I am so excited to share this 365 Day Penny Saving Challenge with you. This challenge was the first time I ever successfully saved money in my entire life.
If you’ve never heard of the penny challenge, let me explain. {And no, I’m not talking about the stupid TikTok trend where people are practically burning their houses down due to an electrical fire.}
In this Penny Savings Challenge, you’ll start by putting one penny in a jar on day 1. Then on day 2, you add 2 pennies to the jar giving you a total of 3 cents. On day 3, you add 3 pennies to the jar giving you a total of 6 cents. Day 4, you add 4 pennies….and so on and so on.
It’s a super fun way to save money without stress. And the great thing is that because you’re only adding small amounts, this challenge can feel more doable..especially if you’ve always had a hard time saving money.
And at the end of 365 days, the total amount you’ll have saved is $667.95!!!
Snag this Fun Printable Penny Savings Challenge
If you’ve never done one of these 365 day savings challenges, you are in for a treat! As you probably know, money is one of the biggest problems people struggle with, so it’s no surprise that it’s one of the top New Year’s Resolutions every single year.
At the end of the year, as people evaluate the past year and think about setting goals for the new year, the idea of saving money often tops their list. They try to figure out the best way to save money and vow that they’re going to change their life starting on January 1st!
Unfortunately, without a savings plan, people tend to either give up by January 2nd or maybe January 15th…or they don’t get started at all.
I used to be TERRIBLE at saving money and I know this was my pattern for a long time! This savings challenge was a game changer for me.
I knew that I would need to start with a small amount and I knew that there had to be an easy way to make it a habit. This was the first time I consistently saved money over a long period of time. And honestly this is such a good way to increase your savings account!
Plus the printables are sooo fun!
How the Penny Saving Challenge Works
If you read the title and assumed that you’d just put a penny in the jar each day, you’d be wrong.
While adding an extra penny to your piggy back every day isn’t a bad idea, you’d only end up with $3.65 that way and that isn’t anything to write home about. So now I know you’re wondering, “How does the penny challenge work?”
On the first day, you’ll put a single penny in your piggy bank. On the second day, you’ll add 2 more pennies to your piggy bank. And on the third day, you’ll add 3 more pennies. On the next day, you’ll add 4 pennies. On the day after that, you’ll add 5 cents. On the 6th day, you’ll add 6 cents. And on the 7th day, you’ll add 7 cents. And now it’s the end of the week…how much have you saved?
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 28 cents
At the end of the first week, you’ll have a whopping 28 cents. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but believe me, it adds up quickly. But as the year goes on, you’ll save larger and larger amounts.
And by the last day of the year (or last day of the challenge if you didn’t start on the first of the year), when you put $3.65 in your piggy bank or mason jar, you’ll be amazed at how easy it was to consistently save for entire year.
By the end of the year, you’ll have $667.95 unless it’s a Leap Year in which case, you’ll have a grand total of $671.61. I love that even if you don’t have much money, you can still save a significant amount of money just by using your spare change.
It’s amazing to me that after an entire year of saving, I’ll have a fatter bank account…just by throwing some loose change in a few mason jars.
My savings goals are regularly changing. Some years, I’ve used the money from my 365-day penny challenge for something just for me…like new clothes after losing weight or a class I’d been dying to take that was not in my normal budget. Other years, I’ve used the money I’ve saved for Christmas presents. And other years, I’ve donated the money to a cause that was important to me.
FAQ {Frequently Asked Questions}
Can I do this with someone else?
Yes. There are so many different ways to do this challenge. Maybe your whole family will choose to do this challenge together so you can have a little extra money for your next vacation.
Maybe you and your spouse will do this challenge together so you can pay off some credit cards or increase the amount of money in your emergency fund.
Another great idea is to convince some family members or good friends to join you in the 365 day challenge!
People tend to follow through with things better when they have accountability and/or shared goals, so grab a family member or friend and bring them along on this journey with you!
What should I do with the money I save?
The sky is the limit! There are so many fun ways to use the money you save!
You can save it to do something you’ve dreamed of doing, use it to increase your emergency fund or savings account, put it toward your next vacation, pay off credit cards, or splurge on a fabulous new pair of shoes.
If investing is part of your personal finance strategy, you could use the money you save to grow your investment portfolios. I love using the Acorns app for investing. (Sign up using this link and get $5 invested in your account!) It’s the perfect investment tool for beginning investors!
Do I have to use a piggy bank or a mason jar?
Nope. There are so many options to make this challenge your own. You can save all your money in mason jars and then during the last week of the year, you can take it all to the bank and deposit it.
Hate the idea of a penny jar? Opt for weekly transfers from your checking account to your savings account and you can watch the little bit that you save each week add up to big numbers on your bank statement.
I don’t live in the US. Can I still do this challenge?
Yep! Sure can. You can totally make your own penny challenge.
While every money system is slightly different, you can still make this work for you. If you’re in England, it’s super easy to convert the penny challenge to the 1p challenge or the 1p savings challenge.
It may be a little more difficult in other countries, but the whole goal is to come up with a simple way to make savings a part of your every day life! Do what you need to do to make this work for you.
We use debit cards for every purchase, so we never have extra change. Will this work for us?
Yep. If you don’t carry cash and never have change, you can still do this. You can choose to withdrawal cash on a weekly basis to add to a piggy bank, you can transfer money daily from your checking account to a special savings account, or you can wait til the end of each week to transfer the entire week’s amount at once!
How To Use This Savings Challenge Printable
There are a variety of ways you can use this free printable! You can start with $.01 and work your way up to $3.65. Or you can do it in reverse order and start with the highest amount and work your way backwards. You can even start with whatever random amount you have in your change purse right now and pick a random amount each day. There’s no perfect way to take the challenge!
The first year I did the challenge, I tossed extra cash and change in my jars whenever I had a chance. I got so excited watching the money grow. And without much effort, I was able to save way more than $667. My total savings that first year was over $1000. The tiny amounts I added to the jars made a huge difference.
I typically put my change in large mason jars. You’re going to end up with a lot of money and it’s not all going to fit in a piggy bank…unless you get one like this!
If you’re looking for another great way to save money, I absolutely LOVE Oportun. I’ve saved well over $15000 since I joined and it has been completely effortless! You can read my Oportun review here!
Take the Penny Saving Challenge!
Looking for a different challenge?
Check out our other Money-Saving Challenges
52-Week Challenge Printable
Reverse 52 Week Money Challenge Printable
Pin This Penny Saving Challenge For Later!
This was originally posted on January 3, 2016.