52-week challenge

The 52-week Challenge: How To Save $1,300 In A Year

There is no feeling that can be compared to having financial security, and that is why saving money is a fundamental goal for many. Saving for rainy days, keeping emergency funds, and stashing cash all refer to the whole process of securing your finances.

This article provides practical tips that can help you save more than $1,300 within 52 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed as I take you through the journey of being thrifty with your spending. First, let us determine what you can do with $1,300.

What to do with $1,300?

Asides from the joy and satisfaction you would derive from completing the 52-week money challenge and meeting your target of $1,300 or more, you get a nice chunk of $1,300 at your disposal to do a million and one things.

If your rent at your current apartment is soon to expire, you may use your savings to make a down payment for a new year, or if you work very hard you can take a nice vacation.

If you are close to retirement, you can build up your retirement savings or simply build up an emergency fund. Whatever the case, when you get to that bridge, you will surely come up with ideas.

Why a 52-week challenge?

Undoubtedly, you may not necessarily need a money-saving challenge to help you save. However, partaking in a savings challenge cannot harm and can assist in a few ways.

i. A Savings Challenge is Fun

To successfully save money requires commitment and sacrifice, and there is no fun in that except when the results come to fruition.

However, with a money savings challenge, the affair becomes more fun and enjoyable, making it easy for you to stick to the routine until it is completed.

ii. A Savings Challenge Can Increase Accountability

A savings challenge adds a measure of accountability to you immediately, and the challenge begins; the urge is to stay faithful and complete the challenge.

Entering the savings challenge asides from helping you save to afford your particular goals for each week before the 52 weeks are complete. That way, you can easily keep track of your weekly progress.

iii. A Savings Challenge Can Be Competitive

There is no fun in saving alone! Invite a friend, spouse, or sibling to join you on the savings challenge. Doing this can serve as an extra motivation to make you stick to the challenge and even make you more accountable.

Usually, if the goal is to save a specific amount, the real competition is not in who keeps more but completes the challenge.

What if I Don’t Meet My Monthly Quota?

Most people worry about missing or not saving enough for a given month. In all honesty, there will be months you won’t save as much. When this happens, keep calm and remember that your weekly and monthly savings won’t go in order.

Try to keep it simple and base your savings on the expenses for the week or the month. You will have months when you save higher than others. This will cover any discrepancies that may be observed in a given month.

Always keep in mind that your savings may not go in the numerical order you proposed, saving close to your monthly amounts, and maintaining discipline and consistency is what counts.

How to save $1,300 in a year

The 52-week money-saving challenge is simple. In week 1 you save $1, in week 2 you save $2, and so on, all the way to $52 in week 52. You just transfer the same amount of money to your savings account as the numbered weeks you’re on. Over a 52-week period, you will save $1,378.

Now that we have a well-structured exordium let us now get down to the nuts and bolts, saving more than $1,300 in a year.

The tips provided in this article works if you intend to engage in the money-saving challenge using generic saving methods or digitized saving methods.

1. Build a Budget

You tend to stick to and complete your money savings challenge if you are on a budget. Creating a budget helps you get the best of your money and stay within the Rubicon of your livelihood.

Having a budget will provide you with a well-structured plan for how to utilize your money and receive its full value. Never had to create a budget before? Do not worry; getting an already made sample spreadsheet or PDF can put you through and assist you in creating yours.

TIP! Follow this budgeting course and learn how to save money by taking control of your spending. Find and eliminate excess spending in your existing budgets.

2. Keep Track of Your Spending

It is one thing to create or have a budget; sticking to your budget is another. Interestingly, you will not know if you are sticking to your budget unless you keep a good record of your spending.

To effectively track your spending, get a notepad mainly to help you record your expenses at the end of each day.

Getting a total of your spending every week will help you know precisely what you are spending on and how much you are spending.

Keeping track of your expenses every week can help you identify potential problems that may make sticking to your budget and completing your money-saving challenge a hassle; identifying such problems will give you an insight on how to correct such issues, adjust your spending and achieve your goal of completing the savings challenge. 

TIP! Use the free, powerful financial planning tools from Personal Capital to take control of your financial life and get objective advice from their fiduciary financial advisors.

3. Cut Back on Your Phone Bill

Your wireless service or cell phone bill is probably one of the expenses that take most of your money. If you are with one of the popular mobile carriers, you pay substantial phone bills every month compared to using a discounted prepaid carrier.

Switching to a discounted prepaid carrier can cut your phone bill in half or more while you still enjoy impeccable mobile carrier services. Using a discounted prepaid carrier is one of the best ways to cut back on your phone bill without losing quality service and meeting up with your savings.

4. Save by Eliminating Cable or Satellite TV 

Another effective way to complete your money-saving challenge is getting rid of satellite or cable TV and getting cost-effective alternatives that help you save—worried about missing your favorite programs and shows? Do not fret. After canceling your satellite TV subscription, get a High Definition antenna for as low as $50 to catch up on your favorite shows.

You can also watch spanking new movies on Netflix or Box Office. Doing this helps you cut back on wasting money on cable TV and saving a considerable amount of money each month.

TIP! Sign up to Truebill. Their app makes it easy to optimize your spending, manage subscriptions, lower your bills, and stay on top of your financial life.

