2023 Biweekly Money Saving Challenge | SoFi (2024)

By Krystal Ndoni ·June 30, 2022 · 8 minute read

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2023 Biweekly Money Saving Challenge | SoFi (1)

A money saving challenge makes saving fun again.

The Biweekly Money saving challenge is a great one to start with. It requires putting away cash for 26 weeks or every other week for one year. The amount you choose to save can vary based on your goals and comfort level.

Types of Biweekly Money Saving Challenges

If you’re paid bi-weekly, this plan type might suit your lifestyle best. It’s budget friendly, too. So if you have a little or a lot of change after bills, you can adjust this challenge to meet your needs.

26-Week or Biweekly Savings Challenge

There are many versions of this challenge. You can start with a small savings amount, like $3 or $4. If you choose the first amount, put $3 away in savings the first week. Every two weeks, add an extra $3 to the last amount you put away. So, the first week, you’ll put away $3. The second week, $6. The third week, $9. At the end of the 26-week challenge, starting with $3, you’ll have $1,053 in savings.

You might prefer a fixed savings goal, like $5,000 or $10,000. If that’s you, put away between $193 to $385 every two weeks. You’ll end up with $5,018 or $10,010, respectively.

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How to Choose a Money-Saving Challenge

Choose a financial challenge that works with your budget and meets your goals. Setting goals and starting small can be a big win in many ways. It lays the building blocks for long-term savings habits that last over time.

Find a challenge that is budget-friendly. The amount you put away can be as little as a nickel on day one. If you have more change to spare — you can put away more money. Some challenges suggest multiple savings accounts or stashing cash. If you choose to open multiple accounts — interest-bearing accounts will earn some returns, are FDIC insured, and can be accessed for emergencies or planned expenses.

You might have specific financial goals, like an emergency or wedding fund. Or you might want to build a habit of saving. Whatever your goal, a challenge can help you commit to saving $500 to $15,000 in a set amount of time — or build a good habit.

Common Money Saving Challenges

Money saving challenges are smart saving strategies or smart spending strategies depending on the process. They can show you how to save up money fast — or how to save money, period.

And there’s no shortage of creativity. Google has about 337,000 pages worth of money saving challenges from Pinterest to blogs like Mama Managing Chaos or Dough Roller. You can even try saving $2,022 in the 2023 money saving challenge. Below is a list of money challenges to get you started.

100 Envelope Challenge

Number 100 envelopes from 1-100. Each day, put in the amount of cash listed on the envelope. By the end of 100 days, you’ll have $5,050 stashed away.

In a variation, 100 days can be broken down into 13 weeks for easier deposits. The last week is four days. Every other week, set aside the week’s total of savings. Below’s chart lays out the amounts:

WeekAmount
1$28
2$92
3$156
4$220
5$284
6$348
7$412
8$476
9$540
10$604
11$668
12$732
13$490

Holiday Helper Fund

The holidays sneak up on us quicker than we think. If you’re planning your annual budget — try setting up an account or an envelope for gifts. Setting aside an extra fund for gifts, whether holiday, wedding, or general, keeps money out of sight and mind until you need it.

On the week of January 1, set aside $20 every week, or $40 every two weeks. By December 25th, you’ll have $1,040. If you like to shop early — aim for Black Friday! In 2023, Black Friday falls on week 47. That puts you at $940 for gifts.

52-Week Savings Challenge

The concept is simple. You set aside $1 at week one. Then $2 at week two. By the end of 52 weeks, you’ll have saved $1,378. You can also start with $2 or $10 on week one, $4 or $20 on week two, and so on. You’ll end up with $2,756 for the $2 challenge or $13,780 for the $10 challenge.

Another variation keeps the weekly savings contribution a fixed amount — which can be particularly helpful for smaller budgets. For example, you can put away $10 a week to end up with $520 at the end of the challenge.

The No Spend Challenge

Brunching on Sunday? Maybe not if you’re on this plan.

Pick a week or weekend and spend money on only necessities in a timeframe (like a month). Cut out discretionary spending on non-essentials like clothes, entertainment, and eating out. It’ll give you a chance to be creative with your time on limited resources.

Instead of eating out, try a new recipe at home. Instead of grabbing a new pair of shoes — dig deeper into your closet. You set your own time limit, so you can try it until you notice a change in your accounts!

