If you’ve set a goal to save money this year, consider taking on one of these challenges for 2026. Some challenges start with saving just 1p on the first day, while others could lead to savings of nearly £7,000 by the end of the year.
You have the flexibility to choose how you save the money, whether it’s through a digital savings account or the traditional method of collecting coins and cash in a jar.
The £1 saving challenge involves saving £1 each day, resulting in a total of £365 at the end of the year. Alternatively, saving 50p daily would accumulate to £182.50 by year-end.
For the incremental challenge, you progressively increase the amount saved by 1p each day. Starting with 1p on January 1, the savings grow to £3.65 by December 31, totaling £667.95 for the year or £164.71 if stopped midway in June.
Another challenge entails saving increasing amounts from Monday to Friday, starting with £1 on Monday and adding £1 daily until Friday, resulting in £15 saved weekly and £780 over the year, or £390 if done biweekly.
In a weekly increasing challenge, the savings increase by £1 each week throughout the year, starting from £1 in the first week and culminating in £52 in the final week, totaling £1,378 if completed or £351 if done biweekly.
A more challenging version of the weekday savings includes weekends, where savings increase by £1 daily, with additional savings of £6 on Saturday and £7 on Sunday, leading to £1,456 saved by year-end or £728 if half completed.
The toughest challenge involves saving £5 more each week, starting with £5 in the first week and escalating to higher amounts weekly. Completing this challenge would result in savings of £6,890 for the year or £1,755 if stopped halfway through.
These challenges offer a structured approach to saving money and can help individuals meet their financial goals by the end of the year.