I live on a pretty tight budget, so I’m always looking for creative new ways to save money without much to spare. This could be a great plan to follow for those who are new to saving, or for others, like me, that don’t have a huge income to work with. I’ve been setting aside larger portions of my usual monthly savings for special events I have coming up, but I was thinking this could be the perfect way to save just a little bit extra strictly for our new house, which we’re hoping to purchase next spring.
The basic idea is that you start by saving $1, and each week, you add one more dollar than you contributed the previous week (i.e. $1 for Week One, $2 for Week Two, and so on…). Over the course of a year, you’ll end up having an extra $1,378 in savings! I’ve seen some other budget bloggers use a large jar to collect their cash in, but for me, it’s easier to move money electronically between my checking and savings accounts (and I’ll be less tempted to spend it). I use PNC’s Virtual Wallet, which has a great option for transferring small amounts of money to other accounts pretty quickly – does anyone else Punch The Pig? I plan on doing this every Monday when I log in to my computer for the day, so it’s easy for me to remember to do. I can’t wait to get started!
Starting small and building your savings gradually is a great way to develop a good financial habit, especially if you’re new to saving. Will you take the 52-Week Money Saving Challenge? How do you plan to keep yourself on track?
