September signals a new beginning for many, marked by the return to school, work, and routine after the holidays, summer, and heat. If recent weeks have brought extra expenses and you’re looking to tighten your budget, a strategy that might help is the 52-week challenge.
Where to Start?
“Each week, place a certain amount of money in a transparent jar. Every week, the amount you deposit increases by one euro,” explains the financial literacy portal EI.
In practice, this means “in the first week, you deposit one euro. In the second week, two euros. In the third, three euros. And so on, until, in the last week of the challenge (52nd week), you deposit 52 euros.”
In total, you can save 1,378 euros.
Visually, the challenge is as follows:
| Weeks | Money Saved |
| Week 1 | 1€ |
| Week 2 | 2€ |
| Week 3 | 3€ |
| … | … |
| Week 52 | 52€ |
| Total Savings: | 1,378€ |
The Difficulty Increases…
Be aware that the “difficulty increases each month, as in the first month you only need to put 10 euros in the jar, but in the last, you’ll need to fork out 202 euros for this saving challenge.”
As it may be difficult for many families to save large amounts, adjustments can be made to the challenge, according to the same portal:
- “52-week decreasing. For example, you can start from the highest amount and work down. This way, you take advantage of a month where you have more financial liquidity, like when receiving holiday pay or tax returns, to start saving the maximum amount. With this decreasing strategy, you only need to save one euro in the last week.
- ‘Bingo‘. The principle is the same, but instead of following the regular 52-week schedule (increasing or decreasing), each week, you save what you can. If one week you manage to save 52 euros, but the next only 2 euros, you cross those off the list. The important thing is that by the end of the challenge, you have 1,378 euros in the jar. This variation adapts to your financial situation. In weeks where you’re more comfortable, you save the higher amounts. When times are tighter, save the lower amounts.
- Mini 52-week challenge. It’s the same challenge, but instead of starting with one euro and increasing it each week, you do the 0.50 euro version. Instead of ending the year with 1,378 euros, you save only 689 euros. The amount is smaller, but what’s important is setting money aside.”
Find out how to prepare.
Notícias ao Minuto | 10:29 – 16/05/2025
