17 Money Saving Challenges You Can Try in 2023

Saving money can be tricky, especially if you are not used to it. For one, you might not be sure how much you can save without impacting your current lifestyle. And secondly, you may not have a good idea of where to start when looking for ways to save money.💰💰

But don’t worry! We’ve got you covered. Here are money-saving challenges you can start today.

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Our best money saving challenges 💸💸

Sometimes, telling yourself you need to save money is not enough. Instead, you must have a plan and specific goals to work towards. That’s where these money-saving challenges come in! Here are some you can try.

1. Penny saving challenge 💵💵

Do you remember the old saying, “A penny saved is a penny earned?” Well, this challenge puts that saying into action. The Penny Saving Challenge is simple: save 1 penny on the first day of the month, 2 pennies on the second day, 3 pennies on the third day, and so on.💲💲

By the end of the month, you will have saved 468 pennies, equal to $4.68! If you continue doing this for a year, you will save $56.16.

2. No-spend challenge ❌❌

The No-Spend Challenge is what it sounds like. For a set period, you do not spend any money. This can be for a day, a week, or even a month!❎

During this time, you can only use what you have already saved up. The challenge is great for people who tend to overspend or who have a lot of debt.

Here’s what you have to do.👇👇

Start by withdrawing a set amount of cash for the week or month. This is your spending money for the challenge.
Then, make a list of all your regular expenses. It could include rent, groceries, utility bills, and gas for your car.🛒🚙
Finally, figure out how much you need to spend on each item. Doing so will help you budget your cash for the week or month.
Once you have your spending money and budget, stick to it! The goal is not to spend any additional money during the challenge.

3. 52-week savings challenge 📆

In this challenge, you save a set amount of money each week for 52 weeks. The amount you save starts small and then gradually increases each week.

For example, you might save $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on. By the end of the year, you will have saved $1,378!📅💰💰

You can use a savings calculator to see how much you will have saved at the end of the 52 weeks.

You only need a jar or container to put your money in to get started. Each week, put the designated amount of cash into your container. Once the year is up, you can use your savings for anything.💲

4. Keep all the change challenge 💵💵

The Keep All the Change Challenge is simple: take all of the coins and bills out of your pockets, put them in a jar, and don’t spend any of them for 30 days.

The challenge is about resetting your relationship with money and becoming more mindful of your spending. It’s not about depriving yourself – you can still enjoy your life and buy things, but you’ll be more conscious of your choices.👀

Basically, you collect your spare change for 30 days and don’t spend any of it. At the end of the challenge, you’ll have a jar full of cash – and a new perspective on your spending habits.💸

5. 365-day nickel challenge 💵💵

What if you saved a nickel every day for a year? It doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up to over $60! The 365-Day Nickel Challenge is a great way to save money because it’s easy and practically painless.

To do the challenge, put a nickel in a jar every day for 365 days. That’s it!

6. Trim 1% of your salary challenge 💰💰

Here’s a fun challenge: save 1% of your monthly salary for a year. So, if you make $3,000 per month, you’ll save $30 per month.

In this way, you’ll slowly but surely get into the habit of saving money without feeling the pinch too much. And at the end of the year, you’ll have saved $360 – not too shabby!💲💲

You can make this challenge even more effective by setting up a standing order or direct debit so that the money is automatically transferred to your savings account every month. That way, you won’t even get a chance to spend this money on anything.💸💸

7. The pantry challenge 🥘🍲

The Pantry Challenge is a fun way to save money on groceries. You cannot spend any money on groceries for a set period, typically one month. The goal is to use up what you have on hand, including non-perishable and perishable items.🥫🥘

It can be a great way to save money and force you to get creative with your meals. There are a few different ways to approach the challenge.😋🍲

You can either try to use up everything in your pantry or focus on eating from the pantry and not buying anything new. If you have a large family, it may be easier to focus on the latter option. The first option may be more realistic if you live alone or with a partner.

8. Holiday gift challenge 🧧

Do you start worrying as soon as the holiday season arrives? Do you spend hours finding the perfect gifts for your loved ones, only to end up feeling stressed and frustrated? If so, the holiday gift challenge is for you!🎄🎄

Many credit unions have holiday interest-bearing savings accounts. You can put $5 or more in the account every week. It saves you the hassle of coming up with a lump sum at the end of the year.🤶💲💲

9. No eating out challenge ❌❌

If you want to save money, you can designate a period when you won’t eat out. For instance, you can challenge yourself not to eat out for 30 days.

Suppose you spend $30 to $50 every time you eat out. If you eat out five days a month, that’s $150 to $250.👀👀

During the challenge, you can cook meals at home and pack your lunch to work. Eating out is usually more expensive and less healthy than cooking at home.

