Welcome to my 52 Ways to Save $100 a Month series. We’re serious about saving money in 2016. Sometimes it’s the little things and sometimes it’s the big things. I’m here to walk you through some little things that can add up to BIG savings. 52 little things to be exact. Every week, join me back here for another small money saving tip or idea that might not seem like significant savings until you see the overall yearly savings. It might just blow your mind. So pop in each Tuesday and read a new tip that will help you on your way to save $100 a month!
A few years ago, One Hundred Dollars a Month reader, Kathy, left a comment that totally inspired me. I already had a few weekly money saving series in progress, so I shelved it. This past year, I worked on sharing ideas that could save you money on a slightly larger scale, to the tune of $100 a month or more. So far, I’ve shared 51 penny pinching practices. Hopefully, you’ve learned a little and saved a lot. But in looking forward to 2017, that comment from Kathy kept bouncing around in my brain. So this year I’m acting on it. Here’s what she said:
“I set goals for myself every year but they aren’t nearly as lofty as the others I’ve read. I work for myself so, unfortunately, I don’t have the time to read a book a week but I am committing to a book a month and I’m aiming for some of the classics this year.
I also want to have some extra spending money at the end of the year and read about a weekly savings program called the 52 week money challenge where you set aside the amount of money corresponding to the week of the year. For instance, for the first week of the year you would put aside $1 and so forth until you get to the last week, week 52, where you put aside $52. At the end of the year you have $1,378 saved.”
Brilliant idea, right?! I thought so, too! So I’m doing it. I’ll implement a lot of the money saving practices I talked about last year to make this happen! The theory is that if you bite it off in small chunks like that, you’ll hardly notice those dollars being pulled from your budget and relocated to savings.
I know that sometimes weeks look different, and setting aside the higher amounts during the holidays might be a little bit more tricky, so I think you could totally start backwards and work your way down, or jump around, as your budget permits. I decided to make a handy dandy little printable chart so that you could highlight the amount you put away each week, and know what amounts you still need to do {in the event you are going to jump around}. Personally, I kind of like the idea of being able to skip around, so on weeks where there is a birthday, or unexpected expense, I can put less away, and more away on a week where there is nothing really going on.
What do you think? Awesome idea? Are you on board? If so, what are you saving for?
~Mavis
More Ways to Save:
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Clean Out Your Closet {Week 1 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Break Up with Cable {Week 2 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Barter Better {Week 3 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Change Your Own Oil {Week 4 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Adjust Your Thermostat {Week 5 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Take Advantage of Your Perks {Week 6 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Pack Your Lunch {Week 7 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make It Yourself {Week 8 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Preserve Your Bounty {Week 9 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Keep the Change {Week 10 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | The Art of Borrowing {Week 11 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Ditch the Gym {Week 12 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Clip a Coupon {Week 13 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Start Your Garden From Seed {Week 14 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Learn to Cut Hair {Week 15 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Become a 1 Car Family {Week 16 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make a Phone Call {Week 17 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Shop Christmas in July {Week 18 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Grow a Garden {Week 19 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Just Say No {Week 20 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Go Generic {Week 21 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make a Budget {Week 22 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Use the Library {Week 23 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Kick the Soda Habit {Week 24 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Improve Your Credit Score {Week 25 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Shop Online {Week 26 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Save on Lodging {Week 27 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Play for Free {Week 28 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Save Big on Birthday Parties {Week 29 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Back to School Clothes on the Cheap {Week 30 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Inexpensively Entertaining {Week 31 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Buy Used College Textbooks {Week 32 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Buy Used {Week 33 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Buy In Bulk {Week 34 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Skip a Meal {Week 35 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Save on Medical Expenses {Week 36 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Save on Christmas Spending {Week 37 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Reduce Convenience Foods {Week 38 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Stop Paying Interest {Week 39 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Eat Less Meat {Week 40 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Curb Impulse Buying {Week 41 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Do Holiday Shopping AFTER the Holidays {Week 42 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Make a List {Week 43 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Cook in Bulk {Week 44 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Dress Minimally {Week 45 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Use Less Product {Week 46 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Take Advantage of Free {Week 47 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Turn Off the Lights {Week 48 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Keep an Idea Journal {Week 49 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Avoid Stress Spending {Week 50 of 52}
52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | How Do YOU Save? {Week 51 of 52}
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Earlene says
I LOVE the Iced Hazelnut Coffee from McDonalds too much as I was going almost everyday after work and sometimes on the weekend, until I figured out how much I was spending. Yeah, it only cost $2.89 a pop, but that adds up over the long haul. So, I have been putting that money aside and had a nice amount to spend at Christmas on the grandkids. I’m going thru the drive thru about once a week, after I took a month off from going thru the drive thru. Just to break that bad habit!
Michele K says
I did this one year & started it backwards because I thought that would work better for us. I also modified it a bit more because my husband gets paid once a month.
Amy says
I love the idea about skipping around; I am doing this. I look forward to seeing your goals for 2017. I’m still working on mine.
Kristina says
I can picture putting the chart on the wall in a prominent place, highlighting each random week’s amount I am saving. It would be fun to watch the page slowly fill up with color.
deb k says
Great idea, especially the skipping around when needed.
deb k
ann in E. oregon says
This is a great idea, Mavis and Kathy!! I’m doing it! I like Kristina’s idea of putting the chart on the wall and highlighting the weeks as they go by. Thanks for all the inspiration and ideas, Mavis. 🙂 Looking forward to 2017. 🙂
Stacie says
I’ve done this before!! I also started backward, but then I skipped around and just highlighted the amounts as I went. I use this toward Christmas presents and my Roth IRA.
Debbie says
I did this 52 week challenge in 2015 and I started it backwards as well. It was a great way to save money. I used part of the money to help out my brother and sister in law when my sister in law was hurt and couldn’t work for a couple of months.
Vicki in Birmingham says
I saw this idea a year or two ago, but it was also with two other charts…one for $.25 and one for $.50. I have a 14 year old nephew for whom I did the $.25 savings for a Christmas present (at the age that I find so difficult to buy for). It totaled to $344.50. Not a bad gift! And not nearly as difficult to come up with over the period of a year as it would have been at one time.
Sue says
I’ve done this also, I have done the 5.00 challenge where I saved every five for a year.
One year I had 20 santa boxes I bought from Pottery Barn at the end of the season sale. I saves all change until I had 20.00 to put in each box, I filled all boxes for the next Christmas! I also have a Way To Save account with my bank check card where a dollar is taken every time I use it, I didn’t touch it for a whole year to see how much I could save. It’s fun to watch it grow.
Lisa says
I did this chart a few years ago. As I did it, I would often skip around depending on how much extra I had that week. The order of the chart I did was smallest to largest and I thought it was kind of backwards–I think starting bigger and getting smaller makes more sense.
Perhaps I will join you and do this again!
Peg says
I did it this year with modifications. I’m self-employed so I started backwards and added more at the end because I worked a lot the last 3 months. Suggested it to my 28-year old just last night. Didn’t miss the money at all. Doing it again this year!
Heather says
I just printed the table and plan on doing it backwards / skip around. I don’t have a goal in mind yet, but I will work on that.