New Year's Money Challenge

A new year brings new opportunities to make improvements in our lives. Just to name a few resolutions we make – increase family quality time, healthier lifestyle, reflect on mistakes we made last year, improve organization, etc.

I don’t know about you, but I have the tendency to stress myself out during the month of January with my resolutions. Come February, I’m burnt out, and by the time summer rolls along - - my resolutions are long forgotten.

Remember, goals take time. More time than just the month of January. All goals, big or small, can be broken down in smaller steps. Let me give you an example: As a family goal, our new year’s resolution is to save money. My husband and I are always looking for new ways to save money and a dear friend, Jenn Buen, shared this idea with me (in which she saw on a friend’s facebook page) – The 52 Week Money Challenge.

It’s not difficult or complicated, and the fun part is my children are able to see their earnings as the weeks progress. The first step is to have a money jar. Create one as a family activity, or even go out and purchase one together. My children personalized their own jars as a project with their cousins adding a special memory for them to associate with their jars.

The basic rule is save the dollar amount for the week you are in during 2013. For example, week 1 (December 31-January 6) save $1, week 2 (January 7 – January 13) save $2, week 40 (September 30 – October 6) save $40, and week 52 (December 23 – December 29) save $52. In total, you will save $1378 by Christmas!

52 week challenge.pdf

You and your family do not have to go by these rules. Customize the rules and money jar according to your family and your goals. Just remember, keep it simple, and keep it fun.