I remember when my husband and I first got married….I was ALL about saving money and he was ALLLLLLLLLL about spending money.
I can’t tell you how many times I talked him off the “I’m gonna blow my money on (fill in the blank – big screen tv, iPad, Macbook, etc)” ledge.
But it was a lot.
A lot, a lot!
Finally, when he was deployed to Iraq {and had no way or means to spend money} we had the chance to boost our savings.
Our first goal was just to have $1,000 in our savings account which was inspired by Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps.
Our goal gradually increased where we eventually saved up to 12 months of our expenses in cash. You might think that sounds like a TON of cash on hand. And I agree…it’s a goal that took us over 5 years to reach. But it was what made me feel comfortable. It also allowed us to do things like build our dream home, adopt and plan for lots of unexpected expenses that have come up along the way.
You’re goal doesn’t have to be 12 months of expenses, but wouldn’t it be nice to boost your savings?
To get it to the point where you finally feel “comfortable” in case something comes up?
Starting Small – The 52 Week Money Saving Plan
We can’t take credit for this concept. In fact, we aren’t even sure who came up with it. All I know is that I’ve seen the 52 Week Savings chart everywhere and it’s blowing up Pinterest.
How does the 52 week money saving challenge work? It’s the easiest way to boost your savings that I’ve ever seen. Seriously.
The 1st week you deposit $1 into your savings account. The 2nd week you deposit $2 into your savings account. The 3rd week you deposit $3.
You get the picture?
By the 52th week after you deposit $52 you’ll have accumulated $1,378. And that’s not including interest!
But in case that isn’t much of an incentive to start saving, what if we offered you real cash?
Do we have your attention now?
If so, read on….
Double Your Savings Account
The hubby and I are excited about getting people to REALLY start saving. With him being a financial advisor and with me being the household money manager…we saw this challenge as a way to get a lot of people inspired to get their savings account back on track.
We are hoping that you see how SIMPLE it is for you to save money.
And because we wanted to do something that would REALLY make a difference in someone’s bank account we added another angle to this challenge.
You ready?
For those that make the entire 52 weeks we want to reward one lucky person with an awesome prize.
We want to double what you’ve saved and match your $1,378.
That’s right. One super lucky person that personally saves $1,378 will be awarded the same amount.
Now are you inspired to save? WE hope so! 🙂
Want to know how excited we are?
This excited:
So excited that we took a selfie holding a piggy bank minutes before we were rushing to get our kids off to school. 🙂
Rules of the Competition
First, you’re more than welcome to take on this challenge without following the below steps. BUT….if you want to be eligible for the “double your savings” cash reward, this is how it will go down:
- Step 1: Leave a comment below announcing you’ve joined the challenge.
- Step 2: Open a *FREE* brand new savings account with Capital One 360.
- Step 3: Coordinate with your current bank to facilitate the weekly transfers
- Step 4: Winners must provide confirmation email showing the new account opened and a screenshot of the balance in their account after the 52 weeks
That’s it! Taking on this challenge will finally get your savings account to a level it’s never been AND you have a chance to double it.
All for taking action right now.
A few questions you might have.
Why Capital One 360? There are several online savings account you can choose from. We just think they are one of the best. It’ s free to setup and super easy to open. Open an account today and see how easy it is.
Why does it have to be a new account? We want this account to be separate from any other savings account you have so your less tempted to touch it. How many times have you started a savings account only to raid it for some purchase? This will hopefully prevent that.
Can anyone sign up? Not quite. You have to be at least 18 years of age and a U.S. Resident.
When’s the deadline to sign up? You have until January 31, 2014 to get started. You have plenty of time BUT don’t procrastinate!!
Want This Free Download?
We created this PDF to keep you inspired for the 52 Week Challenge.
Download the Free Worksheet and you’ll also get access to a ton of other free resources that Jeff has created for y’all!
Share the love?
Inspire your friends and family members to join this challenge with you.
I’ve joined the 52 Week Savings Challenge at GoodFinancialCents via @jjeffrose & @houseofrose Click HERE to Tweet
Make this YOUR year that you get your savings on track!
**UPDATE: We have picked and verified a winner for the 52 Week Savings Challenge as of January 2, 2015. The winner is Heather Black. She has been contacted and sent the money!! A huge thanks to everyone who participated and we hope this helped you boost your savings!
