Do You Pay Yourself First?
Let’s face it: saving money is a challenge. It doesn’t help that we live in an “I want it now” society. Often times we pay our bills, and whatever is left is our “fun money.” But we’re forgetting the most crucial bill to pay, the one we owe to ourselves. We’re so busy giving money to the utility company, the coffee shop, our favorite restaurant, etc., we forget to pay ourselves.
The “52-Week Savings Plan” is designed to make it easier to save. The idea is simple:
- Week One: save $1. Easy, huh?
- Week Two: save $2. Still pretty easy.
- Week Three: save $3. Ok, that’s one tall cappuccino.
- Week Four: save $4. I see what’s happening here…
- By the time you get to week 52, you’ll have saved $1,378!
Download your Savings Plan now!

If you’re interested in following the calendar, you’ll need to prime the pot with a few dollars for the weeks you missed to start the year. If not, you can start in the first week of April (or whenever you’re reading this, there’s no time like the present!), which might be even better considering you won’t be trying to save the largest amounts at the same time you’re spending on last-minute holiday shopping. On the other hand, you could always use this as your holiday spending war chest.
Tips:
- If doing the plan with dollars is too daunting, try it with Quarters and Dimes:
- Quarters (.25) $344.50
- Dimes (.10) $137.80
- You don’t to follow the plan in order. Want a more immediate result? Start from the end! Or, jump around the chart, checking off the weeks as you go along. You may find it easier to save higher amounts of money at different points in the plan.
- Looking to save even more money? Double the $1.00 savings plan. At the end, you’ll have saved $2,756.
- Put your money into a separate account. It might be tempting to dedicate a glass jar to stash your cash, but putting your money into its own separate savings account and consider one that doesn’t have a debit card attached to. This will be less tempting for you, borrowing a dollar here and five dollars there adds up!
We know you can do this!