Reading time 4 minutes
At a glance:
We’ve collected eight of our favourite challenges that could help you get started with saving. 
You can try saving daily, weekly or monthly. 
Whether you want to prepare for a holiday, buy a new pair of shoes or set money aside for a rainy day – find more interesting ways to save.
1

The 5p money saving challenge

The 5p money saving challenge is simple. You increase the amount you save everyday by 5p.


So, starting with 5p, then the next day 10p and 15p and so on. If you continue this for a whole year, by the end you will have saved almost £3,400.  

You can also try this the other way round. Start by saving £18.25 on the first day, then work your way down until you hit 5p on the last day.
2

The 1p money saving challenge

The 1p saving challenge is very similar to the 5p challenge. You start by saving 1p on the first day, then 2p on the second day and so on. By the end of the year, you will have saved a grand total of £667.95.

3

The £1 savings challenge

The £1 savings challenge involves putting £1 away each day for a year, saving you £365 in 365 days. 

Whether you choose to do this daily, weekly or monthly, you could transfer money into your savings account to take the temptation to spend away. You could even set up a standing order to make it super easy.

4

The no-spend challenge

The no-spend challenge is simple. You go a set amount of time avoiding non-essential items. You only pay for necessities like food and bills.

You can do this for as long as you want to – a weekend, a week, even a month! This can be a useful challenge if you need to build up short-term savings quickly.

5

The 100-envelope challenge

If you’re looking for a bit more fun when it comes to saving money, then the 100-envelope challenge might work for you. 

Take 100 envelopes and write the number 1 to 100 on them. This number is the number of pounds you’ll need to add to the envelope. 

Each week, pick out two envelopes at random and put the amount shown on the front into them. In 50 weeks, you will have saved £5,050. Make sure you deposit the money into your savings account regularly.

If that is too much to save in a year, you can number the envelopes from 1 to 25 instead.

6

The £1,500 challenge

The £1,500 challenge (or £1,456 challenge to be precise) works by increasing the amount you save by a pound, every day of the week, then starting again the week after. 

So, on Monday you save £1, on Tuesday you save £2 and so on, until you reach Sunday where you save £7. Repeat this for the next 52 weeks and after a year you will have saved £1,456!

7

The 1% challenge

The 1% challenge can be great if you are new to saving. Simply work out 1% of your monthly wage amounts to, then save this each month. 

The median average UK salary is just over £31,000 (ONS, 2022 ), which is around £2,040 per month after tax (depending on your circumstances). If saved 1% of a £31,000 salary, you will save £244 in a year.
8

The cancellation challenge

This challenge is all about keeping on top of any direct debits or subscriptions you may have set up. 

Take some time to check what you are paying for each month and think about if you still need or use it. This could be an app that you no longer use or a free trial that you are now paying for, but forgot about.

Make a note of what you have cancelled and put the money into your savings account. This way, you can save and have the same amount free per month.

The content on this page is for reference. It is not financial advice. For help with money issues, try MoneyHelper.

Looking for a savings account?