As we get closer to Christmas, we often hear about lots of savings challenges to save money for the Holiday.
But I like to have the majority, if not all, of my Christmas money saved by Thanksgiving.
Why? Because what happens right after Thanksgiving?
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the biggest shopping weeks of the year!
Saving money BY christmas is good, but having the money saved BEFORE you need to use it for Christmas shopping is even better.
That is why I like to use this 52 week christmas savings challenge, and start (or re-start) it at Thanksgiving.
What is the 52 week Christmas Savings Challenge
The 52 week Christmas Savings Challenge is a spin off of the original 52 week savings challenge.
In the original challenge, you start saving money at the first of the year. Each week you save $1 more than the week before.
For instance, the first week you save $1. Then the second week you save $2. And so on until at week 52 you save $52.
But with this Christmas version, you don’t start at the New Year. Instead, we are going to start right after Thanksgiving.
So the first week after Thanksgiving, you will save $1. The second week after thanksgiving, you save $2.
And you keep going until the next year, the week of Thanksgiving, you save the last $52.
And then you will have save $1358, all for Christmas!
Why do the Christmas Savings Plan 52 Week in this way
I love doing the challenge this way for so many reasons.
First you are saving all year long, so the cost of Christmas doesn’t break the budget in December.
Also, you have most, if not all, of your christmas money saved and ready to spend on Christmas, when the big sales and shopping days come around.
You start the savings challenge with small numbers.
This means saving in those early weeks won’t hurt so much, especially if this is the first time doing this challenge and you are already spending so much on Christmas.
Lastly you will have save almost $1400 for Christmas! That is amazing! And is sure to give you relief at this time of year, rather than extra stress.
Since keeping track of which week you are in can get confusing, AND using a visual tracker actually helps you be more successful with savings goals, we created a printable savings tracker specifically for this challenge.
How to use the Christmas Savings Plan 52 Week Tracker
Pick your starting date. Since we are starting the week after Thanksgiving, put in the Monday after Thanksgiving for this year.
Then, each week, once you have saved the weekly amount, mark that week off on the tracker.
Then you never have to wonder or guess how much you are supposed to save.
Plus you can easily see how much you have saved, and how much progress you have made!
Making savings goals visual by using a tracker is a great way to help you stay motivated and to have success with finishing the challenge!
You can get your own copy of the 52 week christmas savings challenge tracker here.
Final Thoughts on Christmas Savings Plan 52 Week Challenge
Saving money for Christmas is so important to help make sure that Christmas spending doesn’t derail your budget for months to come!
This 52 week savings challenge and tracker will help you save gradually, and with a specific goal, so that you can see success with preparing early for christmas!
Make sure to get your savings challenge tracker today!