Every new year, I like to set some new goals. One of the goals I like to create focuses on saving a little more money. I’ve found the following approach a great way to save over $1,300 a year.
The wonderful folks over at A Helicopter Mom put together this easy chart to help you track your savings goal.
Make Saving Money Simple
The concept is simple: Make a weekly deposit that matches which week of the plan you’re on e.g. $1 on week one, $2 on week two, etc. The largest sum of money you’ll put away is $52 on week 52.
The beauty of this approach to saving is that you ease into it. You become accustomed to setting money aside each week with amounts that won’t break the bank for most of us. By the time you hit the halfway point—week 26—you’ll store $26, bringing your yearly balance to $351. At the end of 52 weeks, you’ll have socked away $1,378 total.
Some of our readers have made the fine suggestion of doing this challenge backwards. It’s easier to get the hard part out of the way first, and then countdown to zero!
Head on over to A Helicopter Mom to download the full PDF.
What Are You Saving For?
A Helicopter Mom says on her blog that a trip to Disney World motivated her to find a way to save without having to pay one large sum all at once. Considering that there’s a new “Avatar”-themed section now open at Disney, plus a possible “Star Wars”-themed hotel in the works. has there ever been a better time to visit The Happiest Place on Earth? Likely not.
Maybe you won’t use your $1,378 to fund a vacation but instead to buy holiday gifts, pay down debt, finally get that car repaired or fund several months of groceries.
Speaking of groceries, check out this other handy chart to see how much you should be spending on groceries each month based on the size of your family.
Based on a “thrifty” budget, a family of four should be spending between $557-707 each month on groceries. That’s between $139.25 and $176.75 a week. A family of two could get by on $392 a month, which breaks out to just $98 a week. And if you are flying solo, Growing Slower thinks you could squeak by on around $50 a week of groceries.
You may have to get creative with couponing and strategic store shopping (for example, figure out what to buy and what not to buy at big box stores like Sam’s and Costco) in order to hit this budget. But just think, the more money you save at the grocery store, the more you’ll have to put away.
Other great ways to save money:
9 Simple Tricks To Live Greener And Save Money
See How Long It Takes You To Save For Things With This Real-Time Calculator
What You Should And Should Not Buy At Dollar Stores
