5p savings challenge could help you put aside £3,330 this year | Personal Finance | Finance
User @budgetingmum shared how people can take on the 5p savings challenge, by starting on day one by saving just 5p, and increasing the amount by 5p each day. If a person did this over the course of a year, they would save £3339.75.
The mum said when explaining the method on TikTok: “I can’t believe how much it all adds up to!”
Other TikTok users were impressed with the money-saving tip as they thought it was an achievable way to save money.
Some people offered their suggestions for how to make the most of the challenge. One person suggested those who don’t tend to carry cash could transfer the money into a bank account.
If a saver followed the challenge consistently, on the last day of the year they would have to put aside £18.25.
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One person offered a tip about how to manage this. They said: “Start backwards and put the largest amounts in on day one, and it gets cheaper as the year goes on.”
Other commenters agreed with the idea of switching the challenge around, particularly as it would mean having to put less aside in the run-up to Christmas.
Anyone who wants to take on the 5p challenge this year can still begin today, by simply puting aside the 75p total they would have saved by January 5.
They can then continue the challenge is normal, with the 5p daily increases, starting with 30p on January 6.
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Another easier challenge that is very popular is the 1p savings challenge, which is very similar.
The challenge starts with 1p and the amount increases by 1p each day, with the person tasked with saving £3.65 on the last day of the year.
Mum-of-one Kate Richards spoke about her experience completing the challenge last year, saving a total of £667.95.
She used the money to pay for all the Christmas presents for her family. She said: “There’s an app and it automatically moves money into your account for you.
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“By the end of the year you’ve got £667.95 and you don’t notice it coming out every day. I’ve done it since 2019 and used it every year for Christmas shopping.
“They also do it in reverse and start with £3.65 and go down. It links up to the bank and you get a notification each day, you don’t have to think about it and it’s great. I already have all my presents wrapped and everything, it’s all done.”
She uses the app IFTTT, which automatically increases the amount she saves each day in line with the challenge, helping her rein in her spending.
The thrifty mum was also able to reduce her festive costs as her family decided to do a “Secret Santa” rather than each person buying a gift for each other.
She previously spent £20 per person, buying gifts for seven people. But the Santa game involves a £50 limit for each person, and with just this one expenditure on presents, she cut her costs by almost a third.
Ms Richards said: “It’s more fun as you have to think about one person and what they would really like – with one person you can think a bit more.
“I use a website called thingstogetme.com – you put your Christmas list in and send it to everyone and they can reserve an item which ticks it off so there are no duplicates.
“You find the item on Amazon, stick the link in and any extra info like colour or size and people can just tick it off, buy it, and it’s sorted.”
