Weekly Savings Plan - Year Two

Over the past week, there have been lots of visitors to a certain post from last year, A Dollar a Week Savings Plan. I found it interesting that lots of folks were looking at that post, maybe hoping to start out a new habit in the year 2013, to save some money for something-or-other.

A friend of mine (HI Angus!) posted or rather shared a photo on her timeline of a schedule of how the dollar a week savings plan only it was called the 52 Week Money Challenge.

Here is the best link that I can find to the chart. There is even a printable form for those who want it. :)

There have been some folks who are concerned that toward the end of the year, the amount to deposit would reach an amount that would be difficult to find in an already strained budget, with Christmas and New Years right around that time. You know, you could technically start at either end of the list. Week 1 you could deposit $52 instead of just $1.

Then the wheels and gears in my head started spinning. For some folks, that's really not enough of a challenge. I started thinking about my Sealed Pot Challenge. What if I could combine the two, in a fun sort of way for me?

Then I came up with the random idea. Why not take the weekly deposit amounts and make the order random? I popped over to Random.org and listed the week numbers 1 through 52. I hit the Randomize button, and there I had a random weekly list of deposit amounts. My deposit amount list looks like this:

Week 1: $26
Week 2: $3
Week 3: $4
Week 4: $52

(To see the entire years deposit amounts, check out my page "52 Weeks Savings Challenge".)

I look at what week number I am on and put that dollar amount into my Sealed Pot. This will ensure that there will be enough money to take Hubby on a very nice getaway for just the two of us. At the end of the year, I know that there will be at least $1378 in the pot, plus whatever random change and bills I can add.

Some weeks will not be a challenge at all. In Week #51 I will only need to add $1. But Week #4 may be a bit of a challenge, as I will have to 'find' $52 to deposit, most likely by reducing spending that week, or if a reimbursement cheque or something similar comes in.

I have, have, have to make sure there is enough money to go away on vacation next winter. I have been promising this way to long, and have not done it. It truly isn't a need, but now that our consumer debt is gone, it will be a wonderful way to celebrate our new way of life with our money.

 

Have any of you taken on any kind of challenge like the 52 Week Savings/Money Challenge? What were the end results like? I'm interested in hearing your experiences.

 

 

Sealed Pot Sunday - 30/12/12

Here are just a few of the times I added to our sealed pot:

• DH gave me money for taxicab fare. I added the 2 X $5 from the change to our pot.
• I've been sneaking the pennies, nickles and dimes from the van.
• I emptied all the change (minus 1 each of quarter, dollar coin and two dollar coin) from my changepurse to add to the pot.There was also twenty-seven cents that I've found over outside over the last couple of days.

I know over the first few months of the year, I will be adding to the pot less and working on other goals more, so I'm making a conscious effort to add a little something every week, regardless of the amount.

I've decided to not keep track or count how much I'm adding weekly. If I know how much is in the tin, I may decide to raid it in a moment of insanity (and I have many of those) thus defeating the purpose of seeing how much I can pull from my spending for saving.

Do you have any specific ways you are saving for your sealed pot?

Sealed Pot Sunday

For twelve months, December 2012 to December 2013, I will take part in the Sealed Pot Challenge. My family, but mostly myself, will be putting bits and bobs of money into my sealed pot, which will be used at some point in the future for my hubby and I to go away on an adult vacation to somewhere warm. On Sundays, I will be tracking my progress to help me keep focused on my goal, which will help me to keep my hands out of the tin.

There are now 75 participants taking part in SFT's Sealed Pot Challenge!

 

 



This week I am proud to have achieved:

 



This week I know I added some paper money along with the change that accumulated in my little change purse. I've been diligent about stealing the pennies from the console in the van as well as the odd nickel and dime. This is where Hubby puts his small change from coffee purchases throughout the week. By doing this, he is unknowingly contributing to our future vacation, lol.

 

Next week I hope to:

Next week, I will aim to consciously not spend on something, in order to add that dollar amount to our sealed pot. It likely will just be an intended coffee and donut purchase, but every little bit will add up to some fun in the sun.

 

Which country are you from?

I'm proud to say I'm Canadian.

 

I'm really hoping to add a reimbursement cheque that I'm owed from an overpayment when I paid off the balance owing to an old credit card account. It's over $100 and will make a nice boost to the vacation savings. I have some other irregular income amounts coming in, but those will be going toward other savings goals like the Emergency Fund, RRSPs and RESP.

 

Have you thought about your financial goals for 2013 yet?