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The 52-week money challenge is a savings plan that has you set aside money a week at a time, increasing the amount saved by $1 every week.
Making a habit out of saving money is key for building a cash reserve that can cover you in an emergency and for achieving future financial goals. Finding the money to save can be tricky, however, especially if money's tight. Completing the money challenge will leave you with $1,378 in your savings account—plus the confidence that will help you keep hitting your money goals.
What Is the 52-Week Money Challenge?
The 52-week money challenge is a fun and effective way to stash money away to start or bolster your savings. The most common way to complete the challenge is to start by saving just $1 in week one and increasing what you save by $1 each week, saving $2 in week two and $3 in week three, all the way up to $52 in week 52.
By starting small and gradually increasing what you save, you'll make great strides and save a total of $1,378 in a year.
Challenging yourself to save more is an excellent money resolution to start any time of year. Many opt to start the 52-week savings challenge at the start of the new year or the beginning of the month, but you can begin whenever you like by following the weekly schedule below:
| Complete the 52-Week Money Challenge | ||
|---|---|---|
| Week | Deposit | Total Balance |
| Week 1 | $1 | $1 |
| Week 2 | $2 | $3 |
| Week 3 | $3 | $6 |
| Week 4 | $4 | $10 |
| Week 5 | $5 | $15 |
| Week 6 | $6 | $21 |
| Week 7 | $7 | $28 |
| Week 8 | $8 | $36 |
| Week 9 | $9 | $45 |
| Week 10 | $10 | $55 |
| Week 11 | $11 | $66 |
| Week 12 | $12 | $78 |
| Week 13 | $13 | $91 |
| Week 14 | $14 | $105 |
| Week 15 | $15 | $120 |
| Week 16 | $16 | $136 |
| Week 17 | $17 | $153 |
| Week 18 | $18 | $171 |
| Week 19 | $19 | $190 |
| Week 20 | $20 | $210 |
| Week 21 | $21 | $231 |
| Week 22 | $22 | $253 |
| Week 23 | $23 | $276 |
| Week 24 | $24 | $300 |
| Week 25 | $25 | $325 |
| Week 26 | $26 | $351 |
| Week 27 | $27 | $378 |
| Week 28 | $28 | $406 |
| Week 29 | $29 | $435 |
| Week 30 | $30 | $465 |
| Week 31 | $31 | $496 |
| Week 32 | $32 | $528 |
| Week 33 | $33 | $561 |
| Week 34 | $34 | $595 |
| Week 35 | $35 | $630 |
| Week 36 | $36 | $666 |
| Week 37 | $37 | $703 |
| Week 38 | $38 | $741 |
| Week 39 | $39 | $780 |
| Week 40 | $40 | $820 |
| Week 41 | $41 | $861 |
| Week 42 | $42 | $903 |
| Week 43 | $43 | $946 |
| Week 44 | $44 | $990 |
| Week 45 | $45 | $1,035 |
| Week 46 | $46 | $1,081 |
| Week 47 | $47 | $1,128 |
| Week 48 | $48 | $1,176 |
| Week 49 | $49 | $1,225 |
| Week 50 | $50 | $1,275 |
| Week 51 | $51 | $1,326 |
| Week 52 | $52 | $1,378 |
Benefits of the 52-Week Money Challenge
The 52-week money challenge will help you save more than $1,000—a clear financial benefit, especially if you're struggling to find the funds to save. On top of more money, there are a number of other benefits to completing the 52-week money challenge:
- An increase in financial confidence: Completing this money challenge can help you shake up your attitude about saving and allow you to see first-hand how habitually saving at least a little each week can help you meet a savings goal. Once you finish the challenge, you can channel your momentum to complete another money challenge or start automatically saving a portion of each paycheck.
- Practice with budgeting: If you aren't used to working your expenses around savings each week, it may take a bit of learning to adjust your spending to meet your goals. Learning to budget your money to prioritize saving first is a lifelong financial skill that's key for achieving major financial goals, such as saving for a down payment on a home and achieving financial freedom in retirement.
- Customize it: You can tweak the challenge to meet your needs. For example, you may up the ante by increasing your saving amount by $5 per week, rather than $1. Or, if you're nervous that changing your deposits each week is a lot to keep track of, you can fully automate the challenge by saving $26.50 each week for a year. You'll still end up with $1,378 in the bank.
- Buddy up for accountability: You can do the 52-week challenge alone, but challenging a friend or joining a group to save alongside you can make the challenge more fun. Plus, you'll be less tempted to bail if you've committed to saving with a team.
Where to Stash Your Savings
Keep the money you save separate from your checking by stashing your savings in a high-yield savings account as you go.
A high-yield saving account is just like a typical savings account, but you'll earn a slightly higher interest rate on your money. It's easy to open up a high-interest savings account through most major online banks.
Once you stash your money in the account, avoid the temptation to tap into it for a purchase. Not only do some savings accounts charge small fees for tapping into your savings too often, but building up a healthy savings account can help you avoid relying on borrowing in the event of an emergency.
Experts recommend aiming to keep three to six months' expenses in an emergency fund, and the 52-week money challenge is a strong way to start. Continue buffering your savings to build an emergency fund that can cover you when you need it.
If you've already built a hefty emergency fund, you can use the 52-week challenge to set aside a large sum of cash for a future purchase or invest it towards retirement in a traditional or Roth IRA.
Keep Saving to Meet Your Goals
The 52-week challenge is a great way to build up your savings and end the year with a hefty cash reserve. As you complete the challenge, channel the good money habits you're learning by ticking off other major financial to-dos like tackling high-interest debt and automating your retirement savings.
Another key financial habit is monitoring your credit score. Keeping track of your score is key for understanding how your borrowing history impacts your ability to qualify for credit, which can come in very handy when you're ready for big financial moves like applying for a mortgage or financing a car. Monitoring your credit report through Experian will help you pinpoint your current creditworthiness and view personalized suggestions for how to improve.