52 Week Money Challenge

Fifty-two weeks ago, I started the "52 Week Money Challenge" as a way to force myself to save money.  And now, 52 weeks after starting that challenge, I'm here to say I - the self-proclaimed actual literal worst at saving money - succeeded!

What the challenge is:

Over the course of 52 weeks, you save $1,378 by putting increasing amounts of money each week into a jar (or other place of your choosing), starting by putting $1 in the first week, and $52 in the last week.

What I did differently:

I realized pretty quickly that, for me personally, it worked better to do the challenge backwards.  Putting increasing amounts of money in the jar meant that the last four weeks of the year, I would have been putting in $49, $50, $51, and $52 into the jar.  $202 right at Christmastime, when money is already tight after buying everyone's Christmas gifts.  So I started out putting $52 into the jar, $51 the next week, $50 the next week, and so on right down to $1 the last week.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely!  I'm most definitely planning on doing this again in 2016.  It was amazing seeing the money add up, and I think that overall throughout the year, I saved more money by doing this than I would have if I hadn't - it's too easy for me to spend money if I'm not specifically saving it for something!

Helpful tips!

A couple little tips that I found useful as I went along:

- Print out the chart, and put it up somewhere where you'll see it!  The act of taking a pen and checking off an amount you've put into the jar is so oddly satisfying.

- Save the money someplace you can see.  For me, physically seeing it add up (rather than seeing a number on my bank's app) was a major factor in being able to complete this challenge.  Being able to take it out and count it, and marvel at the fact that I had actually saved that much money... I think know that made a difference for me.

- Don't beat yourself up if you can't put in the amount you're "supposed" to.  If your chart says you're supposed to put in $34, but you can only afford to part with $13 that week, then put in the $13 and check off that amount instead.  That way you're still putting money in; you can always put that $34 in another week!

I think it's helpful to have something you're saving towards as well.  When I first started, I had no idea what I was going to do with the money at the end of the year.  Maybe it would go towards concert tickets?  Maybe it would go towards saving so I can move down to Nashville?  Maybe... but then my grandparents brought up the fact that they want the family to go on a cruise together this summer, and so the majority of what I saved will be going towards that.  The rest?  The rest is in my bank account, ready to go towards student loan payments or groceries or new books or whatever else my paycheck tends to get spent on.

Personally, I will definitely be doing this challenge again in 2016.  I am planning on moving down to Tennessee in the summer (but that's a topic for another post!), so it might be a little more difficult to put in the amounts I'm "supposed" to while I'm in the middle of moving, but hey- what's a challenge without any "challenge"?

I don't know that I'll write another blog post before the new year, so if I don't.. I'll see you all in 2016!  It hasn't even started yet, and it's already looking to be a great year!