UPDATED FOR 2020

Our ADELAIDE FAMILIES ON A BUDGET Facebook group was created on 1 January 2016 with a view to getting a few families together who were interested in joining a savings challenge for Christmas 2016.

Only 3 years later we are standing at over 54,000 members in that group (plus other ON A BUDGET focus groups have followed – see below for a full list) and the focus of the groups are so much more than the savings challenge – it’s a fantastic supportive community of like-minded people living on a budget – with a wealth of knowledge and information being shared amongst members.

However, it is obvious that many people are still interested in participating in a Savings Challenge so I decided to pull together some of the great suggestions and ideas we have had sent to the group ready for the 2020 SAVINGS CHALLENGE…..

1) Choose whichever Savings Challenge you think will REALISTICALLY best suit your family – CHALLENGE YOURSELF BUT BE REALISTIC!

2) We can all join in no matter which one we decide to choose. Even starting small can make a huge difference and give you a boost if you have the mindset that you are not a saver! Now you can be!

3) Anyone wanting to participate in the challenge can join our FOCUS group – FAMILY CHRISTMAS ON A BUDGET

4) We will have a regular HOW YOU DOING? post on the Family Christmas on a Budget group to check in with everyone and hopefully that check in will help keep people focused and motivated to keep going or if there has been a blip, it will be the encouragement needed to get back on track. ANYONE can post an HOW YOU DOING? post or a post about how THEY are doing too! You can join in the challenge at any time throughout the year. 

5) Keep in mind the end goal when you are finding things challenging. Focusing on a goal can have a big impact on your success. And reach out in the group for moral support!

6) Check out all our ON A BUDGET groups (listed below) regularly for budget tips to help with your ongoing budgeting which may help saving a bit easier. Search for #budgettips in the group. Please also share your own budget tips to help others and use the hashtag #budgettips in the post so people can easily find them at a later date.

SAVINGS CHALLENGES TO CHOOSE FROM:

1) THE $5 CHALLENGE

There’s a few variations to the $5 Challenge….

a) The most popular being where you save ANY $5 notes you receive. Some weeks it could be just 1 x $5 but some weeks it could be a lot more. There’s been many success stories shared in our Budget group from people undertaking the $5 Challenge.

b) Another variation is transferring $5 a week into another bank account (probably one that isn’t currently used) – you may need to put a reminder in your diary or an alarm on your phone until it becomes a habit. Or set up an automatic transfer and forget about it. Yes, it could be any amount but $5 is small enough for lots more people to succeed which then gives them the confidence to continue saving when they realise they CAN do it.

c) Another variation is each time you go shopping, get a $5 note as cashback. If you go shopping a lot then maybe just once a week will be enough.

2) THE 52 WEEK CHALLENGE

There’s a few variations to the 52 Week Challenge too….

a) It’s as simple as saving the dollar amount that matches the week number. Week 1 = save $1, Week 2 = save $2 and so on….

b) Another variation is do the same challenge but backwards. Apparently this is popular as some people prefer to pay less the closer to Christmas it gets.

c) Or simply divide how much you want to have saved by the end of the year, by the number of weeks you are saving over and save that same amount each week.

3) THE BINGO CHALLENGE

The Bingo Challenge is a slight variation of the 42 Week Challenge but you are in control and there’s more flexibility based on what is happening with your budget each week. Just tick off one per week. But if you do tick off the smaller weeks first you need to stick with the challenge during the tougher weeks!

4) THE LOOSE CHANGE CHALLENGE

The two variations of this challenge:

a) Just chuck any loose change in a tin. Simple as that. Either at the end of each day or the end of the week if you think each day will be too hard and you will need the coins during the week. It’s surprising how much you can save with just this challenge! The fun of it is not knowing how much you have – because who wants to sit and count it out every week!

b) Through your bank account – each week log onto your phone banking app and any “loose change” you have transfer to another dedicated account. For example, your balance is $26.75 so transfer $6.75 to your savings account. Or if you prefer do this daily but transfer just the cents if your bank allows this. For example, on Monday your balance is $123.75 so transfer 0.75c to your savings account and on Tuesday your balance is $87.55 so transfer 0.55c to your savings account.

5) THE $2 COKE BOTTLE CHALLENGE

Apparently (and I haven’t actually done this to check), a 600ml coke bottle fits $1000, a 1.25l bottle fits $1900 and a 2l bottle fits $2960. Try one or try them all…..

6) THE GIFT VOUCHER CHALLENGE

A lot of people have had success with this challenge. Quite simply, each time you go shopping for you major shop, purchase a gift voucher to save for Christmas (it’s usually Christmas that people save gift vouchers for). You do need to check that the expiry dates aren’t going to run out BEFORE you need to use them of course!

So…..which one will you choose?

Remember to join us over at Family Christmas on a Budget group and join in the challenge there!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!  

OUR ‘ON A BUDGET’ FOCUS GROUPS:

Family Holidays ON A BUDGET

Family Days Out ON A BUDGET

Family Parties ON A BUDGET

Family Feeds ON A BUDGET

Family Christmas ON A BUDGET

Family Renovations ON A BUDGET

And don’t forget the one that started all this off – Adelaide Families ON A BUDGET

Plus we also have:

Adelaide Families on a Budget – Discounts & Markdowns ONLY (for people interested in ONLY discounts and markdowns of course)

Adelaide Families on a Budget – Pay It Forward (for people seeking and/or offering items FREE OF CHARGE ONLY)