Joining the challenge!! Excited to put this money away, maybe toward something special!
I’m in, one of my goals is financial freedom, this looks like an easy start! Thank you!
I’m joing the challenge!!
I just set up my account & am ready to start the challenge!
I joined! I need to do a better job at saving money and feel that this will be the easiest way to do it! Here’s to starting my emergency fund! 🙂
So excited & blessed to do this with my better half as we plan to make big moves in our lives this year! That double prize is ours! 🙂
I saw this 52 Week Challenge a few weeks ago and started it. I’m good at saving but I’m using this challenge so I can treat myself to something when I reach the end. I even doubled the amount. Week one $2, week two $4, week 3 $6 and so on.
This is such a great idea. I’m excited to join but can’t participate as I am a Canadian but will continue to save weekly and cheer everyone else on. I love your blog! Thanks
I’m ready! I’m ready! I’m ready…..to save some moolah with your help!
Challenge accepted, ready to start saving!
Challenge accepted, ready to start saving!!
Opened my account and am ready to start saving! 🙂
We’ve never been great at saving, so this will be a challenge to complete! The incentive to win is encouraging. Thanks!
Challenge accepted! Account opened and ready to go!
Joining the challenge!
Signed up & ready to save!!
Done! 🙂 ready to save!
I just joined today & I have never been so excited to start saving! My husband & I are looking to pay off our credit card debt along with completing this challenge! Great prosperity in 2014!
Challenge accepted! We are horrible with money and after hitting our $10,000 out of pocket maximum on our health insurance unexpectedly this year, my resolution is to NEVER feel so icky financially again!!
Account set-up; challenge accepted!
I’m in! I think I’m going to start with week 52 and work backwards. I think it will be easier to start with the larger amounts while I’m still excited about doing it! 😉
Shelly
Nashville, TN
Just signed up! I’m so excited. Can’t wait to see the impacts of this.
I am doing the challenge!
I am on it! Happy new year! 🙂
I just set up my Capital One 360 account, and a friend told me about your giveaway! Cool timing! I look forward to this challenge, and I’m ready to have a nice emergency stash!
I just set up my Capital One 360 account, and a friend told me about your giveaway! Cool timing! I look forward to this challenge, and I’m ready to have a nice emergency stash!
I am joining the challenge and so exited to do this! I am a new stay at home mom and being able to save money has been difficult for us since we are so use to having two incomes come in.
Signed up & I’m excited to start saving!
I’m in! Can’t wait to start saving and have a chance to double it! 🙂
Just opened my savings account! My husband and I are excited to be a part of this movement!
Hi Mandy,
Thanks for posting such an awesome idea!! I am definitely up to the challenge. I just opened my account with Capital One and have started saving already. Thanks so much for the encouragement!
God Bless,
Amy Olson
Slidell, Louisiana
I joined the challenge!
I’ve joined the challenge and I’m looking forward to participating. Thanks for the opportunity!
Challenge accepted! Account opened, transfer initiated! Let’s get saving!
I have joined the challenge and have challenged my kids to do the same!
I joined the challenge! Opened the account with Capital 360!
Suuuuper Excited!
Great idea! I just signed up and transferred some $$!
Challenge accepted!! I am already a 360 member so I am well on my way! Let’s Do This!!!!
I joined the challenge!! opened an account with capitol one 360…
Joined the challenge!!
I have joined the challenge!!
I am joining the challenge! Who couldn’t use $1378 in savings and the chance to win another $1378!
I joined the challenge!
completed Capital 360
I joined the 52 week money-saving challenge.
Just joined the challenged!
Thank you for this challenge and I start my savings this week!
I’m ready for the challenge ! Let’s save.
I opened the account and I was just making the deposit for the 2nd week. I noticed I could get $20 by referring someone to the 360 account – they’ll automatically deposit $20 in my 360 account. Is that okay if I do that while being in your contest?
Okay, I just set up an account for this. I really think/hope this will help as right now everything is all in one bank and it’s very easy to access the money when something comes up. Really looking forward to see how this changes the game. I may mix up the amounts per week depending upon various things, but want to end up with the 1378.00!