If you aim to save money in the coming year, consider taking on one of these challenges for 2026. Some challenges involve starting with saving just 1p on the first day, while others could potentially help you accumulate nearly £7,000 by the end of the year.
How you choose to save the money is entirely up to you. You can opt for creating a digital savings account online or go the traditional route by collecting coins and cash in a jar.
The £1 saving challenge entails putting aside £1 every day, resulting in a total of £365 saved by the end of the year. If you prefer to save less, setting aside 50p a day will still amount to £182.50 by year-end.
In this challenge, you incrementally 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 saved over the year. Even if you only continue until the end of June, you would have saved £164.71.
Another challenge involves saving £1 on Monday and increasing this amount by £1 each day until Friday, resulting in a total saving of £15 per week, equating to £780 over the year. Even if done every other week, you could still save £390 by year-end.
For the weekly challenge, the savings amount increases by £1 each week. Starting with £1 in the first week of January and progressing to £52 by the final week of December, this challenge could help you save £1,378 if completed for the entire year, or £351 if done every other week.
A more demanding version of the Monday to Friday challenge includes weekends, with savings increasing by £1 each day, reaching £7 on Sundays. By following this routine, you could save £1,456 by the end of the year or £728 if completed halfway.
The most challenging of the lot involves increasing the saved amount by £5 each week. By completing this challenge, you could save £6,890 over the year, or if halfway through, you would have saved £1,755.
These challenges offer various ways to boost your savings throughout the year, providing a structured approach to achieving your financial goals.