How does an extra $500 for the holidays sound? October is the perfect month to start saving for the holidays and if you’re not sure where to begin, this October Savings Challenge is for you!
By now, you’ve probably heard of the 100 Envelope Savings Challenge or perhaps even the Christmas Savings Challenge. Both are great ways to save a good chunk of change before the holidays but both require more time.
I realize that not everyone is so proactive when it comes to the holidays. In fact, some even put Christmas on a credit card and then worry about paying it off later.
As someone who has “been there, done that”, I can tell you, this is not a good plan.
Instead of rushing to buy gift last minute and trying to figure out how to afford it later, you can do a savings challenge right before the full holiday shopping season is in full swing.
Yes, this year, you can still manage to afford Christmas without racking up any credit card debt and all it requires is 31 days of easy savings. You will never have to save over $31 on any given day.
What is the October Savings Challenge?
The October Savings challenge is a money saving challenge. You start with 31 envelopes and write one number from 1-31 on each envelope. You then shuffle the envelopes and place them into a box or basket.
Each day you draw an envelope and whatever number you draw, you place that amount of cash inside and you do this for 31 days (the entire month of October) until the envelopes are filled.
For example, if on day one you draw the number 15 you would deposit $15 into that envelope and seal it. If on day two you draw the number 3, you’d deposit $3 into that envelope and seal it and continue this for 31 days.
By the end of the challenge, you will have saved $496!!
How to Do The October Savings Challenge
Just like when you start any savings challenge, the first step is to create a safe place to store your savings. Ideally, this is somewhere you will not be tempted to touch it and it is separate from all the other money you use for bills, pleasure, etc.
For me, I love the envelope method. It allows me to physically see myself putting away the money and if it’s in cash, I am less likely to transfer it from my savings into my checking to spend.
If you choose to use the envelope method, you will want 31 Envelopes, a box to store them in and some Halloween stickers to seal the envelopes (great way to keep money from falling out).
From there, number each envelope from 1-31. If you’d rather to do this money challenge digitally, you can skip this step.
The next thing to do is, you start by putting away money each day.
With the 31 Day October Savings Challenge, you will put away $1 on Day 1, $2 on Day 2, $3 on Day 3, etc.
If you are using the envelope method, you can mix up the envelopes and pull one each day and put in that amount of money that correlates with number on the front of the envelope.
By the end of the 31 Days, you will have saved $496 – – almost $500 in 31 days!
What do you do if you get paid Bi-Weekly?
If you get paid bi-weekly, you can take out how ever much you can afford that week and divide it amongst 2 weeks of envelopes. For example, let’s say you have $200 set aside from the first paycheck of the month. That will fill several envelopes in that time frame.
What if you don’t have the extra money?
I realize many people live paycheck to paycheck which means there is no money leftover to put into a savings challenge this like.
For that I would say, if you really want to do the challenge, figure a way to make it happen. That could be everything from making coffee at home instead of heading to Starbucks to starting a side hustle for the month. You could even selling things you no longer need around your house or pick up extra hours at work.
There are plenty of ways to make a few extra bucks a day in order to put it aside for savings.
I’ve made it even easier for you…
I created a October Savings Challenge printable to help you keep track of the amounts and days throighout this challenge.
The first page is a sheet to tell you which amount to put inside the envelope and how much your balance will be each day.
The second page is a coloring page, simply color in the pumpkin of the envelope you fill each day. You can do this in order or mix the envelopes up and do them randomly.
You can grab the October Savings Challenge Printable here.