According to the Yahoo Finance/Marist Poll, only 22% of survey respondents reported being very or completely satisfied with their savings progress over the past year, while 35% were very or completely dissatisfied.
How can you make saving money easier? Try following an offbeat savings strategy like the “$27.39 rule.” Successfully completing this challenge results in $10,000 in savings after one year. Here’s how it works.
Saving $10,000 in one year is not easy, and that large amount can feel intimidating. The $27.39 Rule is a viral savings habit that helps you build your savings slowly and consistently without feeling overwhelmed.
The idea is simple: Transfer $27.39 to your savings account every day for one year. After 365 days, you will have a savings account balance of approximately $10,000.
Savings challenges like these can help make achieving a larger saving goal more manageable by breaking a large amount into smaller chunks. Some savers may choose to adjust this strategy — for example, setting aside $192.31 each week or $833.33 each month — depending on cash flow, pay cycle, etc.
No matter how you approach the challenge, building a strong savings habit is what makes the biggest financial impact.
If you’re already committed to the $27.39 rule, you’ve hit the hardest part: consensus. From there, the goal is to make every dollar you set aside work hard.
For example, if you put your savings in a high-interest account, such as a high-yield savings account or a money market account, you will earn a good amount of interest on top of your contributions.
Currently, the national average interest rate for savings accounts is only 0.39%, according to the FDIC. At that rate, you’ll earn about $21 in interest after completing the year-long challenge (taking daily interest compounds).
However, say you choose a savings account that earns 4% APY instead. At the end of the year, you can add $220 in interest to your original balance without making any additional contributions.
The $27.39 rule is one of the savings challenges that can help you build a large nest egg. If you want to try a savings challenge but aren’t ready for such a big goal, consider these other options:
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$5 bill challenge: Every time you get a $5 bill — whether it’s from a store return, change from a purchase, or a birthday card — you put it aside to save instead of spend it.
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52-saving challenge: This challenge involves saving $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on. During the final week of the challenge, you will set aside $52. And at the end of the year, you’ll have $1,378 in savings.
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Challenge to save 100 envelopes: In this challenge, you use envelopes to save a sum of money within 100 days. The envelopes are marked No. 1 to 100, each number corresponds to the amount of money to be deposited in each one.
There’s no shortage of savings tips, tricks, and challenges out there to help you get a little closer to your savings goals. The key is to find a challenge that you can stick to in order to get the best results.
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