Are you participating in the 52-week save money challenge? $55 will get you ahead of the game …
No doubt at some point you've had as a goal to save money. Maybe it's a goal for you now.
Whether it's for holiday shopping, for a family vacation, or for an emergency fund, steady, regular payments can get the job done.
52-week save money challenge: classic version
If you've frequented websites like this, there's a good chance you've seen this challenge. Start by saving $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third, and so forth, finally saving $52 the last week of the year:
| Week | Total | Week | Total | Week | Total | Week | Total |
| 1 | $1 | 14 | $105 | 27 | $378 | 40 | $820 |
| 2 | $3 | 15 | $120 | 28 | $406 | 41 | $861 |
| 3 | $6 | 16 | $136 | 29 | $435 | 42 | $903 |
| 4 | $10 | 17 | $153 | 30 | $465 | 43 | $946 |
| 5 | $15 | 18 | $171 | 31 | $496 | 44 | $990 |
| 6 | $21 | 19 | $190 | 32 | $528 | 45 | $1035 |
| 7 | $28 | 20 | $210 | 33 | $561 | 46 | $1081 |
| 8 | $36 | 21 | $231 | 34 | $595 | 47 | $1128 |
| 9 | $45 | 22 | $253 | 35 | $630 | 48 | $1176 |
| 10 | $55 | 23 | $276 | 36 | $666 | 49 | $1225 |
| 11 | $66 | 24 | $300 | 37 | $703 | 50 | $1275 |
| 12 | $78 | 25 | $325 | 38 | $741 | 51 | $1326 |
| 13 | $91 | 26 | $351 | 39 | $780 | 52 | $1378 |
Really easy, really straightforward … and by the end of the year, you've saved well over a thousand dollars.
One of the greater appeals of this particular challenge is how gradually it ramps up. Saving a buck the first week is a pretty low bar. Saving $30 or more a week starts to translate into giving other things up, as it should. But it doesn't go from easy to hard overnight, or anywhere close.
A little extra head start
This challenge sets the challenge-accepter up for success:
- Make it easy to understand.
- Start with a (usually) trivial commitment. One dollar is easy for most people.
- Keep it almost trivial for a good while. Seven bucks is about a fast-food lunch. Still not too bad.
- Give plenty of chances to catch up. Nobody's perfect. Doubling or tripling up, multiple times, isn't the end of the world.
BUT … just because you have plenty of chances to catch up doesn't mean that you want to be playing catch-up.
While you're playing catch-up, you're behind. You're not on track with where you want to go.
You're risking failure.
What $55 buys you is the first nine weeks of this challenge. You start at week ten.
It's like starting a marathon at the beginning of the sixth mile. Boom, just like that:
| Week | Total | Week | Total | Week | Total | Week | Total |
| 1 | 14 | $105 | 27 | $378 | 40 | $820 | |
| 2 | 15 | $120 | 28 | $406 | 41 | $861 | |
| 3 | 16 | $136 | 29 | $435 | 42 | $903 | |
| 4 | 17 | $153 | 30 | $465 | 43 | $946 | |
| 5 | 18 | $171 | 31 | $496 | 44 | $990 | |
| 6 | 19 | $190 | 32 | $528 | 45 | $1035 | |
| 7 | 20 | $210 | 33 | $561 | 46 | $1081 | |
| 8 | 21 | $231 | 34 | $595 | 47 | $1128 | |
| 9 | 22 | $253 | 35 | $630 | 48 | $1176 | |
| 10 | $55 | 23 | $276 | 36 | $666 | 49 | $1225 |
| 11 | $66 | 24 | $300 | 37 | $703 | 50 | $1275 |
| 12 | $78 | 25 | $325 | 38 | $741 | 51 | $1326 |
| 13 | $91 | 26 | $351 | 39 | $780 | 52 | $1378 |
Granted, the next week of the challenge involves saving $11, not $2.
The giant plus side, though, is that a lot of bad stuff can happen prior to the end of the year (translate: missed weeks) and you'd still possibly always be ahead of the game throughout the year. You gave yourself so much of a head start that it was easy to stay on track.
Getting an early head start on your annual financial goals (and other goals as well!) helps you to make the mark!
