Remember when saving $1000 by the end of the year was the goal. Now we are talking about just in one month. Is it crazy? Is it hard? Isn’t it a Challenge? Well, of course, but aren’t all the good things you have now? At one point was a challenge. When you had to go to school, was it a challenge to get good grades? As an adult, it was hard to find that first job. I can still remember the jobs that turned me down and then finally one that hired me.
I was stressed, but then I learned what it takes to give a good interview. It’s amazing how we know so much during the process of challenges to save $1,000 in a month. I want you to think about it as a learning experience first, then a challenge. Absorb everything from your items you notice in your budget to the different ways you learn to earn income.
When it comes to saving money, the stages you usually go through are: Evaluation, Lowering Expenses, and Earning More. The tips below should help you with each of those stages. What does it mean to evaluate? First, setting your mindset with a goal to Save when you have your mind made up earlier on makes it easy to say no to things that will take you further away from your goal.
Next would be to look at your budget and revise it for your current goal: Saving $1,000 in a month. Finally, the last two would be to lower the expenses and earning more. I’ve provided some ideas just in case you need help looking in the right direction.
Start with a Goal Getter Mindset
Changing your mindset about saving is going to get you from day 1 to day 30. If you want to get through the hard days, you have to have a Goal Getter Mindset. You need to make saving $1000 your responsibility; it’s your duty.
When it feels like your putting in alot of time and energy with little return, focus on the reason “Why.”
Once you know your “ Why,” that “Goal Getter” Mentality kicks back in. “Why” is the backbone to the reason why you need to save $1,000? When thinking about why it needs to connect to you emotionally, so you can picture it happening.
Take 5 minutes and write down Why you need to save $1,000 in a month. Is it the kicker starter for you to reach a huge financial goal? Did you go through something recently that was such a struggle that $1,000 would have come in handy? What about this one? You have been trying to save 1,000 for the past year or so that you can’t seem to do it. Now you are making it your responsibility to save $1,000 in 30 days. Challenge excepted.
What is the 30-day money challenge?
Most people can complete a massive task if it’s more like a challenge. I’m very competitive; tell me to figure out something on my own with no feeling of priority. You will not see it done. I need the motivation, the challenge. There are many money challenges, the 52 week Money challenge, the 30 day Money saving challenge, the No Spending Challenge. All of them have a time frame and means to track your progress. In our goal for this article, we want to save $1,000 in 30 days. The 30-day money savings challenge is suited best for this goal. You will need to be creative and stretch yourself to meet this savings goal. Challenges are great motivators to push yourself in a short amount of time. Luckily I’ve already created a 30 day Money Saving Challenge.
Review your Spending Habits
You need to find out where the money is going before you challenge yourself to save. Your spending habits could just be the main reason why it’s been hard to save up to this point. When you have no money left, it’s always good to start from the beginning. Where did all the money go? There are some things I would look for when you’re reviewing your spending. First, look for the trends. Do you seem to spend the most money immediately when you get paid? That was a big one for me. Every time I get paid, the first thing I do is order out. Change the habit and save $40, sometimes $60. Is there a store that you seem to visit most of the month, even if it’s a grocery store? Limit your visits, try to make a list, and get the stuff you NEED to last you until next time. What about all the unnecessary spending? Snack runs, online shopping, signing up for subscriptions. What is your kryptonite? And can you break the habit for 30 days? You can do this!
Commit to a Spending Freeze
The quickest and fastest way to save money is to stop spending. It’s always one of those things that are easier said than done. Stop spending? How? The first step to a spending freeze is to clarify what is unnecessary spending—eating out? Going Shopping? Scrolling on Amazon? Staying in for the weekend. Commit to saving $1000 this month by having no spend days, weekends, or a week. It would be very hard not to spend for a whole 30 days, but a weekend you can try to manage. Just total up what you spent some weekends before and think of that as a possibility for saving. All your bills would still get paid, and the grocery shopping. Focus on not spending a single penny that isn’t necessary. Another step you can take is removing your credit card info from your phone or websites that may have it stored. Companies know it’s easier for customers to purchase with the ease of having that information stored. Stay home, and make a retreat by creating a day of in-home activities. When the non-spending challenge is complete, let me know how much you were able to save? Ready to do it again?
Create a budget (and stick to it)
So you have already mentally budgeted this savings goal, right? You thought about maybe all the possible ways you can save, and it’s still not part of your actual budget. Budgets are not drilled on a stone tablet forever to be permanent. Budgets need to change because your goals change, your life changes, and to sum it up, stuff happens. So you want to save $1,000 in 30 days? Let’s zero in on the budget and make it happen. What are the expenses that you need to pay, those necessary ones? All that is left after that is food, gas, and other variable expenses. Now let’s do the cutting. What days are you going to do non-spending? Take that into account. Go through your entire budget and see what purchases can be avoided for this month so you can make your goal.
