16 Money-Saving Challenges You Need To Start TODAY! (2024)

Money Saving Challenges You Need To Start TODAY!

Money-saving challenges are a great way to reset your budget and get back on track. It will help you stop spending money you don’t have and help you save money. It is essential to do a budget reset from time to time, mainly when you have not been sticking to the budget. A money-saving challenge will have you saving money in a short amount of time! Here is a list of money-saving challenges to help you get started!

In order to have long-term success with saving money, you need to have a budget. For help with your budget,check outHow to Make a Budget and Stick to It!

Check out these money-saving challenges:

1. No-Spend Challenge

This particular money-saving challenge is the most popular! A no-spend challenge is a great way to STOP SPENDING MONEY!This challenge can be different spans of time. It could be 1-2 weeks, a month, or six months, and a few people have done a YEAR! A year is probably a bit extreme for most people, but a month or less is very doable.

A no-spend challenge is where you do not spend any money. You still have to pay your regular bills but nothing extra. There is NO eating out, entertainment, or spending money.

Here are30 Clever Tips for a No Spend Challenge.These tips will help you serve a no-spend challenge. The biggest thing about getting through a no-spend challenge is preparing for it.

Buy what you need ahead of time so you aren’t tempted by running to the store. Get cash for any expected expenses that are planned during the challenge.

2. Pantry Challenge

Most people do a pantry challenge when doing the no-spend challenge, but you can do the pantry challenge by itself. During a pantry challenge, you use up everything you can in your pantry and freezer.

You will want to do a meal plan for the time of the challenge. Two weeks or a month depending on what you have stocked up, is a good length for this challenge.

Put together your meal plan and buy any ingredients you may need during the challenge. You may need to go to the store for some fresh produce during the challenge, BUT the goal is not to do that. So, buy produce that stays well, and you can freeze before the challenge. You can also freeze milk, so buy what you need beforehand.

If you are doing two weeks, you should be able to avoid the stores altogether. However, if you are doing a month, you will probably need to go to the store. If you have to go to the store, try to limit the trips and only get what is on your list. Only take enough cash to buy what you need and nothing more.

How To Create A Weekly Meal Plan

3. Savings Challenge

A savings challenge is when you are saving for a specific goal. This could be anything, even just a particular dollar amount. This is good for your emergency fund, Christmas, vehicle replacement, home repairs, and other things, so you don’t add to your debt.

For example, if you want to save $1000 in 2 months, you need to save $125 a week. The challenge is to keep this money as quickly as possible. You can save this money in numerous different ways.

You can sell things, like all those kids’ clothes and toys no one uses anymore. Have a yard sale or sell items online. I made over $100 this past week selling things through Facebook groups!

You can alsocut expenses to save money. Now is the time to stop paying for services you don’t use or need. I have even created cutting expenses cheat sheet to help you remember things to cut out of your budget.

4. Five Dollar Bill Challenge

This challenge is pretty simple. Save every five-dollar bill you get this month. You can make it harder by not intentionally seeking out $5 bills! Or, make it easier by intentionally obtaining $5 bills! If you do not normally carry cash, this would a good month to try out cash envelopes. If it’s difficult or inconvenient to pay with cash for bills and other payments like getting gas, you do not need to. Using cash envelopes for things that you normally overspend on can help you save %15 to 20%.

5. Bring Your Lunch Challenge

Plan, make, and bring your lunch to work every day. If you eat out for lunch every day, this is an easy habit change that can save you up to $200 per month! Plus, it can be healthier for you. If you do not want to do it every single day in a month, decide on a number that you can commit to that still helps you get closer to your goal. If you are eating out 5x per week, reduce it down to two or three. This will still be a HUGE win!

6. Free Activities Challenge

This challenge is all about finding free activities for entertainment purposes. It’s the same concept as the no-spend challenge, but just with activities instead of money. Come up with a list of ideas for each weekend your family can do without spending any money. A few examples would be going to the library or having a movie night at home.

7. Shop Generic Challenge

For this challenge, identify ten things that you normally would buy that are name-brand products, and switch them to a generic product. Most generic food items are just as good as brand-name items. Track your progress by writing down how much you spent on generic products.

8. Cash Only Challenge

This challenge is all about using cash for as many money transactions as possible. Examples of cash that can be used are eating out, last-minute purchases (such as snacks or drinks), and clothing purchases.

9. No Credit Card Challenge

Credit card debt is a normal thing in today’s society. For this challenge, refrain from using credit cards. Make a commitment to not create any credit card debt for a month. Only buy what you can actually afford, which means using cash or your debit card. This will save, on average, about 15% that you can add to your savings account.

10. Sell Everything Challenge

Start cleaning out your closets and removing unnecessary items you do not use. Set a goal for what you want to earn and declutter your house at the same time. Sell items by having a yard sale, selling on Craigs List, or Facebook Marketplace.

11. Save Your Loose Change

You will be surprised how much you can save by collecting your loose change. Use a jar or any other item that you find will work, and start dropping in your loose change. This is a great way to save up to $50.00 or more a month, depending on the size of your jar!

12. Slow Cooker Challenge

Create meal plans for the weekdays that involve cooking in your slow cooker or Instant Pot. This will encourage you to spend money on groceries and not eat out as often. Planning your meals ahead of time means not having to think about or stress over what’s for dinner. Stress may cause you to overspend.

13. Make Your Own Coffee Challenge

Even if you start doing it most of the time, it will save money compared to buying a coffee from a coffee shop daily.

You can even save money by buying a higher-end coffee while adjusting. Then you can gradually switch out to something cheaper. Even making Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts coffee at home would be cheaper than going to the store. A Tall Starbucks Coffee can cost you around $3.00. In just a month’s time, you can save $60 by making your own coffee at home.

14. Spend Date Night At Home

Keeping your love life alive is never easy. Life gets busy, you need to take care of the kids, or you have a pile of laundry you need to do (again?!) Money can also make it hard to have a proper date. Not only do you have to pay for the date, but babysitters are expensive too! Save money by creating your own date night at home. Put the kids to bed and get creative. Have a quiet movie night, or read your favorite book together.

15. Use A Weekly Savings Plan

It can be helpful to set up saving like a bill and do it weekly. If you get paid bi-weekly, then make it per paycheck.

It’s an easy way to save without it feeling like you’re saving.Plan it like a bill and have it come out automatically, so you don’t even notice that the money is gone. You can get my weekly or biweekly savings plan and start saving today!

16. Budget For The Holidays Challenge

One of the first things you need to do when creating your plan for the holidays, including Christmas, is to decide what your family’s priorities will include.

This means deciding now what you need to do versus just want you want to do and listing in order of priority.

Once you have your priority list down, you will need to decide on an overall budget amount.

Here is aWeekly Savings Plan for Christmas!

How To Save Your First $1000!

How to Save Money in 5 Easy Steps

These money-saving challenges will help you stick to your budget and save money! Sometimes it is needed when you have been spending too much money. It will help reset your mindset and. your budget. Be sure to track your progress for each challenge you complete. This will help you stay motivated!