8 fun money-saving challenges for families

Saving money can help you improve your personal finance situation in many ways. It can help reduce financial stress, improve your future financial outlook, and help you work toward fun savings goals, like your next vacation.

Of course, the simple act of saving money isn’t exactly fun on its own — but you can spice things up and gamify it with a money-saving challenge. This is a great way to kick off some new financial habits for the long-term or just hit short-term goals quickly.

In this guide, learn about saving challenges — including how they work and some different approaches you can take. We’ll also cover how to get your whole family involved in the fun!

What is a money-saving challenge?

Put simply, a money-saving challenge is a personal challenge you can set for yourself that encourages you to save money. Usually, this involves hitting certain goals — for instance, saving $150 per month or $50 per week. These challenges usually limit your spending in some way, making it easier to save money.

For instance, you might do a month-long challenge where you eliminate going out to eat to see how much you can save. Or you might set a goal of saving $200 on your takeout expenses while also making it more fun by trying out new recipes to cook at home.

Challenges can be as short as a few days or as long as several years. The basic idea is to set a goal, establish some rules, and start saving money.

8 money saving challenges to try out

There are all sorts of approaches to saving money. What works well for you might not work as well for your neighbor — so like so many other things in life, it’s all about finding what’s best for you specifically.

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These money-saving challenges listed below provide some great ideas to get you thinking. Feel free to modify these however you want. There’s no hard-and-fast rules, except the rules you set for yourself.

1. The no-spend challenge

Here’s a tough one that can actually be quite eye-opening. It’s simple: See how long you can go without spending any money. 

Can you make it three days? A week? More? This one might seem a little extreme, but it can honestly be a fun way to break out of your routines and experience new things. Plus, the extra money you have leftover can go toward your emergency fund or another savings goal. 

If you have bills that you need to pay, like rent, utilities, etc., you can still pay those. The idea is to exclude any sort of non-essential spending, like dinner out or an Amazon order, for a set period of time.

Of course, you’ll want to start this challenge prepared. If you want to truly spend nothing, stock up on necessities first. Stock your fridge and pantry with the foods you tend to cook (while grocery shopping on a budget, ideally), and make sure any bills that will be due soon are prepaid.

From there, simply see how long you can go without spending money. Get creative and have some fun with it! Check out your local Buy Nothing group (a social media group that encourages free sharing, giveaways, and gifts among neighbors) to connect with your community.

2. The 52-week savings challenge

Want a longer-term, much more approachable savings challenge? The 52-week money challenge might fit the bill.

This one is pretty simple. In the first week, you save $1. In the second week, you save $2 — and so on. Keep going until week 52, when you’ll put $52 into your savings account.

In total, this strategy will result in savings of $1,378!

3. The pantry challenge

Who here has a kitchen cabinet full of extra canned beans, dry pasta, and other pantry staples? The pantry challenge is simple, fun, and helps prevent food waste. All you do is try to get through as much of the food in your pantry as possible and minimize other food spending.

You can still buy fresh groceries — produce, proteins,, etc. — but try not to buy additional pantry items unless you need them for a specific recipe.

Many households have hundreds of dollars worth of food sitting right in their pantries. You can slash your spending at the grocery store easily by focusing on getting through what you already have.

4. The vacation savings challenge

Got a trip on your calendar? Or do you want to have a trip on your calendar? This challenge is for you.

Estimate how much the trip might cost you. Say you’re planning a road trip that you think will cost around $1,000. You want to go on the trip in around three months’ time. OK, great — now do the math to see how much you need to save.

Assuming you don’t have any money set aside for your trip yet, the amount of money you’ll need to save would be roughly $333 per month, or around $83 per week.

Next, figure out how to hit your savings goal. Maybe you cut out impulse purchases, like coffee or treats, or you scale back on restaurant spending. Or maybe you combine this challenge with another, like the pantry clean out challenge, to slash your grocery spending.

Make sure to check in on your progress to make sure you’re staying on track.

5. The holiday savings challenge

Want to crush your holiday budget? It helps to plan ahead!

The holidays can be an expensive time, between gifts, holiday travel, and all the little treats that can add up quickly. But if you start saving now for next holiday season, you’ll be in much better shape.

One simple holiday saving challenge could be setting aside $20 each week for your future holiday expenses. If you start this in January, you’ll have over $1,000 by the end of the year.

6. The spare change challenge

Try saving all your spare change in a piggy bank or a jar for a year. There are also ways to do this challenge digitally. Some online banking platforms or money apps (like Greenlight) will automatically round up your purchases and put the change in your savings account.

For example, if you spend $7.56 on lunch, the purchase will round up to $8 and $0.44 will go to your savings. You might be surprised how much the spare change challenge can add up to.

7. Individual savings goal challenge

This works similar to the vacation savings goal challenge. Is there something you want to save for? It can be something small, like a new pair of shoes, or something big like a down payment for a home.

Create a savings plan for your goal. Start by deciding how much you need to save and how long until you hope to make the purchase. Then, work backward to see how much you need to save each week to hit those goals.

This is a great challenge for kids to try. You can help them figure out how much money they need to set aside each week or each month so you can buy something they have their eye on, like a new book or video game. If you use the Greenlight app, kids can set savings goals and track progress along the way — and they can even earn rewards to speed things along.

8. No-eating-out challenge

Look at your usual spending habits. Do you get takeout or go to a restaurant multiple times a week or month? Try a no-eating-out challenge, and put the money you save from cooking at home into your savings account or toward a special savings goal.

How to get your family involved in saving money

These money-saving challenges don’t have to be a solo affair. Get your family members involved to both save more money and have more fun — and to teach kids about financial literacy in the process. Try these strategies:

• Set a common goal, like a fun family vacation, to save money toward.

• Encourage your kids to be little savers by getting them a piggy bank, or better yet, a digital app like Greenlight (more on this below).

• Use a printable savings tracker to keep track of your progress.

• Save extra money in a jar on the counter so it’s visible, and track your progress with the whole family.

• Set common financial goals, and keep your whole family involved regularly.

• Celebrate building better spending habits together — and don’t be afraid to enjoy a treat together to celebrate.

• Explain to younger kids why you want to save money, and what those savings will help you do in the future. Delayed gratification and saving money is a key financial concept for kids to understand. 

Whether you’re saving for an entire year or just a week, getting your family on board can be a lot of fun.

Use Greenlight to reach your family’s savings goals

Money-saving challenges can help kick-start your savings goals, get you out of your regular routines, and even inspire some fun and joy along the way. Getting your family involved can provide even more benefit, by both teaching kids important lessons and bonding over shared goals and experiences. 

Use the Greenlight app to work toward savings goals together as a family. Greenlight is a powerful all-in-one money app for kids and teens. It has a debit card, savings tools, cash-back, and even investing. Plus, parents get their own version of the app to monitor progress, set parental limits, and more. You can even use the app to manage chores and allowances.

Ready to learn about the world of money? Sign up for Greenlight today!