Let’s face it, saving can be daunting and it’s also a bit of a buzz-kill. Make saving fun this year by trying one of these four challenges. Use 22seven to stay on track, break those bad spending habits and give your savings account the boost it needs.
The 52-week challenge
With this challenge, you progressively increase your savings each week and watch your money grow exponentially. For example, in Week 1 you put away R10, in Week 2 you put away R20, and you continue to add an extra R10 for each week of the year. If you keep at it, you’ll put away R520 in the last week of 2024, and you’ll have more than R13,000 in the bank earning interest! (If R10 increments are too steep, choose a smaller amount.)
TL;DR: This challenge could be a great way to start an emergency fund, or a way to cover next year's holiday shopping.
The no-spend challenge
It’s time to make dinner at home and delete those food delivery apps! This challenge pushes you to set restrictions and only spend on the necessities like rent, utilities, medical aid etc.
Most people approach this challenge by cooking at home, finding free activities and cutting back on entertainment costs. We suggest that you set a timeframe (one week to one month) and keep yourself accountable by using 22seven to decrease your limits in the relevant categories of your budget.
TL;DR: This challenge helps you reassess your spending habits and save a significant amount in a short period of time.
The round-up challenge
Every time you make a purchase, round up the total to the nearest R10 and put the extra in your savings account. For example, if you pay R753 for a tank of petrol, round it up to R760 and transfer the extra R7 into your savings account.
Some banks have a round-up feature that allows you to do this automatically, otherwise you can use 22seven to check your purchases and work out the total amount to transfer to your savings account.
TL;DR: This is a clever way to save without altering your spending habits too drastically.
The 100 envelopes challenge
Get a stack of envelopes and number them from one to 100. The challenge is to select an envelope daily and deposit the amount that’s written on the front. By the end, you’ll have more than R5,000 saved!
BTW, to make the most of this challenge and earn interest, rather deposit the money into a savings account instead of using another envelope…
TL;DR: This is a fun challenge. You can start at one and work your way up to 100, or you can inject some fun and randomise the sequence.
