Top Savings Challenges for 2025 (That You Can Really Stick To)

It’s almost that time of year when we end up spending more than we intended to on Christmas presents, travel, and food. If you’re starting to feel the pinch of the festive season, you’re probably looking at ways to save some extra cash. Here are a few fun New Year savings challenges to help get you started and keep you on track!

The key to success with any New Year savings challenge is finding a challenge that works for you. If the savings challenge you choose doesn’t work for your situation, you’ll likely lose motivation and may not complete the challenge. Keep in mind that you can tailor any savings challenge to meet your needs and household budget.

We’ve outlined a few different savings challenges that you could try, so you don’t have to resort to selling your belongings for cash!

Total savings: $5,050

For this savings challenge, you’ll need 100 envelopes and a container/folder to keep them in. Label each envelope from 1-100 and put them in your container. Each day you’ll pick an envelope and put that amount of money inside. So for example, if you pick the #5 envelope you’ll put $5 in that envelope.

The order that you select your envelopes is up to you, some people choose to do them in order and others choose to select them randomly. Select an envelope each day until all of the envelopes have money in them and you should end up with $5,050.

Advantages of the 100-Envelope Challenge

If your savings account has taken a bit of a hit over the festive season, this savings challenge is a great way to save a fair chunk of cash in a reasonably short amount of time(in fact, as quickly as 100 days).

Using the envelopes to structure the amounts you’re putting away each day can also help keep you on track to finish the challenge. It can make saving feel fun and less like a chore.

Disadvantages of the 100-Envelope Challenge

This savings challenge won’t be for everyone. The increasing amounts that you’ll need to put in the envelopes may not be feasible for some people. If this is the case you can always change the amount on each envelope to suit your finances.

You’ll also need a fair amount of cash on hand to put in the envelopes. This might be a lot of effort for those of us who mostly use digital currency. If you’re struggling to find cash for your envelopes you can always go digital and transfer that envelope’s amount directly into your savings account.

Total savings: $1,378

If the 100-envelope challenge is a bit too much or you’re trying to save money on a low income, you can do something similar with the 52-week challenge. Like the 100-envelope challenge, you’ll gradually increase the amount you’re putting away, but for this challenge, you’ll do it weekly.

For the first week you’ll put away $1, and for the second week you’ll put away $2, and so on, and so on, until you’ve reached week 52. By the end of the challenge you should have saved $1,378.

Advantages of the 52-Week Challenge

This is a great New Year savings challenge because it lasts 52 weeks. By the end of the year, you’ll have put away some extra cash that could help you feel less of a pinch over the holidays — think of it as giving yourself the Christmas funds you need for next year.

Similar to the 100-envelope challenge, the structure of the 52-week saving challenge should help you stay on track. This challenge could also be less daunting because you only need to put away money once a week.

Disadvantages of the 52-Week Challenge

Because this savings challenge takes a year to complete, it may not be what you’re looking for if you want to save money quickly. And if you’re someone who loses motivation quickly you may find it harder to stick with this challenge until the end.

Total savings: $3,650 (based on $10 daily for 1 year)

The daily savings challenge is another great New Year savings challenge. For this challenge you’ll decide on a set amount of money you’ll put away each day for the duration of the challenge. So for example, you could decide to put away $10 a day for 1 year and end up with $3,650 once you complete the challenge.

Advantages of the Daily Savings Challenge

The beauty of this savings challenge is how flexible and customisable it is. You can decide an amount and length of time that works for you and your finances.

Disadvantage of the Daily Savings Challenge

Having to put money away every day could become overwhelming. If you’re having a tough time remembering to make your daily contributions, you can always adjust the frequency. For example, instead of doing $10 a day, you could put away $70 a week. Or you could set up an automatic transfer so you don’t have to think about it at all!

Total Savings: Varies depending on your spending habits

The no-spend challenge is exactly what it sounds like, a period of time where you aim to lower your excess spending. You’re trying not to spend any extra money and only spend money on the essentials. You’ll still pay your bills, make debt repayments, add to your savings, and buy groceries.

Advantages of the No-Spend Challenge

This challenge is a great way to review your spending and see what you can live without. Doing this challenge is like a financial reset that will help you identify and remove unnecessary spending from your budget.

Disadvantages of the No-Spend Challenge

The no-spend challenge requires a lot of willpower to complete. You’ll need to get used to saying “no” to a lot of things. Because of this, you may find yourself ending the challenge early or wanting to put it off until later.

If there are important events that you don’t want to miss out on, you can always allocate a budget for them as a way to lower any unnecessary spending – and still complete your savings challenge!

Whatever New Year savings challenge you choose, remember to make it work for you. Don’t be afraid to alter things and create a savings challenge that suits you.

Calculating your savings goal is a great way to start so you can get an idea of how much and how quickly you need to save to reach your goals.

There’s no better time than now to start your savings challenge. But if you’re in need of cash this festive season, we offer quick Christmas loans that can help ease the stress of your Christmas expenses. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact us online.

The information provided in this blog is of a general nature and is provided without considering your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as financial, investment, or other professional advice.

Before making any financial decisions or taking action based on the information presented, you are strongly encouraged to assess its appropriateness in light of your individual circumstances. Red Tree Finance does not intend to provide personalised financial advice, and you should seek independent financial, legal, tax, and other relevant advice tailored to your unique situation.