Try This $5 Savings Challenge [With Printable] (2024)

Need to save up some money? Whatever goal you’re pursuing, from extra savings for a rainy day to the money to repair a roof, it can feel difficult to get the cash you need.

But saving can help! Learn more about the 5 dollar challenge and see how easily you can save up cash.

Grab the 5 Dollar Challenge Savings Tracker!

What is the 5 Dollar Challenge?

This challenge will help you to build up some savings funds fairly quickly and simply. To complete the challenge, all you need to do is save every $5 bill you receive. You can choose the amount of time you do this for.

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For smaller savings goals, you can try a month or two. For larger ones, maybe six months to a year. You should decide on your goal in advance. This could be any goal from a vacation to Hawaii to a new car or back-to-school shopping.

To make it easier to see your progress, use a printable chart. This will allow you to mark off every time you save a 5 dollar bill. Then you’ll see yourself getting closer to your goal.

How Much is $5 a Week for a Year?

What if you’d prefer a more structured approach to this? In that case, you can save $5 each week.

This is something you’ll probably hardly notice, but in the end, you’ll find that you have $260 saved at the end of a year!

This is a good amount to help out with small random expenses as part of your savings. Or, if you prefer to save even more, up the challenge to $5 twice a week or even $5 a day! Soon those savings will be increasing faster than you could imagine!

How to Start the $5 Challenge

Are you ready to save some money? But maybe you don’t know how to begin. Here’s how to start that 5 dollar challenge.

First, decide where to keep your money. If you don’t decide, you’ll likely end up putting it in several places, such as a shoebox and sometimes your savings account.

The danger with this is it will be hard to watch your funds accumulate. It will also be difficult to keep track of them. So before you begin, pick out one place to keep all of your savings.

Next, decide what you’re saving for. I’ve found it’s easier to save up that cash when I have a goal.

So determine what every 5 dollar bill is for in advance. Some examples are a new TV, a weekend vacation, or a new espresso maker.

You can make this more fun by visualizing your goal or placing pictures of it around your house. Suddenly, that $5 coffee you passed up will seem worth it.

Where to Keep Your Money?

You know you need to decide where to keep your money in advance, but where are the best places for it? Accessibility is key.

The easiest thing would be to designate one place to keep your bills in, like a hollow book or a box. Keep the container somewhere you’ll see it, like the kitchen counter or a bookshelf.

That way, you can just throw your $5 bills in there without having to think about it too much.

Why You Should Do the $5 Saving Challenge

Why should you even do this challenge in the first place? Is it worth it? Here are the benefits.

First of all, the 5 dollar challenge is fun and easy to do. $5 adds up quicker than $1 bills, so you’ll feel like you’re saving faster. And the saving is pretty much painless. You aren’t likely to notice a $5 bill that is saved once a week.

Next, it can change your perspective about money. So it will remind you that you are able to complete challenges and accomplish goals with the right motivation. It can help you with how you feel about money and your ability to handle it well.

Last, you can practice your self-control. If you never really save and have a tendency to spend everything you make or you feel like you don’t have control of your money, this is a great idea.

It will teach you to save money over time, but without requiring you to save thousands all at once. You can work up to more difficult savings challenges once you master this one.

How Do I Participate In The $5 Challenge If I Don’t Use Cash?

You want to do the challenge, but you don’t carry cash. First, designate a savings account specifically for the 5 dollar challenge. Then follow these suggestions.

If you like the idea of this challenge, but you haven’t carried cash in years, you can still do it. Instead of using cash, transfer $5 to savings whenever you use your debit card. Or if you constantly use your debit card for bills, then apply this only to fun purchases.

Another way is to think about the change you would have gotten back when you make small purchases. If the change would have included a $5 bill, then you add to your savings and transfer the money to that account.

Last, you could start carrying cash and using it for all your purchases. That way, you can participate in the challenge in a more traditional sense.

The $5 Challenge is a Fun and Easy Way to Build Up Your Savings

The 5 savings challenge is super simple and great for beginner savers. It’s also fun to do if you have an item you want to save for, but you don’t have much cash to dedicate to it.

Because the 5 dollar challenge takes place over time, it won’t feel like you’re saving that much at all. In addition, you’ll learn important money lessons to help you in the future.

That’s why it will be such a nice surprise at the end of the challenge when you see all the cash you’ve saved up. And as an added bonus, the challenge requires very little prep time. So it’s time to start saving!

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