How to save £780 by the end of the year with a simple 12-month challenge
ALTHOUGH 2024 is already well underway, many of us are still feeling the post-Christmas pressure.
Rising energy prices and higher food bills have led to a difficult start to the year for many.
And there is still no end in sight as the cost of living crisis continues.
But now that we have new beginnings in our sights, why not adopt some new money-saving habits to prepare for a rainy day down the line?
Manchester Evening News shared an incredible 12-month challenge that can save you £780 – and you only need £10.
Budgets start with this amount and gradually increase each month.
For example, you save €10 in the first month (from January), €20 in the second month and €30 in the third month, and so on.
If you take up the challenge. The total amount saved could reach £780 by early 2025.
Here's an overview of the savings challenge:
- January – £10
- February – £20
- March – £30
- April – £40
- May – £50
- June – £60
- July – £70
- August – £80
- September – £90
- October – £100
- November – £110
- December – £120
- Total: £780
Other challenges include the 1 cent savings challenge, the 52 week challenge and the 26 week challenge
Anyone can join the 1p savings challenge and the idea is quite simple.
You start by saving 1 cent and then increase the amount you save by 1 cent each day.
So because day one is 1 cent, day two means you put away 2 cents, and the next day it's 3 cents, and so on.
On day number 365 you only add € 3.65 to the bill.
If you started on January 1, 2024 and continued, you will have saved a total of € 671.61 on December 31, 2024.
Don't worry if you didn't start from scratch; just add up the total number of days missed and start from there.
The 52-week challenge sees participants put aside £1 for the first week, £2 for the second, £3 for the third and so on until the end of the year.
The amounts start small, but by the end of the year the weekly savings goal may become too large.
For example, you'll need to stash away the largest amounts around Christmas, with a total of as much as £202 in the last four weeks of the year.
So before you start, consider whether it will take too much time at an already expensive time of year.
If you can stick with it, the payout is huge: you'll win a whopping £1,378.
You can always turn it around and start with the largest amount (€202 per week) and then go smaller. It may be worth making a chart so you can keep track of the numbers.
This adaptation of the 52-week challenge is ideal for people who get paid biweekly.
As you can see, the result of the saving is ultimately the same, but the way it works is a little more complicated.
The idea is that you start in week two and save £3 (so that's the £1 from week one and the £2 from week two), and then in week four you save £7 (weeks three and four). .
This may make it harder to follow, but it can help you spread your savings.