Centsible Saving Challenge: $2014 in 2014

With the start of a New Year a flood of new readers join us as New Year’s resolutions to get more financially fit and money savvy resolutions and New Year goals kick off at the stroke of midnight.

We all have the same goals. Even now as we’re nearing the 5 year anniversary of the Centsible Life I’m looking for the same motivation to save more in 2014.

In order to keep myself motivated and to get readers on the right track I decided to start a challenge for 2014. We’re going to work together to save $2,014 in 2014!

Pledge to Save 2014

Whether you’re new to the saving game or you’re a seasoned savings pro I’m planning to up the game in 2014 with everything from tips and tricks to save more that really work to cash giveaways that will help you reach your savings goals.

How to Save $2,014 in 2014

Saving $2,014 breaks down (roughly) in the following ways:

  • $168/month is equivalent to a family cell phone or cable bill
  • $39/week is equivalent to movie tickets for a family of 4
  • $5.50/day is the equivalent to lunch out for 1 or a Venti-sized drink

We can even flip this idea-$168/month is equal to about 30 hours/month extra at roughly minimum wage after taxes.

Does that get you thinking about what you could cut out to save more? What you could do to bring in some extra cash? You may not have any of these habits or ways/time to earn, but I’m sure if you go over your bills and expenses with an eye for savings you will find something you can easily ditch. Something that doesn’t line up with where you want to be at the end of 2014-that is $2,014 richer.

Weekly Posts:

Each week I’m going to share a post about how we can save more this week, and I welcome you to share your own ideas in the comments (or on your own blog if you have one). I’m hoping the comment section will be chock full of support and ideas we can all use.

Reader features will be included each week-where you can submit questions to other Centsible Life readers or I’ll share great ideas you submitted.

Monthly Giveaways:

I haven’t decided exactly how we’ll do the giveaways-but everyone who participates in the Centsible in 2014 Challenge will be entered to win cash giveaways that will help you reach your savings goal for 2014.

Where to Save:

I’m a big fan of separating your savings from your day-to-day banking. Not only does this provide a buffer so you aren’t tempted to use your savings, but you can also find a savings account that offers higher interest rates typically.

I’m going to be starting a new separate bank account for this challenge at Discover Bank once I have my first $500 saved. The current interest rate is 0.85% which beats our current bank’s rates hands down.

Full disclosure, if you click-through to signup with Discover Bank I will earn affiliate income which goes directly to support the giveaways for this challenge.

Sign The Pledge:

Are you ready to save more in 2014? Pledge to save more below!

Who Can Sign Up?

Anyone can sign up!

I hope that you’ll sign up as a family or with a group of friends. If $2,014 seems challenging-the whole family can get involved in ways to save more. If $2,014 isn’t a challenge for you-why not up the ante to make it $2,014 for each family member?

You could get your friends and extended family involved too-$2,014 can be the goal-but perhaps you’ll up the ante with a bigger challenge. Maybe the person that saves the most gets treated to an extra $20 from each participant?

However you want to challenge yourself to save more-make it fun, and join us-because the more folks we have involved the more we’ll save!

What is a Centsible Life?

If you’re new here (hello!) or wondering why I’m starting this challenge hopefully this will explain it. Living a centsible life is about finding a balance within our lives to make smart choices based on our personal values and beliefs. Living centsibly means you make smart and informed choices everytime you checkout at the store or choose where to sock away your savings. Living centsibly is simply living a money savvy life that helps you and your family live the life of your dreams.

And yes, I’ll be joining the challenge too! Above and beyond what we currently stash away I’m challenging myself personally to find 2014 dollars in my budget to save.

I’ll be back early next week with more, but for now pledge, share, and get ready to save!

Kelly

 

About Kelly Whalen


Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

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  • http://julieverse.com/ Julie Meyers Pron

    I love this idea — what a great opportunity to remind people and teach them to save!

    You have me curious about the $5.50/lunch. I’m going to have to start calculating, but I know I spend way more than that. BUT I don’t eat out often and when I’m home, I usually eat yogurt and crackers so it probably balances, right?

    • http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

      Thanks Julie!

      I’m sure it balances out if you eat at home most of the time-I’m thinking more of people who eat a quick bite who work in an office setting.

  • Anne Hogan

    I love this idea, and I’ll definitely be playing along! I’m going to make it my goal to save $2,014 on top of what I typically save out of each paycheck. The area where I need the most help is food. I know I spend way too much money eating out and buying convienience foods, but I find it hard to shop for 1 in a way that’s economic and healthy.

    • Magnificent Media Maven

      I hear ya! Convenience is a biggie for me b/c I want to eat the minute I’m hungry, and cooking isn’t conducive to that; however, my Crockpots have become a salvation for this…allows me to buy family size portions cheaper and have all cooking done for the week in a short time with little cleanup. I esp. look for family packs of chicken for 1.99 lb or less; then crockpot with a simple seasoning like Mrs. Dash. I can make chicken pot pie, have chicken to dip in hot or BBQ sauce, chicken salad, etc.

      • Anne Hogan

        That’s a great idea! I need to get better at planning. I want to start cooking on Sunday for the week so I can bring my lunch to work.

      • http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

        I like quick meals too-like taco night. It’s so quick to make and clean up.

    • http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

      Thanks! I’m glad you’re participating. Food is definitely one of those things you can control with a little planning.