The blank slate of a new year is something to look forward to.
Without a clear plan mapped out, those types of resolutions often fall through.
You may have heard of this challenge.
The premise is simple, but it gets more difficult as the year goes along.
The first week, you save $1.
The second week, you save $2.
The third week, you save $3… ## No Interest Til Almost 2027?
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Imagine what you could do with an extra $1,378.
The good news is that the 52-week challenge can be customized to work for your financial life.
These options just have you going about the savings plan in different ways.
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Method No.
So in week one, youll save $1.
In week two, youll save $3.
In week three, youll save $5.
Keep the pattern going until week 26, when youll save $51.
From there, youll decrease the amount youre saving each week by $2.
Method No.
With this approach, youll save incrementally each quarter, which is every 13 weeks.
Deposit $1 into your savings account the first week.
So for the second week, youll deposit $5.
For the third week, youll deposit $9.
Keep up the pattern until youve reached week 13, when youll deposit $49.
Start the second quarter of the year by depositing $2.
Youll be in week 14 at this point.
Start the pattern of adding $4 to each subsequent deposit amount until you get through week 26.
Start the third quarter of the year by depositing $3.
Youre now in week 27.
Start up the pattern of adding $4 to the amount you deposit each week.
In week 28, youll deposit $7.
In week 29, youll deposit $11.
Continue this pattern through week 39, when youll deposit $51.
Week 40 will be the first week of the last quarter of the year.
Youll need to deposit $8 in week 41 and $12 in week 42.
Method No.
Youll choose a different dollar amount at random each week to reach the savings goal.
Get 52 slips of paper, and write an amount from $1 to $52 on each piece.
Fold each slip of paper and put them in a jar.
Blindly select a slip of paper each week.
The amount on the paper you pull will be the amount you deposit that week.
Discard each slip of paper after you select it.
This approach to saving is completely arbitrary.
You might deposit $5 one week and then $50 the next.
Method No.
4 Semicontrolled Lottery
This method is a hybrid between completely random selection and incremental savings deposits.
Write deposit amounts from $1 to $52 on slips of paper.
Fold the paper slips and put each group into its own jar.
Label them Jar One, Jar Two, Jar Three and Jar Four.
Blindly select a slip of paper from Jar One in the first week.
Discard each slip of paper after you select it for the week.
Go back to Jar One in week five, and repeat that pattern through the end of the year.
Method No.
5 Steady Savings
If you thrive on consistency, this option is perfect for you.
This is a simple, uniform approach to meeting this money-saving challenge.
You dont have to think twice about how much it’s crucial that you save each week.
Perhaps youd rather commit to depositing money in your savings account once a month.
You also dont have to constrict yourself to saving $1,378.
(It is, admittedly, an odd figure to base your savings goal on.)
Youll still net $689 by the end of the year.
Nicole Dow is a former senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Deputy editor Tiffany Wendeln Connors updated this post for 2023.
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
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