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Improving personal financial management is one of the mostcommon New Years’ resolutions out there (aside from eating healthier and losingweight, perhaps). The problem with this resolution is that it’s extremelyvague, which increases the likelihood that you won’t fulfill it because there’s no clear end goal for somethinglike “save more money” ($1 more? $1,000 more?) or “manage money better.”
Don’t let another new year go by where you set resolutionsand don’t follow through due to a lack of specificity for those goals. You canimprove your goal-setting by coming up with SMART goals (specific, measurable,attainable, relevant and time-bound) and participating in fun, results-drivenmoney challenges throughout the new year.
New Year’s Money Challenges
If you’re ready to make your financial goals become realityin 2020, here are a few simple and fun challenges you should try this year:
$5 Savings Challenge
This is the easiest challenge on the list and it’s notlimited to just one year if you want to keep going: whenever you come across a$5 bill, put it into savings. Whether you find it on the ground, receive it asa gift or simply get a $5 or two after breaking a larger bill at the store, put it into a dedicated savings account.
At the end of 2020, you could put that cash into a long-term savings account,continue growing your $5 fund or use that money towards a purchase you’ve beenpatiently waiting for all year (depending on how many $5 bills you managed tosave over the course of 12 months).
Stockpiling Cash-BackRewards
If you generally prefer using credit cards instead of cash,then this is the challenge for you. Instead of cashing in on your credit cardrewards, begin saving them on January 1st and wait until the end ofDecember to finally spend them (or get cash-back and put that money intoretirement savings for exponentially higher long-term financial rewards).
Put $20.20 intoSavings Each Week
This challenge may require more sacrifice on your part, butit’s a useful way to save up more than one thousand dollars by the end of theyear. All you need to do is set up weekly deposits to your savings in theamount of $20.20 (or $40.40 biweekly or $80.80 monthly) and watch your savingsgrow over the course of 52 weeks. You can do this manually or through recurringauto-deposits (e.g., every Friday) and by the end of 2020, you should have around$1,050 saved up.
To increase your earning potential, set up weeklyauto-deposits to an investment account (e.g., Acorns or Betterment) or yourretirement fund to access substantially higher interest-earning opportunitiesthan you would with a regular savings account.
52-Week MoneyChallenge
This popular money challenge grows more difficult over time, but it’s so subtle that you might not even notice you’re saving more money each week. Starting in the first week of the new year, you put $1.00 into savings. In the second week, you deposit $2, the third week you deposit $3, and so on. By the last week of 2020 (when you should be depositing $52 into savings), you should have around $1,378 saved up.
To make this more challenging, you could double your weeklydeposits. By week 52, you would be depositing $104 and have more than $2,750saved up by the end of the year.
Save Up $2,020 in 2020
How much would you have to save each week if you wanted tohave $2,020 saved by up the end of the year? If math isn’t your strong suit,here’s the answer: $38.84 (with a final deposit of $39.16 in the 52ndweek). This equates to just $155.36 per month, which is certainly attainablefor most folks who are willing to cut back in some areas to make their savingsgoals possible.
Combine New Years’Resolutions
If you want to save more money and improve your quality of life in 2020, then consider combiningyour New Years’ resolutions for maximum results. For example, quitting smokingor vaping could result in average weekly savings of $25-70 (depending on whereyou live, how much you smoke or vape, etc.). If you smoke 3 packs per week at aprice of $7 per pack, you could save over $1,050 on cigarettes by the end ofthe year if you quit the habit.
Alternatively, you could accomplish health-related goals bycutting back on alcohol consumption, eating outless, and using more coupons at the grocery store to access healthier foods– all of which also help you savemore money. You could even sign up for apps that pay you to get in shape or starta side hustle that will let you earn money while getting more physical exercise(e.g., walking dogs for Rover).
Recap: Fulfill YourNew Years’ Resolutions in 2020
You don’t need to move mountains and completely revamp your approach to personal finance in order to experience the benefits of an incremental approach to savings. With the challenges we’ve discussed here, you’ll be able to save money throughout the year – almost without realizing it – and improve other aspects of your life while you’re at it, making these money challenges a win-win for anyone who stays on track to meet their resolutions.