5. Save Money on Food

In reality, food is one of the most needed necessities of man. When eaten in the proper amounts and with the correct nutrients, diet does the human body a lot. However, if adequate care is not taken, one can make poor choices and overspend on food. There are many ways to cut the budget on food without necessarily missing out on the nutritional value that keeps you fit and healthy.

First, if you enjoy eating out at restaurants or buying lunch and dinner at work, you will save a lot of money if you make your meals at home. This does not imply that you avoid restaurants altogether, but you sure can reduce the number of meals and amount you spend when you inevitably visit them.

Second, you can work on reducing your grocery bill with little or no effort. You will save a great deal of money if you shop at discount grocery stores like Aldi compared to other brand stores.

Third, endeavor to plan your meals to help you save money. Doing so helps you buy only what you need while doing so effortlessly.

6. Cut Back on Clothing Purchases

Clothes make the man or so they say and looking good is good business. For different reasons, we all make clothing purchases and dress accordingly.

One apt way to save more is to cut back on clothing purchases by only buying clothes needed at a given time and from less expensive brands. You do not need to dress flamboyantly or wear designers to look good or protect your skin from harsh weather.

Cutting back on clothing purchases helps you save a whole lot of money!

7. Use Cash Back Apps To your Advantage and Save Money

Another way to save money and complete your cash keeping challenge is to take full advantage of cashback apps.

Quite many apps and websites allow you to gain cash backs on purchases you make. Sign up on the apps or website, make a purchase, and enjoy cashback while the offer runs, thereby still spending within your means and meeting your money-saving challenge.

TIP! Save money on your online purchases. MyPoints members get up to 40% back with every purchase at 2,000 top retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, Home Depot & Amazon. Plus you get a $10 gift card when you sign up. For UK readers, we recommend TopCashback — the highest paying cashback site in Britain.

8. Buy Cheaper Insurance

We can not begin to explain the importance of insurance and how it protects you from unexpected hazards. Because of the work it does, most insurance policies do not come cheap.

Even then, surfing for different companies to make an adequate adjustment to your existing insurance policies can help you save more money while protecting your interest.

Remember, getting quotes from an insurance company is very easy. When you make the right choice on your insurance company, you get to save more every month.

9. Sign Up for Credit Card Bonuses and Rewards

If you have a good credit score and are eligible to get a credit card, you are in for a treat. By taking advantage of credit card offers, you can earn a whopping $100-$500 one-time sign-up bonus for a new card.

Interestingly, using your original credit card to make only purchases can get you to cashback on your purchases. Cool right?

Your total earnings made from signing up for a new credit card and cash backs on shopping with the card can be diverted to your money-saving challenge to help you meet up.

TIP! Sign up to the Experian Boost program (it’s free!) and increase your credit scores fast. The higher your scores, the more likely you are to qualify for loans, mortgages and credit cards at the most favorable terms, which will save you a lot of money.

10. Sell Stuff that is Old or Unneeded

Carefully scrutiny your home. Lots of stuff lying around that you do not need or use, right? Instead of keeping them there, consider selling them and making some extra money.

If your old or unneeded stuff is a lot, you could host a yard sale to help you quickly get rid of them while making huge sales. You can also use the internet to your advantage here.

Using Craigslist or the Facebook market place to sell helps you reach a wider audience. Either you are making a yard sale, auctioning, or using the internet, selling your old stuff provides you with extra cash to add to your weekly money saving challenge.

11. Cut Back on your Entertainment

Without proper entertainment, we would all lead boring lives. Even then, one of the best ways to see remarkable savings is to cut back on entertainment.

Carefully think about how much you spend on entertainment and if it can be reduced. Movies, concerts, sporting events, and lots more are entertainment that takes large sums.

Admittedly, it is impossible to assume that no dime would be spent on entertainment. After all, spending time with friends and family is fun and makes memories.

To help cut back on recreation, explore free or cost-effective entertainment forms to engage in that would not break the bank. Doing this will help you save more while having a great time with friends and family.

12. Start a Business or Side Hustle

The best way to boost your savings is by having an increased income. If you have a job, getting a side hustle will take your savings to the next level. Carefully think of ample ideas to start a side hustle that can be lucrative.

Consider side hustle careers in babysitting, pet walking, freelancing, or uber driving. Whatever works for you! Take a step and start today to up your earnings and save more.

TIP! Join Honey, the money-saving app. Honey automatically finds the best coupon codes while you shop online. On average, their 17 million users save $115 on their online shopping every year. Best of all, it’s free.

Conclusion

To make the 52 weeks saving process easy for you, I recommend you download a printable PDF of your savings challenge. With or without the printable 52 weeks table, you can succeed if you strictly adhere to the tips given in this article.

The first few weeks will test your will and commitment. Once you can scale through, sticking to the routine and seeing it till its completion is possible. Remember a thousand and one things you can do with $1,300 and let that spur you on to complete the 52-week money saving challenge.

TIP! Take your money further, faster. AXOS Bank is an online-only bank offering higher yield savings than traditional banks, in fact, 8x the national average APY. No minimum balance requirements. The opening deposit is $250.

We explain how you can make money, save money and grow money.

Make money: learn how to build wealth and how to earn money from the internet.

Save money: learn how to save money and how to make budget plans.

Grow money: learn how to invest and trade.

Please note that under no circumstances should any information from this blog be used as replacement for professional financial advice.

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