Cash Only for a Month Challenge

An MIT study found that people tend to spend more with plastic, if given the option. It even stimulates the part of your brain associated with reward, pleasure, and addiction.

A cash diet can help stave overspending. Leave your cards at home when you go out and bring the amount of cash you decide to spend. You can look at the categories in your budget where you tend to overspend, like entertainment or clothes, and set aside cash for those categories. You can only spend the cash allotted for those categories.

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The 365-Day Nickel-Saving Challenge

If you have a nickel to spare, you can do this challenge. On day one, put a nickel in a jar. On day two, put in 10 cents in the jar. On the third day, add 15 cents. By day 365, you’ll be adding $18.40 — to a total of $3,339.75 in your savings. You won’t have to put away more than $20 in a day and $130 in a week for the entire challenge.

30-Day Budget Preparedness Challenge

It helps to have a map for where you’re going. The same is true with spending.

Challenge yourself to a budget. First, download a budget planner like a spreadsheet template or a budget planner app. SoFi’s app is an effective way to track spending. It even has a debt payoff planner to track your progress.

Then, go through each category and add the amount you’d like to or must spend in each (such as housing, groceries, entertainment, etc).

Knowing how much to spend before you go out can help improve your planning and control your spending. For example, if you allocate $400 a month to groceries, you can plan it by spending $100 a week. If you don’t spend it all, you can put it in savings.

Money-Saving Challenge Potential Savings

Taking on one of these challenges can help you boost your savings anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000.

But goal-setting will help you determine how much you want to save. If it’s $20,000 in two years, try the bi-weekly savings challenge. If you want to have $1,000 in your account, shoot for the 52-Week Savings Challenge. It’s a fun, concrete way to start.

If spending less is your goal — a challenge can help you cut bad habits like overspending. Setting up a budget and spending cash (not plastic) can help. Some challenges can help you function as a money tracker if paying off debt is your goal.

Whatever your goal is, these challenges are practical journeys that can pay off.

The Takeaway

A money saving challenge can be a fun way to build a savings account. It can motivate you to spend less and save more. It can be a concrete demonstration of how small change can add up.

One of the more popular ones is the biweekly money saving challenge. You can put away an amount you can afford — like $4 and increase it by $4 each week. Or you can set a goal of $5,000 and aim to set aside about $193 each week. It’s an easy plan that can adapt to many situations.

Best of all, you come away with stronger budgeting skills — like saving and prioritizing debt payoffs. These skills could help you make more fiscally responsible decisions. And when life happens, you’ll be better prepared.

SoFi’s app is one way to flex budgeting skills. It tracks your financial goals, accounts, spending, and more — all in one place. You even get access to your credit score at no cost. Try it today.

FAQ

What is the 100 envelope challenge?

This is a popular 100-day challenge. Number 100 envelopes 1-100. For each day, add the amount of cash to the envelope’s number listed on it. For example, add $1 to the envelope labeled 1, $5 to the envelope labeled $5, and so forth. By the end of the challenge, you’ll end up with $5,050.

What is the most popular money saving challenge in 2023?

There is no top biller for popular money saving challenges, but the 52-Week Savings challenge is mentioned across most, if not all search results in a Google search.

How much money do you save with the 52-week challenge?

If you follow the original plan of starting with $1 on week one, then $2 on week two, $3 on week three, and so forth, you’ll end up with $1,378. Other variations involve changing the starting amount. For instance, you can start with $5 on week one, $10 on week two, until you have $6,890 put away.

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2023 Biweekly Money Saving Challenge | SoFi (2024)

FAQs

What is the biweekly savings challenge for 2023? ›

What is the biweekly money challenge for 2023? One biweekly money challenge specific for 2023 is the $2,023 in 2023 challenge. This is where you would have to save at least $77.81 every two weeks. You can switch the amount biweekly as long as you get to the total of $2,023.

How to save $10,000 in 6 months biweekly? ›

Or you might prefer a fixed savings goal, like $5,000 or $10,000. If that's you, put away between $193 to $385 every two weeks. You'll end up with $5,018 or $10,010, respectively. Need help monitoring your finances?

How to save $5,000 in 3 months chart biweekly? ›

There are 12 weeks in a 3-month timeline, which means there are 6 bi-weeks. In order to save $5,000 in three months, you'll need to save just over $833 every two weeks with your biweekly budget. If you're paid bi-weekly, you can easily compare your bi-weekly savings goal with your paycheck.

