12-month savings challenge

When the new year starts, it’s a good time to set a goal or challenge and what better one to do but a savings challenge. The 12-month savings challenge is an easy one to get started with and will get you into the habit of saving a little every month. You can increase your savings over the 12 months of the year and watch your savings build up over that time.

Getting into the habit of saving each month has many great benefits, not least because you will have built up a nice pot of money at the end of the challenge. But there are other benefits too. You can use the funds you saved up for an emergency, rainy day fund, or for a specific goal like a holiday, home improvements or a new car.

The 12-month savings challenge is fun, simple and easy to follow. The simplest way to complete the challenge is to start by saving €10 in January and increasing what you save by €10 each month. You then save €20 in February, €30 in March, €40 in April, and so on. If you follow this format, you will have saved €780 by the end of the year.

If you want to set yourself a bigger challenge you could start by saving €50 in the first month, increasing it by adding an additional €20 in each subsequent month. With this challenge you save €50 in January, €70 in February, €90 in March, and so on. This savings schedule will see you saving €1,920 by the end of the year.

Challenging yourself to increase how much you save each month is a great goal to set yourself at the start of the year, but of course you can start this savings project at any time of the year. It’s a good idea to set a calendar reminder each month as it might be difficult to remember, over the course of the 12 months, how much you need to save to reach your goal.

Follow the monthly savings schedule below:

Download the 12-month savings challenge calendar

You can download and save the monthly schedule you will need to follow to complete the challenge here.

Developing a savings habit

Getting into the habit of saving not only helps you put away money each month but it also lets you work out clever ways to cut back, spend less on unnecessary items, and ultimately save more.

We have lots of handy tips and tools to help you get into the habit of saving. When it comes to setting your budget, we have a useful Budget Calculator that will help you to work out what your monthly income and expenses are and how much you have available to save. This budget calculator will also encourage you to consider areas where cost savings can be made and will motivate you to spend less and save more.

Another simple way to get started with savings is to plan your household budget. Looking at your monthly expenditures, are there areas where you could reduce your outgoings?  Our annual budget spreadsheet can help you to manage you income and expenses and budget more effectively. Knowing how much you are spending each month, will help you better plan for events throughout the year and will highlight where improvements can be made.

Whether you decide to use the money you have saved for an emergency, rainy day fund, or for a specific goal, we have lots of information, such as this budgeting blog that will help get you started on your savings journey.

Saving with Zurich

At Zurich we have a range of options to suit regular savers and can create a personal savings plan to suit you. By putting a certain amount away regularly in a Regular Savings Plan, your  savings are invested in a range of investment funds depending on your risk profile. You can opt for higher risk funds with a higher potential return. Or limit the risk to your savings with lower risk funds.

Once you have had time to consider your saving and investing options, you should speak to a Financial Broker, or Zurich to see how we can help. You can also Apply Online for a hassle free way to get started.

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