10 Fun Money Saving Challenges to Try This Year

Key Takeaways

Money saving challenges offer a fun approach to building savings, providing structure, encouragement, and visual progress tracking.
While challenges like the 52-Week Money Challenge and No-Spend Challenge are great for building disciplined saving habits, they are less flexible and require sustained commitment.
Whether you opt for doing a savings challenge or creating a traditional savings plan, the idea is to cultivate a good habit of saving money.

Do you struggle with staying dedicated to your saving goals? Make it more fun with money saving challenges!

Money saving challenges can inject some excitement into your financial journey while helping you achieve your goals. Here we’ll share 10 fun savings challenges to try. Any of these can be done on your own, or, if you’re married, get your partner on board with you.

Savings Challenges vs. Traditional Savings Plans

When is it time to pick a fun money savings challenge over a traditional savings plan? Mostly when you feel like you need some more structure to your plan to keep on track.

A traditional savings plan means you are putting away a portion of your paycheck each month toward savings. When your savings are automated, this plan can be easy to follow. But if your paychecks aren’t consistently the same, you make cash tips, or you have a more specific situation that takes away the structure of automating your savings, it may be worth trying a savings challenge.

You might also consider a savings challenge when you have a bonus savings goal and a timeline. For example, maybe you’re saving up for a vacation at the end of the year and you already have a traditional savings plan in place to cover the logistics – airfare, lodging, tickets, etc.

But this would be a good chance to do one of these fun money-saving challenges to save some extra money for the trip. Maybe you use the money saved from a challenge for excursions or extra spending money toward activities and souvenirs.

While money saving challenges offer a dynamic and engaging approach to building savings, they're not suitable for everyone. Let's compare them with traditional savings plans:

Ultimately, whether you opt for a money saving challenge or a traditional savings plan depends on your personality, financial situation, and savings goals. Some thrive on the structured nature of challenges, while others prefer the flexibility of traditional approaches. Whichever path you choose, the most important thing is to cultivate a habit of saving!

Where to Store Your Savings

The best place to stash your savings is in a savings account. This keeps your savings out of sight and out of mind, so you’re not easily pulling from it.

Does it matter what type of savings account you use? Well, a high-yield savings account allows you to store your savings separately while also allowing it to grow. A traditional savings account works great too, but you'll earn a much smaller return on your funds at a slower rate.

10 Money Saving Challenges

52-Week Money Challenge
Reverse 52-Week Money Challenge
Biweekly Savings Challenge
No-Spend Challenge
Envelope Challenge
Round-Up Challenge
Meal Planning Challenge
Digital Detox Challenge
DIY Challenge
Sell and Save Challenge

Try these popular money saving challenges to give your savings a boost.

152-Week Money Challenge

Save a specific amount each week, starting with $1 on week one, $2 on week two, and so on, until you reach $52 on week 52.

2Reverse 52-Week Money Challenge

Flip the 52-week challenge by starting with $52 on week one, $51 on week two, and decrease by $1 each week until you save $1 on week 52.

3Biweekly Savings Challenge

Set a fixed amount to save every two weeks, such as $50, $100 or more, depending on your financial capacity.

4No-Spend Challenge

Challenge yourself to avoid unnecessary expenses for a set period, maybe a week or two, and put the money you would have spent into savings.

5Envelope Challenge

Allocate a certain amount of cash to various envelopes labeled with different spending categories, such as groceries, entertainment, etc. Once an envelope is empty, refrain from spending in that category for the rest of the month and transfer the remaining cash to savings.

6Round-Up Challenge

Round up your purchases to the nearest dollar and transfer the difference into your savings account. For example, if you spend $23.50, transfer $0.50 to savings. To easily do this, pick a time at the end of the week or month to review your bank statement and calculate those differences from each transaction.

7Meal Planning Challenge

Plan your meals for a week or a month in advance, purchase ingredients in bulk or on sale, and avoid dining out. Then put the money you saved from restaurant expenses into your savings.

8Digital Detox Challenge

Cut back on digital subscriptions, online shopping, and unnecessary app purchases for a month, and divert the saved money into savings.