What is the savings challenge for biweekly pay? ›

26-week biweekly savings challenge

In the 26-week biweekly money-saving challenge, you can save $1,404 in a year by depositing an increasing amount every other week. Start with $4 on the first week and $8 on the second. Add an extra $4 every two weeks until you deposit $106 on week 26.

How much do you save with the 52 envelope challenge? ›

Those numbers are guidelines, but you can get creative with the amount you save each week if you'd like to save more over the year or you don't have enough extra cash available for the regular challenge. If you stick to this challenge throughout the entire year, you'll save a total of $1,378.

What is the 52 week biweekly savings plan? ›

There are no complicated rules to remember. Week 1, you save $1.00. Week 2 you save $2.00, and it continues through the year, adding one more dollar to each week's savings goal. By Week 52, you'll set aside $52.00, which will bring the year's total savings to $1,378!

How much is $10,000 in 26 weeks biweekly? ›

With 26 bi-weekly periods in a year, you must divide $10,000 by 26. This results in approximately $384.62. Therefore, every two weeks, aim to save around $385 to accumulate $10,000 by the end of the year.

How to turn $1,000 into $10,000 in 6 months? ›

Best Ways To Turn $1,000 Into $10,000
  1. Flip items for profit. ...
  2. Start an online business. ...
  3. Real estate investing. ...
  4. Peer-to-peer lending. ...
  5. Stock investing. ...
  6. Create digital products. ...
  7. Flip domains. ...
  8. Start a blog.
May 22, 2024

How much to save $5,000 in 3 months? ›

Monthly savings: Saving $5,000 in three months equals a monthly savings of approximately $1,667. Weekly savings: Dividing $1,667 by 13 weeks gives a weekly savings goal of around $128. Daily savings: To reach this goal, you would need to save an average of $18 per day for the next three months.

What is the biweekly 5000 savings challenge? ›

BIWEEKLY: 5000 In 26 Weeks

How it works: Every two weeks you will place the desired amount of money into an envelope or a separate bank account. Afterward, you will shade in the envelopes with a color marker of your choice to signify that you have completed the task.

How much would I have if I save $100 every week for a year? ›

The first thing we need to know is how much $100 per week works out to on an annualized basis. There are 52 weeks in a year. That means that, after a full year of saving, $100 per week adds up to $5,200.

What is the 26 pay period savings challenge? ›

The plan is refreshingly easy, even for the math-challenged: set aside $3 in the first week and put it into a savings account. Then add another $3 each week after, so $6 is saved in week two, $9 in week three, and so on. By week 26, when the final deposit of $78 is made, the savings will total $1,053.

What is the best money saving challenge? ›

If you want to ramp up your savings but feel overwhelmed with budgeting, consider the simple – but effective – no-spend money challenge. As the name implies, this challenge involves completely stopping spending on unnecessary purchases for a set period of time — often an initial 30 days.

What is the 12 month savings challenge? ›

This 12-month savings challenge encourages you to save money every month. Savers begin with £10 and gradually increase each month. Multiply the month by 10 to calculate the savings you need to set aside. For example, you'll save £10 in the first month (January) and £20 in the second month (February).

How much should I save if I get paid biweekly? ›

The Bottom Line: Saving 20% Of Your Income Is A Great Start

For example, you might reserve a portion of this percentage for a retirement account, unexpected expenses, a family trip or a home purchase.

What is the envelope challenge every two weeks? ›

Number envelopes from $1 to $100. Randomly pick two envelopes every two weeks and save the combined amount they represent. It's unpredictable and exciting! Apart from the thrill of not knowing the amount you'll save next, this method offers flexibility.

What is the 2 weeks saving plan? ›

According to this method, you save a percentage of your income every 2 weeks. You can start by depositing 5% of your paycheck into your savings account, then increase it to 6% in the following 2 weeks and so on.

How to do the 26 week savings challenge? ›

The plan is refreshingly easy, even for the math-challenged: set aside $3 in the first week and put it into a savings account. Then add another $3 each week after, so $6 is saved in week two, $9 in week three, and so on. By week 26, when the final deposit of $78 is made, the savings will total $1,053.

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