anyone because it doesn't require the same amount of money to be saved each week. That's because over the course of 52 weeks you save as little as $1 and, at most, $52.
Let's take a more detailed look at how the 52 Week Money Challenge works, and some alternative ways of doing the challenge.
How the 52 Week Money Challenge Works
The 52 Week Money Challenge is simple. Over the course of 52 weeks, you make a deposit into your savings account once a week. The deposits range in value from $1 to $52.
One way people do this is deposit $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on. At the end of 52 weeks the deposits total $1,378.
Another way to do this is vary the payments. Perhaps you deposit $52 the first week, $1 the second week, $51 the third week, and so on. This works well when there are busy times, like Christmas, where money is tighter, or if you have an unexpected expense that sets you back.
Being able to adjust your weekly contribution as needed is an added layer of flexibility to the challenge, but not everyone takes that approach. It can be easier to just stick with increasing your contribution each week by $1. Who knows? Maybe you will even continue past the 52 weeks.
Another variation is to multiply the amount you save. Depositing $1 through $52 is great because you will save $1,378 in one year, but why not up the ante? If you deposit $5 through $260 in increments of $5, you would have nearly $7,000 saved. This is a great way to make a game out of building an emergency fund.
I recommend having a separate savings fund at a different bank than your home bank or credit union to create a separation between the money you have for spending and the money you are saving for a rainy day. My choice is a high-yield savings account at CIT Bank. Many banks pay almost nothing in interest for their savings account. You deserve to get a high interest rate on your savings account, and CIT Bank is a great option.
Download the 52 Week Money Challenge Spreadsheet and Printable
If the 52 Week Money Challenge sounds like something that you want to try, we have a free 52 Week Money Challenge Spreadsheet and Printable for you.
If you want the spreadsheet or printable, you can get a free copy below.
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The post 52 Week Money Challenge Spreadsheet and Printable first appeared on Young Adult Money.
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