Have you ever thought to yourself, if only I had the money? You may be considering the purchase of a new car, a last-minute trip, or something as simple as a trip to the day spa. If you find you don’t have as much money as you’d like for the things you want, you’re probably realizing it’s time to save more? It may be the right time to try out a few fun and simple challenges to save money this summer.   

Links:

• Get your savings started for bigger goals with Triangle's Goal Builder tool! 

Transcript:

Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal podcast.  

Summer is the time for traveling, exploring, and enjoying the many fun things it brings.   

It’s also a great time to energize yourself and breathe new life into your finances. If you’re looking for a way to save more money this season, try a savings challenge or two to push yourself toward meeting goals that will improve your life. To quote the renowned actor Morgan Freeman, “Challenge yourself; it’s the only path which leads to growth.”  

If you’re looking for a way to improve your financial health by saving more money in a fun way, here are five financial challenges you can try out this summer.   

1. The give-up-something-for-summer challenge. How easy would it be to put something aside for some time? In this challenge, you’d pause a subscription service, sacrifice your daily latte, or hold off on ordering takeout for a determined period. Put any money you would have spent on the item or service you gave up into a savings account. The amount you can save will depend on what you’re giving up, so the more expensive or frequent habit you cut back on, the more you can save over the life of the challenge. 

1. No-spend challenge. Are you brave enough to stop all non-essential spending for a bit? In this challenge, you still pay your bills and groceries but pass on everything else, like entertainment, dining out, drinks, and unnecessary shopping. Set the timeline like a week, two weeks, or even a month of no spending and save that money in a separate account. This challenge can be rewarding as you find new ways to have fun and enjoy opportunities at no additional cost.  

1. Credit card timeout. How long can you go without using a credit card? In this challenge, you put that card, or cards, away and use only cash or your debit card when buying things. This challenge will force you to keep your account balance in mind whenever you spend, which will likely cause you to think twice before checking out. Many studies have shown that people are more likely to spend more money paying with a credit card than with a debit card or cash. If you’re up for this challenge, you’ll likely save money every time you pay due to the payment method alone.  

1. Round-up challenge. How much can change really add up? In this challenge, every time you buy something, round the cost to the next dollar and put that change into an account. For example, if your recent grocery bill was $225.50, round up to the nearest dollar and save the difference. In this case, you’d put $.50 into a savings account. You would do this for every purchase you make for your challenge period, whether a few weeks, 30 days, or even 3-6 months. Because the contributions are so small, they might seem unlikely to build up, but you may be surprised by how much you can collect over time.  

1. 52-week savings challenge. Do you have the discipline to keep a challenge for a whole year?  This one lasts longer than the summer season, but it is worth the effort once completed. In this challenge, you save money every week of the year. Each week is numbered between 1-52. You would then save $1 the first week and $2 the next week, and you would increase the savings amount by $1 every week that follows. If you stick with this one, you will have saved a whopping $1,378 at the end of the challenge. That could be enough for a small getaway or even an excellent start to an emergency fund. 

These are only some of the many saving challenges out there to explore as fun ways to test your discipline and resolve. Plus, it’s impressive to see the savings build up over time and know that your effort led to a larger bank account.  

If you’d like to save even more money for long-term goal building, like saving for a vacation, a new car, or your emergency fund, use Triangle’s Goal Builder tool within online banking for a convenient way to automatically set aside money for your goals. Check it out within your online or mobile banking account to get started!   

If there are any other tips or topics you’d like us to cover, let us know at [email protected].  Like and follow our Making Money Personal FB and IG page, and look for our sponsor, Triangle Credit Union, on social media to share your thoughts.   

Thanks for listening to today’s Money Tip Tuesday. Check out our other tips and episodes on the Making Money Personal podcast.   

Have a great day!