Free Printable 52 Week Savings Challenge - Printable Template Alpine (2025)

FAQs

How can I save $5000 with the 52-week money challenge? ›

The 100-envelope challenge is pretty straightforward: You take 100 envelopes, number each of them and then save the corresponding dollar amount in each envelope. For instance, you put $1 in “Envelope 1,” $2 in “Envelope 2,” and so on. By the end of 100 days, you'll have saved $5,050.

Match each week's savings amount with the number of the week in your challenge. In other words, you'll save $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on until you put away $52 in week 52.

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!

The answer to that question depends on interest rates or rates of return. With no interest involved, putting one dollar a day into a bank account (or a jar at home) will see you end up with $365 in a year. Multiply that amount by 30 years and you'll end up with $10,950. Now let's factor in an interest rate of just 1%.

To begin, a good rule to follow is the 50/30/20 method: 50% of funds go to needs, 30% wants and 20% to financial goals. Make an envelope for each category that applies: rent, utilities, phone bill, gas, groceries, emergency, savings and leisure. Put aside cash in each envelope corresponding to the amount used.

The cash envelope system, or cash stuffing, is an approach to budgeting designed to help you spend more intentionally. Envelopes used for cash stuffing contain all the money available for specific expenses each month. Cash stuffing could help you avoid credit card debt but requires a lot of physical cash on hand.

Setting realistic savings goals is essential to ensure that you don't set yourself up for failure. One way to do this is by breaking down your target amount into smaller milestones. For example, if you aim to save $10,000 in three months, you can divide it into monthly targets of $3,333.

You'll put one penny in the jar on Day 1, two pennies on Day 2, and so on until you're putting 365 pennies on the last day of the year. (Of course, you could start using larger denominations as long as you're putting in the correct amount).

What is the 5 dollar challenge? ›

Save Every $5 Bill Challenge

You simply save every single $5 bill you get. So, whenever you get change you will be hoarding those $5 bills like a chipmunk collecting nuts for winter. You can use a piggy bank or simply make a $5 challenge envelope to keep your cold hard cash in.

“To save $5000 in six months, one must have a budget or it likely won't work,” said Christine Sager of Sager Financial Coaching. “Divide $5,000 by six months and that equals $833/month that must be removed from the budget or earned in extra income.

The 100-envelope challenge is a way to gamify saving money. Each day for 100 days, you'll set aside a predetermined dollar amount in different envelopes.

The concept is simple — in the first week, you save $1; in the second week, you save $2; then in the third week, you save $3, and so on. As each week progresses, the amount you save increases by just one dollar. By the end of the last week of the year, you'll be saving $52 for that week.

Start with a small amount you're comfortable with and add to it weekly. For example, if you started by setting aside $1 the first week and then adding an extra dollar per week (so you set aside $2 the next week, then $3, then $4 and so on), you'd save $1,378 after 52 weeks. Just remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

You can save over $5,000 in just over three months with the 100 envelope challenge. It works like this: Gather 100 envelopes and number them from 1 to 100. Each day, fill up one envelope with the amount of cash corresponding to the number on the envelope. You can fill up the envelopes in order or pick them at random.

You'll end the challenge with over $1,300 saved If you successfully complete the 52-week money challenge, you'll have $1,378 set aside. You may have that earmarked for a specific financial goal —or you may choose to put it in a high-yield savings account as the start of emergency savings, if you don't already have one.

Cut Unnecessary Expenses From Your Budget

“Divide $5,000 by six months and that equals $833/month that must be removed from the budget or earned in extra income. The solution lies with the person — they must know themselves to know what will work for them and typically one solution or the other will be more appealing.