We’re forever hearing from our friends about the various challenges they are carrying out – often focused on getting fit, or eating better.

So, we wondered, what about money saving challenges? Anyone doing those?

Laura Beck, writing for Go Banking Rates recently reported on the 52-Week Savings Challenge. In this challenge, you save $1 in week one, increase it to $2 in week two, $3 in week three, and so on.

The woman who carried out the challenge, identified as Amelia K., thought it sounded easy, asking “how hard could it be?”

“The 52-week challenge appealed to her because it started small. A dollar in week one felt manageable, and the gradual increase seemed less intimidating than trying to save a large lump sum all at once,” the article reports.

She started in January, and by the end of March, “she’d saved $378 and was feeling confident about completing the full challenge.” By May, however, the savings amounts were larger, like $20. “Twenty dollars a week doesn’t sound like much until you realize it’s almost $80 per month on top of everything else you’re trying to save,” she states in the article.

By the end of the year, it was “brutal,” she says, saving $40 to $50 a week in the run-up to Christmas. “I finished the challenge, but I also ended December with more credit card debt than I started the year with,” she admitted. “I was basically borrowing money to fund my savings account,” she says. But she did manage to save $1,378.

OK, maybe there are other approaches out there – let’s look.

The Inspired Budget blog suggests a similar daily challenge – the 365 Day Nickel Saving Challenge.

“This challenge is for anyone that feels overwhelmed making weekly or bi-weekly deposits – and you end up saving even more money with it,” the blog tells us.

It’s a simple as it sounds. On day 1, save a nickel, and deposit it into savings. On day two, two nickels. On day 3, three nickels, and at the end of 365 days, $1,840.

“When you look at the numbers, they seem so doable,” the blog enthuses. Plus, the blog adds, “the best thing is that when you add it all up, the total you put into savings will be $3,300.”

The Experian website discusses the Round Up Challenge.

“Anytime you make a purchase, round up to the nearest dollar and pocket the change. For instance, if you spend $28.57 at the store, the difference is 43 cents,” the site explains.

“Keep a tally of your change throughout the day or week and then transfer that money over to savings, if you’re using cards for payment. If you’re paying in cash, stash the change away in a change jar,” the article suggests.

The Wealthy Woman Finance blog provides our final example, which reminds us a bit of the approaches used by noted Canadian saving expert Gail Vaz-Oxlade.

The blog calls it a Cash Only Week Challenge. Huh?

“Take out your budget in bills for the week,” the blog instructs. “Separate it into cash envelope categories.” Categories listed on the blog include Eating Out, Groceries, Outings, Gas and Personal Care – you would, of course, be able to set your own categories.

Spend the cash from each envelope for expenses in each category. “Once you spend it, the money’s all gone. You’ll learn a lot about your spending habits and how you can save in the future.”

We’ll add in one more, the Uncle Joe Challenge. The late Uncle Joe always told us that if we saved 10 per cent off the top of everything we earned, we’d do great even if we spent the other 90 per cent. This is challenging to do if you are paying a mortgage or high rent – so start by banking one per cent each month. Increase it to two per cent when you can, and go on from there.

If there is a theme amongst these challenges, it may be the systemic, automated method behind them – making savings almost automatic.

The Saskatchewan Pension Plan can let members automate their savings. You tell us how much you want to save, as well as the account you want it to come from, and we’ll take it from there. Alternatively, you can set SPP up as a “bill” to pay on payday, you can send us cheques, and more.

Once your savings dollars are in your SPP account, they will be professionally invested in a low-cost, pooled fund with a successful track record. At retirement, your future you can decide among such options as a lifetime monthly annuity payment or the more flexible Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

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There’s a room in our basement that we rarely ever enter, which we euphemistically call the “storage room,” that has 50 or more boxes full of accumulated clutter from past dwellings in Toronto, Waterloo, Barrie and beyond. There are also old books, toys, games, records, cameras, Palm Pilots, and other once-cool stuff that now is unneeded and unwanted.

Save with SPP, finding the prospect of going through each box overwhelming, took a look around the Interweb for ideas on how to convert some of this clutter into easier-to-store cash, while reclaiming some floor space.

Over at the Go Banking Rates blog, a number of clutter-cashing ideas are on offer.

The blog recommends a “triage” of your clutter collection to sift out any items of value.

“Go through each room and sort items into categories like clothing, electronics, books, and collectibles. Be ruthless in your selection; if you haven’t used it in a year and it doesn’t hold sentimental value, it’s likely clutter,” the blog advises.

Next, look up online to find the value of your potential “sellables,” the blog adds. See what similar items are going for on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or (in Canada) Kijiji.

List your items on a suitable platform – the blog recommends eBay for collectibles, and Facebook for furniture and electronics “as you can avoid shipping costs.”

Anything you plan to sell online should be cleaned, repaired, and captured via a good, clear photo and well-written, clear description, the blog notes. Be sure, the blog concludes, that you are offering your items at a fair price, account for any fees your platform charges (example – shipping outside Canada) and be willing to negotiate. With Facebook sales, arrange to meet the buyer “in well-lit public places and consider bringing a friend,” the blog advises.

“With a little effort and savvy, you can turn your unused items into a valuable resource. Whether it’s an old guitar, a stack of vintage comics, or a designer dress you never wore, there’s likely a market for your once-loved items,” the article concludes.

The Frugal Farm Wife blog provides a few more ideas.

While it takes a bit of effort to cash in on your junk, it’s a sound idea to trade “a pile of stuff you no longer want or need for cash to spend on things you DO want or need,” the authors note.

Yard or garage sales, the article says, are the number one way “to get rid of stuff… they’re great!”

Set low prices for the bargain-minded yard/garage shopping set, advertise (via flyers or community Facebook, including some photos of what’s going on sale), and make your sale “easy to navigate” by grouping like items together, having tables to lay out clothes and larger items, etc.

Another approach, the article continues, is to “sell to consignment shops.” This is good for name-brand clothing that is in excellent shape, the article advises, and your clothes must be spotless.

Consider bringing any unwanted antiques to an antique store, the article notes.

At the Thrifty Frugal Mom blog, a lot of the same ground is covered, but the blog notes there are also online yard sales that can be set up via Facebook.

“To find one, simply search Facebook with your area’s name and either yard sale or resale and likely something will pop up. If not, create one yourself- but be prepared for it to become a hopping, popular place,” the blog notes.

“While you can sell big-ticket items here, I’ve found these groups to be a great place for selling smaller items and kid’s clothing. In fact, two groups that I’m part of are specifically for kid’s stuff.”

We can add a couple more thoughts from family experiences. The market for used 35 mm film cameras seems to have ticked up of late, and many camera stores will purchase your old cameras and lenses for a few bucks. There are several local stores that will pay cash for old vinyl records. And if you have any old collectible cards, there are card shops that will help you convert them into cash.

Depending on how serious your clutter addiction is, this is a process that could take time. But at the end of the day, you’ll have less clutter and more cash.

A nice place for some of that extra cash to be stored is the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. Any Canadian with registered retirement savings plan room can join SPP, and take advantage of its low-cost, professionally managed and pooled investment fund. And when you retire, your options include converting savings to a lifetime monthly annuity payment, or the flexibility of SPP’s Variable Benefit option, where you decide how much income to withdraw – and when!

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