As we begin another year, people commonly make resolutions or set goals around saving money and improving habits. It’s a time of promise, change, and renewal where anything seems possible!
And then January 2nd hits.
There’s no shame in it; We’ve all felt the excitement fade once the shiny newness of the new year wears off and we’re left with a full month of New England January… And February… And March…
If your goal this year is to save more money, what can you do to stick with it? You can build lasting saving habits by making saving something you actually want to do. Making saving into a game –or better yet, a savings challenge—can take it from just another chore to something fun, motivating, and a little addictive. With that in mind, here are a few creative savings challenges to keep your momentum going over the next few months!
The “No Change Left Behind” Challenge
For this classic challenge, you’re going to scrounge up all your loose change from everywhere change can be found. Check your wallet, bags, clothes pockets, vehicle(s), and that junk drawer you like to pretend you don’t have (It’s OK, we have it too!). Once you’ve got it all together, try to guess how much the stash is worth. Bring your change to a coin counting machine like Coinstar or to the bank to count it up and see how close your guess was!
I tried this once and guessed I had $40… I actually had $112!
The Classic Fiver Challenge
This challenge is great for people who use cash regularly. Every time you break a bill above 5 Dollars, set all the 5-dollar bills aside and save them. You can do this for as short as a weekend or as long as a year! You’d be shocked how much you can save by keeping these little bits
The Digital Fiver Challenge
What if you love the simplicity of the fiver challenge, but never carry cash? Try this modern version of the Fiver Challenge! To start, make sure you have your bank’s secure app, or have access to their online banking.
Any time you make a purchase of $20 or more, use your bank’s app to transfer five dollars from your checking account to your savings account. It’s that simple!
If you want an even simpler variation, set up a recurring automatic transfer for five dollars to your savings account daily. You can watch the transactions grow your savings like a digital piggy bank!
The “Oops! You Did It Again!” Challenge
Do you have any pesky little habits you’re trying to break? Assign them a dollar value, and each time you slip up add that much money to a savings jar. Some ideas could look like:
- Bought food instead of bringing lunch from home: Add $1.
- Impulse bought something I didn’t actually need: Add $3.
- Skipped a planned task (like the gym, reading, scheduling that appointment): Add $5
Is it a little mistake you make all the time? Try setting the value lower so it doesn’t add up quicker than you want. Do you feel brave and want strong motivation not to put something off? Set the value even higher.
The Digital Detox Dividends Challenge
For those of us who want to lower our screen time (And honestly, who doesn’t want that these days?) this challenge helps reach two goals at once. It's a little more math heavy to start, but you can have some fun and create a lot of good habits with it.
Check your average daily screen time and choose how many hours you want to reduce. (This works best with even numbers)
Double that number to set your detox number. This amount will be equivalent to dollars.
At the end of the day, see how many hours you actually reduced.
Subtract $1 from the detox amount for each hour you reduced.
Save whatever amount remains. If you've reached your goal, your screen time and savings should be the same number!
Example:
If your goal is to reduce screen time by 2 hours, your detox number starts at $4.
Reduce by 2 hours → save $2.
Reduce by 0 hours → save $4.
Tip: Instead of endless doomscrolling, aim to replace that time with another activity. (If you’re in the Seacoast region, we regularly post local attractions to keep you away from your phone!)
At the end of the day, it’s your habits that have the biggest impact on your life. Each of these challenges helps you to build good habits and gain momentum without becoming overwhelmed or feeling restricted. Small changes add up—and future you will be glad you started.