A few years ago, virtual challenges became extremely popular. People all over the internet were challenging people to work out, write more and earn more. Some of the most popular of these challenges turned out to be finance related, urging people to save money.
Among them were challenges like the 365 Day Money Challenge and the 52 Week Money Challenge. Then people began to create their own versions of the challenges, which is where the 26 Week Savings Plan got started.
26 Week Savings Plan
The 26 Week Savings Plan, also known as the Bi-Weekly Money Challenge, helps individuals save more than $1,370 over the span of a year. It is extremely similar to the 52 Week Money Challenge. You’ll save the same amount of money you would in 52 weeks, however, you’ll be able to put the cash aside every other week instead of every week.
This variation on the money challenge was brought about because many people do not get paid on a weekly basis. More often than not, people are paid on a bi-weekly or twice-monthly schedule. If that is the case, it could be difficult to place money in savings every week. Instead, you double up the amounts for the 52 Week Money Challenge and put it into savings every other week.
With this model, you will save $3 the first week instead of $1 the first week and $2 the second. The second week you’ll deposit $7 instead of $3 and $4 on weeks three and four, respectively. The graphic below displays how much you’ll save each week with the 26 Week Savings Plan.
A clean copy of the 26 Week Savings Plan can be downloaded here.
Other Savings Challenges
As mentioned above, there are a plethora of other savings challenges you can try to better your finances. In addition to the 26 Week Savings Plan, you can also try these other fun money challenges:
- 52 Week Money Challenge – As mentioned above, the 52 Week Money Challenge helps you save money throughout the year, one week at a time. At the end of the challenge, you’ll save $1,378.
- 365 Day Money Challenge – This is similar to the 52 Week Money Challenge but instead of taking the year of savings on week-by-week you tackle it daily. You also save pennies a day (instead of dollars per week), totaling to $667.95 at the end of the year.
- 12 Week Money Challenge – If you would like to save more money in a short period of time, consider trying the 12 Week Money Challenge. The 12 Week Money Challenge helps you save $1,000 in 12 weeks (increments of $60 to $100 per week).
- Reverse 52 Week Money Challenge – Many people find the 52 Week Money Challenge difficult because it has you slated to save more money around the holidays. This challenge in reverse makes it so that you save $52 in week one and $1 the last week of the year (making it less strenuous financially).
- Monthly Money Challenge – Maybe you’d like to break down your money challenge by the month. You can do that by creating a monthly money challenge chart. The amount you save will depend on the monthly increments you are able to deposit.
- Mega Money Challenge – The Mega Money Challenge is similar to the 52 Week Money Challenge. You deposit money weekly into savings but instead of $1 at a time, you do $5. So, you’ll deposit $5 on week one, $10 week two, $15 week three and so on.
- 52 Week Mini-Money Challenge – The Mini-Money Challenge helps you save money in lesser increments than the others. You start out by saving $0.50 the first week, $1.00 the second week, $1.50 the third week and so on. At the end of the challenge, you’ll save $668.
- 52 Week Coin Challenge – If you don’t want to have a set amount to save, consider trying to save coins. The coin challenge makes it so that you join put whatever spare change you have each week into savings. The first week, just one coin, two the second week and three the third. If you’re contributing quarters each week, the savings can stack up.
- 52 Week Bill Challenge – You can alter the coin challenge to do the same thing with bills as well. On the last week, save 52 bills ($1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100). The minimum amount you’ll save is the total of the original 52-week challenge ($1,378).
- Create Your Own Challenge – If none of these challenges fit your savings needs, consider creating your own. Creating your own challenge can help motivate you to save. It can also allow you to create a savings plan tailored to your needs (not the needs of many).
No matter what your savings goals are, taking on a money challenge is an exciting way to kickstart your savings, add additional money to your existing savings account or just find other people geared towards better finances on the internet.
Have you ever tried the 26 Week Savings Plan or any other savings challenge? How did it work?
Amanda Blankenship is the Director of Social Media for District Media. In addition to her duties handling everything social media, she frequently writes for a handful of blogs and loves to share her own personal finance story with others. When she isn’t typing away at her desk, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, husband, and dog. During her free time, you’re likely to find her with her nose in a book, hiking, or playing RPG video games.