It's a 52 week challenge (year long) where every week you put that corresponding amount into your savings account. For example, this is week one so you deposit $1 (EASY!) and the last week is week 52 so you deposit $52. By the end of 52 weeks you will have $1,378.00 saved! I urge all of you who don't already have a savings account to try this.
As my friend pointed out, it may be difficult to deposit so much the last month (this will be over $200 in December, which is also one of the most expensive months) so she suggested going backwards...starting at week 52 and working down. That is what I will do, especially since my goal was to put an extra $50 in savings each week this month.
I'm fairly happy with our savings account at the moment, but have a large hospital bill coming up (even with co-pays it is expensive having a baby!), have a car repair bill coming up as something is wrong with our van and I'm hoping it's just the muffler, and we need to get a new desktop computer bundle (does anyone know of a good deal going on right now?). So by adding this extra amount to savings it will help cushion those blows.
For those who have no savings at all, or a very small one, this $1,378 in an account will be a huge relief to you. Do not touch it for ANYTHING short of a true emergency though. You can not build up a savings if you dig into it every time you run short on funds and "need" to go out to eat, or buy that top that you want, etc. Pretend that it isn't even there. Add your money weekly and walk away. At the end of the year you will have a nice little emergency fund and then you can start all over again next year, dipping into it only if you have to. Your sense of security having a back up like this will bring you so much peace.
Tip: Put your money in savings the day you get paid, do not wait until the end of the week to see if you have enough left to stick in savings. You always want to "pay yourself first" and once that money is in savings you can work around it. Having that money sitting in your checking account is just an invitation to spend.
I'm always amazed at how a little can add up so quickly. I think I'd like to try this for our children's saving's accounts!
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! Just told my hubby and he agreed with starting backwards.
ReplyDeletewhen I had paid off my car, I started making the car payment into my savings account. If I could make that payment when I had a payment, I could make the payment after it was paid off. When I needed a new car, I had a good amount in the savings account to use as collateral. I continued to do this every time the car was paid off and for several years before buying a new car. It really added up.
ReplyDeleteI was just looking at the kids accounts and really need to start this (or something similar) for them as well, GirlRural. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, you are so right! Too many people use that "extra money" each month once they pay something off for "fun". It's much wiser to put it into savings!