Where do you begin cutting back? I have a few ideas.
See if some of these can apply to this month’s budget.
- Use one car for traveling or Carpool. Is there flexibility to work some days at home?
- If you have to buy, buy at a bargain…Thrift for clothes, look for used on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
- Can you create a meal plan with fewer ingredients, shop with coupons, or buy in bulk.
For example, A large bag of rice for a few meals, Pasta, Ground beef, A whole Chicken. Some staple items you can make into multiple meals by portioning the ingredients.
Buy a bag of apples for fruit versus out-of-season fruit. A case of water will add more hydration and limit the need for sugary, unhealthy drinks.
- Stop subscriptions for the month, mention how you need to save this month, and need to press pause.
- Limit your use of utilities, lights off during the day, air-drying clothes. Use the dishwasher once it’s a full load.
- Eat a home for the whole month, meal plan for the full thirty days. Get the budget-friendly recipe from online for inspiration. Prep the meals the night before.
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- How to stick to your Grocery Budget
- Important Items Missing From Your Budget
- How to use the 50/30/20 rule in your budget
- How to use the Zero-based budgeting method
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Earning More Money
There’s cutting back, and then there is making more money. You did your budget, you cut back where you can, and you’re still shy of making that $1,000 for the month. So what’s the next step? In the challenge of saving money, there is only one other option. Making more money or earning more is what you would need to do. In my opinion, earning more is more challenging than cutting back. You have to think and become even more creative than you have been. When you get to this point, here are just some ideas to get those wheels spinning.
Selling your stuff
Selling stuff is the quickest way to make some money. The effort comes in when you have to put online, answer messages, maybe even take photos. Generally, it doesn’t carve out your day, like picking up a second job. I had to think of it this way. My trouble with saving money started with overspending in the first place. There might be a whole store in your kitchen or closet. Extra appliances, shoes, and clothes. My best recommendations are to try to sell online first, like on Craigslist, Offerup, Facebook Marketplace, or Poshmark (Clothing)
Pick up Freelance work or get an extra job.
Everyone has something they are good at; others would prefer to pay someone to get it done. It doesn’t necessarily need to be an incredible talent, just one thing if you had to do it, it wouldn’t make you feel overwhelmed. In most cases, freelance work is like a hobby, something you enjoy, crafting, creating things, writing, editing social media posts, just an example. There is a variety of work that you will be surprised what options are available. Fiverr is a great online platform for freelancers that you can check to see what jobs are out there for administration, digital work, and even making calls. Some work may be more task-oriented, like cleaning, cooking, babysitting. TaskRabbit would be a site that you can put yourself out there for odd and end tasks. If you like to clean and do a fantastic job at your home, others will pay you 20-25 an hour to clean their home.
When I needed to find a quick housekeeper, I went on Care.com. Go where YOU would look for assistance, and that is where you put your offer. My advice is to do something you would enjoy and not make you feel more tired after working your primary job.
If there is a job that will make the time fly by, it’s a driving job. Sure, you have to be alert, responsible, and constantly meeting new people so that it could be a little nerve-racking but boy! Isn’t it lovely scenery sometimes? Some people love driving…I mean, LOVE IT! So this is perfect for you, a little side hustle picking people up and dropping them off. Turn it off or on when your available, most likely the weekends. Am I right? I’m running around all weekend long anyways, so sure I’ll pick someone up. Just check it out, see if it’s worth your time and if it’s going to get you closer to the $1,000.
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Keep the Motivation Going, even when it’s not there.
Another thing to factor in time, when your cutting back, you are making a sacrifice as well. When you earn more money, you spend extra time, possibly on a side hustle of some sort or Working extra hours. Finishing these 30 days making all these sacrifices might start to make you feel less motivated. Take a moment to celebrate your small wins in between this month. Reward yourself, congratulate yourself, appreciate that you are trying a new challenge. You set out to save $1,000, and you are doing it!. Set a date and make it happen. What month is going to be the winner? Even if you decided, celebrate that. Push yourself after a week of struggle, remind yourself of what the balance would be in your bank account at the end of this challenge.
If you just read this, your probably wondering if this is the right time for you?
What is going through your mind now?
Do you know what was going through mine the first time? If I will give up before its over. Luckily I was thinking of how I would feel after that helped me make it.
Even if you’re halfway through the month, I would love to know some of your struggles. Trust me, we all thought about the same things at those points. Share so we can help other people work it out. Sign up for our email newsletter and reply at any point about your progress. A 30-day chart is a click away below to help you on your journey.
