3 Money Savings Challenges to Make You a Better Saver in 2022
We all need to save money. Whether buying a home, a new car, or paying for school, everyone needs to have some savings tucked away. I’ve put together 3 money saving challenges that will not just help you save money right now, but will help you recognize where you bad spending habits are coming from and set you up with better habits in the long-term. Also why not kill two birds with one stone and make this the perfect New Years Eve Resolution?
Money Saving Challenge #1: Buy Nothing Challenge
One of my favorites by far, the Buy Nothing Challenge (also known as the No Spending Challenge) forces you to cut the “silly spending” for a period of time and try to literally buy nothing but the essentials (I’m talking food, medicine, travel to and from work). I really like this challenge because it helps shift your mindset away from mindless consuming. Once you go through a few weeks, you’ll realize how unnecessary a lot of your prior spending actually was.
Money Saving Challenge #2: Buy One Save One Challenge
The Buy One Save One challenge involves you saving a penny for every one you spend. Every time you buy a non-essential like that new purse, video game, or extra detailing on the car, you have to save just as much. Spend $50 on a video game, save $50. This habit will help you realize the opportunity cost of you spending money elsewhere instead of saving or investing.
Money Saving Challenge #3: 30-Day Meal Plan Challenge
If you tally up what you spend every month on eating out (including the morning coffees), you’ll be surprised how much you actually spend. For example, dining out for lunch 5 days a week can net you $10-$20 a day-that’s almost $4,800 a year on just lunch! For the next 30 days, commit to packing your own lunch. Take the money you would have spent dining out and tuck it away into a piggy bank. Putting away the physical money is an important part of this challenge. Physically seeing the money will be a strong reminder for what you’ve accomplished. Studies have shown that we spend less when dealing with cash than with credit because seeing the money leave our hands reminds us that this money is real! My husband and I tried this challenge ourselves after realizing we were spending $700 a month between the two of us just on dining out (that was on top of $700 in groceries)!
Don't get frustrated if you slip up
Don’t get frustrated if you slip up now and then. Remember, the purpose of these challenges is not just to help you save money today but to help change your habits so saving money becomes second nature. According to a study conducted by Phillippa Lally, a health psychology researcher, on average it takes more than 2 months-66 days to be exact- to form a new habit.(1) Two months can seem like a long time but compared to a lifetime, it’s a walk in the park.
Money Saving Challenges I DO NOT Recommend
Literally any challenge that has you saving random amounts of money for an arbitrary period of time. Challenges like the 52-week challenge, 26-week challenge, penny-a-day challenge…
While popular and trendy, I don’t recommend these money saving challenges for two key reasons:
- They don’t help to address the underlying reason behind your poor saving habits.
- The amount of money recommended to set aside is arbitrary without thought to a person’s individual situation.
The challenges I do recommend will help make savings a habit but one that is positive and productive.
Sources:
(1) How Long Does It Take to Actually Form A New Habit. James Clear. https://jamesclear.com/new-habit Accessed March 1, 2021