The 52-Week savings Plan
Are you looking for an easy way to increase your savings, one dollar at a time? By following this 52-week savings plan, you'll start by saving just a dollar each week. Each week, you'll add another dollar, incrementally, step by step. At the end of the year, you'll be nearly $1400 richer and have stepped up your savings habit to over $50 per week at the same time. By working on your savings habits incrementally, you're less likely to feel the pinch. Over time, they become habit – and you can build upon them to save even MORE money the following year.
The 52-Week Savings Plan Printable Chart can be printed out HERE and used to keep track of your week-by-week savings. Here's how it works: Each week, deposit the dollar amount corresponding with the number of that week of the year into a savings account. The first week of of the year, deposit just $1. The second week, deposit $2. The third week, $3 and so on. You can also just stash the money away in a bank or somewhere in your home that's safe. However, in order to do that you'll have to know yourself well enough to trust that you WILL NOT “withdraw” the money at any point.
This plan is great for those that can't just jump right into depositing $100 each week, and need to ease into it. You have seven days to find an extra dollar per week in your budget each week, or add to your income by that amount. It's a challenge, but definitely not one that's hard to manage.
What could you do at the end of the year with nearly $1400? I bet you can think of a LOT! Here are just a few things you could do by saving just a dollar a day, over the course of a year:
- Replace old appliances
- Purchase Christmas gifts
- Go on a vacation
- Pay down debt
- Build a nice “emergency fund”
- Get new a nice new piece of furniture
- Pay for kids' lessons for the year
- Purchase bikes for your kids
- Go out to eat at least once a month, all year long!
The 52-Week Savings Plan Printable Chart
If you'd like to print the 52-week savings chart you see here, you can do that by clicking on the image below. Cross off each week as you stash the money away, and watch your savings grow!
Pay Down Debt
If paying down debt is your main motivation in following this plan, then Slay the Debt Dragon will be a great resource for you. It's about a family with over $100K in debt, not from buying expensive cars, clothing or homes — but from the daily “stuff” that simply adds up over time. They found themselves completely overwhelmed, but decided to DO something about it. And, you can too!! Simply deciding to commit to change and putting a plan into place are the only TWO steps you need to take. Financial freedom is real and VERY possible.
Watch the trailer for the book here:
Take it up ANOTHER level… How to Save $5000 in 52 Weeks
As if $1400 weren't enough, imagine what an extra $5000 would do for you and your family. For many, it would make a huge impact. What could you do with that? Pay for the kids' activities? Take a dream vacation, buy new appliances/furniture or even put a down payment on a house? Here's another option that is even EASIER. This $5000 a year savings plan is great for those who have already mastered the 52 week savings plan above, or perhaps have just received a promotion, or lowered expenses to make it completely doable. Yes, it's not only possible to save $5000 in 52 weeks, just ONE year, it's pretty simple!
In order to save $5000 in a year, just commit to saving $100 per week. That's it! The key is to put your weekly deposits on AUTOPILOT. If you leave it up to YOU and your personal discipline to get it done every week, the odds of you following through are very low. Instead, fill out a direct deposit form or transfer from your bank so that you only have to do this ONE TIME. Plus, odds are you won't even miss the money. Your new budget may take a little getting used to, depending on how much wiggle room you currently have, but there are so many simple ways to save money painlessly that it really shouldn't be that hard.
Other Easy Ways to Save Money Painlessly:
- Go on a 21-Day Spending Freeze
- Get creative with leftovers to minimize food waste
- Learn to repurpose items you already have at home
- Engage in simple DIY Projects at home
- How to save money FAST
- Ways to save money on Christmas gifts
- Learn more about 101 Frugal Living Tips and Money Saving Ideas
[…] 52 Week Savings Plan – Start by saving just $1 in the first week, $2 in week two, $3 in week three and so on. By the end of 2014 you’ll have $1378! To keep your motivation from running dry by the end of the year, you can do this in reverse. Save $52 the first week, $51 the second, and so forth. […]