The no-eating-out challenge can help you save money and improve your dietary habits.

10. Weather wednesday challenge 🌈⛈⛆

Here’s a challenge that makes money-saving super interesting. Every Wednesday, you look at the weather forecast and find out the highest temperature in your area on that day.

Then, you put this amount in your savings. For example, if the temp is pushing 90 degrees, you put $90 aside. Sure enough, you’ll save more money in summer than in winter.💸💸

If the temperature is below 0 on any Wednesday, you can skip that week’s challenge.

11. Roll the dice challenge 🎲

Here’s another cool way to save money. You just have to roll a dice, and whatever number you get, that’s the amount you’ll save that week.🎲🎲

So if you roll a 3, you’ll save $3. You can do this every week or daily, depending on how much you want to save.

The great thing about this method is that it’s really easy to do, and it doesn’t require a lot of willpower. All you need is a dice and a piggy bank, and you’re good to go!

12. No swearing challenge ❎

You’ve probably seen this one in Netflix series or movies. It’s pretty simple- you can’t swear for X number of days.

If you do, you must put some money in a jar (or whatever you want).

The idea behind this is that it will make you more aware of your words and how you use them. Plus, you save money.❌💭💭

You can choose the amount you want to save, depending on how much is easy for you to put aside. For example, you can put $1 in the jar every time you swear. If you can afford more, put in $5.

13. Round up money-saving challenge 💲💲

You spend $3.50 on coffee. Save the $0.50. You spend $7.20 on lunch. Save the $0.80.

You get the idea- every time you make a purchase, round up the price to the nearest dollar and put that money into your savings account.💵💵

Not all banking apps will let you do this. Instead, you can use a spare change app like Acorns. The app rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the money for you.💸

You can also do this manually by putting the spare change into a jar. When it’s full, deposit the money into your savings account.

14. Kick a bad habit challenge ❌🚩

Do you have a bad habit that you want to break? Whether it’s smoking, overspending, or procrastinating, quitting a bad habit can be difficult. But it’s not impossible!

You can use this challenge to help you quit your bad habit for good. Here’s how it works:

Choose a bad habit that you want to break. Suppose it’s smoking.
For the next 30 days, do your best to avoid participating in your bad habit. That means you do not buy cigarettes.🚩🚩
Instead, you put this money in a savings account or a jar to save it. At the end of the 30 days, you’ll have saved money and hopefully broken your bad habit.

15. Coffee break challenge🥤

One of the most common expenses is buying coffee from Starbucks every day.

Take the 30-day challenge of making your coffee at home to cut down on this expense.

You’ll need to buy a coffee maker and some coffee beans, but after that, you’ll be able to save money every day.🥤🥤

Suppose you spend $6 on a coffee every day at Starbucks. If you get coffee from there at least five days a week, that amounts to $30 a week or $120 per month.💵

Over a year, you would spend $1,440 on coffee. Instead, making coffee at home costs you a fraction of that.

16. Subscription cancellation challenge ❌

Have you ever signed up for a subscription and then forgotten to cancel it? It’s easy to do, especially if you have a lot of subscriptions.

But those subscription fees can add up, so it’s important to cancel any subscription you’re no longer using. You must be proactive about it.👀

To make this challenge easier, set a reminder in your calendar once a month to check what subscriptions you’re paying for. Then, go through and cancel any that you don’t use.❌❌

You can also use an app to make this easier. Rocket Money is an app that helps you cancel unwanted subscriptions and negotiate your bills. You can also use the app to see how much you spend on different categories and reduce spending where possible.

17. Cash only for a month challenge 💵💵💵

Online shopping and card payments can be very convenient. But they can also lead to overspending. So if you’re trying to save money, it’s important to be aware of your spending.

One way to do this is to take the cash only for a month’s challenge. For one month, you will only use cash for all your purchases.💵💲

This means you will need to withdraw cash at the beginning of the month and budget it out wisely. You may need to adjust your lifestyle slightly, but it will be worth it in the end.

Summary

There you have it: a list of 17 money-saving challenges. No matter which money saving challenge you choose, you’ll be well on your way to saving more money each month. Remember to be creative, have fun, and stay motivated throughout the process!💪💪

You can also combine a few of these money challenges to create your own unique challenge. For example, you can combine the No-Spend challenge with the No Swearing challenge to save even more money (and improve your language skills at the same time!).💢💥

The key is to find a challenge (or combination of challenges) that works for you and your lifestyle.😜

17 Money Saving Challenges You Can Try