9DIY Challenge

Challenge yourself to DIY common household items, such as cleaning products, personal care items, or home decor, instead of buying them. Save the money you would have spent on store-bought items.

10Sell and Save Challenge

Declutter your home and sell unused or unwanted items online or at a garage sale. Put the proceeds in your savings account.

Choose a challenge that aligns with your financial goals, lifestyle and preferences. Adjust the challenge as needed to ensure it remains motivating and achievable. Happy saving!

Save for what’s next.

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7 Steps to Create a Saving Plan

Define your financial goals.
Assess your current financial situation.
Set a realistic saving target.
Choose the right saving tools.
Automate your savings.
Monitor and adjust your savings plan regularly.
Stay motivated and reward yourself.

Learn how to save money once and for all with this step-by-step saving plan.

1 Define your financial goals.

The first step in creating a saving plan is to clearly define your financial goals. What are you saving for and how much money will you need to achieve each goal? Here are a few examples of what you might set a savings goal around:

Emergency fund
Vacation fund
Retirement savings
Down payment for a home
Education fund
Major purchase, such as a new car, home appliances, furniture, or electronics
Starting a business
Philanthropic giving

Take some time to think about your specific goal and the amount you’ll need to save. Having specific, measurable goals will help you stay focused and motivated.

2 Assess your current financial situation.

Once you've established your goals, take a close look at your current financial situation. Calculate your income, expenses, and existing savings to determine how much you can realistically save each month. Tracking your expenses for a few months can help you identify areas where you can cut back and increase your savings potential.

3 Set a realistic saving target.

You have your goal in mind and you have a good idea of your current finances. Now it’s time to be real about how long it’s going to take you to hit your saving target.

Look at your current budget and determine where you can spend less. Maybe you cancel some subscriptions or opt to dine out less each week. With these changes, how long will it take you to save the money you need? Set a realistic date that you’ll aim to hit your savings goal.

4 Choose the right saving tools.

Did you know there are saving tools and accounts that can help you maximize your earnings and reach your goals faster? These include:

High-yield savings accounts: This account offers a competitive annual percentage yield (APY). This means that your money can grow at a faster pace compared to a regular savings account. Plus, the interest earned in a high-yield savings account is often compounded daily or monthly, helping to boost your savings even more.
Share certificates: Like a certificate of deposit (CD) at a bank, these are high-yield savings accounts that will generally pay higher interest rates but come with different regulations. When you open a share certificate, you agree to commit your money for a specific term or period. Terms can range from three months to five years.
Money market accounts: MMAs usually offer tiered rates, meaning you can earn an even higher rate on large balances or on part of your balance over a certain level. You'll likely see a higher minimum required deposit than with a regular savings account. If you already have a large amount of money to move over, like for a down payment on a house, that would be a good opportunity to open a money market account.

Get familiar with these different options to find the ones that best suit your needs in terms of accessibility, interest rates, and potential returns.

Save for what’s next.

Earn higher dividends on lower balances with Propel Savings.

Open an Account

5 Automate your savings.

One of the most effective ways to stick to your saving plan is to automate your savings. Set up automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings accounts regularly, such as every payday. By automating your savings, you'll be less tempted to spend the money, and you'll gradually build up your savings without having to think about it.

6 Monitor and adjust your saving plan regularly.

Once you've implemented your saving plan, monitor your progress regularly and adjust as needed. Life circumstances and financial priorities can change over time, so be prepared to revisit your goals and saving strategies periodically. If you find that you're not saving as much as you'd like, look for additional ways to cut expenses or increase your income to stay on track.

7 Stay motivated and reward yourself.

Saving money can sometimes feel like a long and challenging journey. How can you stay motivated along the way?

Celebrate your progress as you reach each milestone and reward yourself occasionally for sticking to your saving plan. Whether it's treating yourself to a nice dinner or splurging on a small luxury, acknowledging your achievements can help keep you motivated to continue saving for the future.

Creating your saving plan requires some planning, discipline and commitment, but the rewards are well worth the effort. By following these steps and staying focused on your goals, you can take control of your finances, build a secure financial future, and turn your dreams into reality. Start today and watch your savings grow over time.