A to Z Well-being (personal philosophy): Saving

Saving (n) – anything that is saved

            When we talk about saving, the first thing people go to is money in the bank.  Well, it’s the beginning of a new year and resolutions are being made left, right and centre.  This all leads up to the ’52 Week Money Challenge’. Everybody who has a Facebook account has already posted, or had a friend post, this for them to see.  I can’t take credit for it and if you do a Google search for it, you get (at the time of this) 87 Million hits; MILLION - with a capital ‘M’.  The concept is pretty simple: Save $1 dollar a week, adding an additional $1 every week that passes i.e. $1 on January 1^st, $2 on January 8^th,…$52 on December 24^th (you can check the math).  Here’s a link to a chart from 1000directions.com (http://i2.wp.com/www.100directions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/52-week-challenge-savings-chart-jen-goode-printable.jpg?resize=550%2C550), if you want to see it.  Or you can be a rebel and reverse the chart order (also someone else's idea). Start with $52 on January 1^st and finish with $1 on Christmas Eve.  The result is the same $1378 at the end of the 52^nd week. But what is the flaw in the plan?  It’s not the math, that’s rock solid.

            The problem is the timing. Now I realize that this is supposed to be a “New Years Resolution”, but it’s still a bad time of the year to start or end this type of undertaking.  In today’s consumer-driven society, most people will fail because they can’t afford to either put up the last $202 dollars because they’re buying gifts, have travel plans, or something unexpected has come up. Or they can’t do the plan in reverse because they have pay for travel, gifts or unforeseen emergencies.  Either way, trying to start this challenge in January or finish it in December can be a real kick in the teeth using either of these methods.  Is there a better way to do this that will improve your odds of succeeding?  I think so and it’s so simple, if you haven’t seen it yet, you may just face-palm yourself.

            START EARLIER IN THE YEAR!  Regardless of when you start the ‘52 Week Money Challenge’, you still accumulate the same amount of money: $1378.  Starting December 1^st or even November 1^st means you finish earlier in the year.  What should really blow your mind is what happens when you open the jar after your 52^nd week.  You've saved almost $1400 and done it in time for the holidays! Imagine having that much money set aside to buy your family gifts or help offset the cost of travel; all because you adjusted the timetable.  And if you double up in the first couple of weeks when it’s easiest, you achieve you objective all the sooner or have more set aside at the end.