no spend day written on paper with money

What Are Weekly Savings Challenges You Can Do To Build An Emergency Fund?

Build your emergency fund the fun way with weekly savings challenges, and let At Home Title Loans show you how! A savings challenge can make setting aside money more engaging, with different structures that encourage consistency.

You’ll discover four popular weekly savings challenges you can choose from in this article. Before that, you’ll learn the benefits you can enjoy by following any weekly savings challenge!

What Is A Savings Challenge?

Let’s start by getting on the same page about what a savings challenge is and how it can help you.

Simply put, a savings challenge is a way to make saving money fun and engaging by turning it into a game. Doing so keeps people motivated and accountable as they work towards their savings goals.

Savings challenges can take many different forms. However, they all have one thing in common: They’re structured with a set of rules or guidelines. More importantly, they also have a time limit, making them challenging.

using a calculator to figure out finances

These challenges can help many people achieve their goals thanks to these benefits:

  • Structure: Firstly, savings challenges provide you with a structure to follow. That takes all the guesswork out of the process, making things easier for you.
  • Focus: The challenge’s deadline helps to keep you focused so you don’t get distracted when pursuing your goals.
  • Accountability: Challenges also help you keep yourself accountable. You can also do it with friends and family and pursue savings goals together.
  • Habit-building: Even after a challenge is over, you can continue doing the same things, thereby building healthy long-term habits.
  • Fun: Overall, savings challenges make things fun and easy to stick to!

The best savings challenges provide all of the benefits listed above. In the section below, you’ll discover some of them, which you can use to build your emergency fund.

Weekly Savings Challenges To Build An Emergency Fund

Here are 4 popular savings challenges you can use to build your emergency fund:

1. The No-Spend Challenge

This first savings goal is pretty straightforward. As the name suggests, it requires you to spend no money at all for a short period, at least on non-essential items.

As you go through the challenge, you focus on relying on the items you already have and seeking out free options for things like entertainment.

Meanwhile, all the money you don’t spend can go towards your financial goals. By the time the challenge ends, you will have learned plenty of new ways to save money in the future!

2. The Envelope System

Another popular savings challenge is called the Envelope System. This one focuses on careful budgeting to help you cut back on unnecessary spending and increase savings.

Here’s how it works:

First, prepare envelopes representing different weekly expense categories like food, entertainment, clothes, and bills. Then, stuff those envelopes with the amount of cash you’ve budgeted for each category.

The challenge here is only to spend the cash you’ve allocated while cutting back on those costs. In doing so, you’ll learn to control your spending and force yourself to find cheaper alternatives!

3. The Round-Up Challenge

Suppose the two challenges above feel too overwhelming. In that case, try something more straightforward, like the Round-Up Challenge.

This challenge requires you to save all your spare change by rounding up your expenses every week.

If you’re paying for something that’s $9.50, round it up to $10 and save 50 cents. Over an extended period, the amount you save will grow.

This challenge is great because you’re habitually saving small amounts that add up over time!

4. The 52-Week Challenge

If you’re up for a challenge, consider the 52-Week Savings Challenge.

For this challenge, start by saving a small amount of money each week, like $1. Then, increase that amount by another dollar every week.

You’ll save $52 on week 52, bringing your total savings to $1,378!

calendar with date circled for savings challenge

What To Do If You Don’t Have Enough Emergency Funds Saved

Building an emergency fund will take some time, even with a weekly savings challenge. If a financial emergency happens in the meantime and you need to cover urgent costs, you can consider getting a title loan.

This type of loan uses your lien-free car title as collateral to secure up to $15,000, depending on your car's worth.

Best of all, you’ll get to keep your car! You only need to bring it in for a quick inspection before driving it home. Besides that, all you’ll need to provide is a lien-free vehicle title, proving that the car you own is free from any judgments and paid in full, and a state-issued ID, such as your driver’s license.

Take The First Step Now!

Weekly savings challenges offer fun ways to build your emergency fund, and there are plenty to choose from. Give them a try and find the one you enjoy the most, and you’ll be on your way to saving money in no time!

If an urgent expense pops up before your emergency fund has the chance to grow, At Home Title Loans is always ready to help you find a reputable lender in your area offering title loans. Reach out by submitting our secure inquiry form with your details, and a loan specialist will call you back!

Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.

Daniel Dewitt

Daniel Dewitt is a lifetime blogger with a finely-honed ability to break down, analyze, and interpret economic trends for the layman. He's fiercely invested in spreading financial literacy and helping everyday people gain the tools they need for their own economic success.