The 52-week savings challenge is one of the most popular money-saving approaches. Here is how it works and why it succeeds where other approaches fail.
Save an amount equal to the week number: £1 in week 1, £2 in week 2, £3 in week 3, and so on. By week 52 you save £52. The total saved across all 52 weeks is £1,378.
The early weeks are trivially easy (£1, £2, £3), which builds the habit before the amounts feel significant. By the time you reach the harder weeks, the habit is established.
Many people do it backwards — starting with £52 in week 1 (January, when motivation is highest) and ending with £1 in week 52 (December, when budgets are tightest). Both total £1,378.
Track it with our free 52-week savings challenge tracker.