Saving Challenge Part 2

When I started this challenge, I expected there may be some challenges as the name suggest but I feel it was doable. However, when I did my monthly grocery shopping this past week, I got back $40 in $5 dollar bills and $10 in singles, bringing the total to $50. My head began to spin as I look at the change the cashier put in my hands because immediately my mind went to the saving challenge.

I would like to say I came home and put all the change in their perspective bucket but that was not the case. This is my grocery shopping money that I budgeted for the month, putting away $50 would put a hurting on my budget.

So, I evaluated how much money I have left for the month, and assess what my family grocery needs would be for the remainder of the month. After I did that, I challenge myself to put away $20 dollars. All of the singles and two of the $5 bills. This is something I feel comfortable with, plus I am still putting away $5 every week.

Remember a challenge is meant to be fun and to inspire you to save. It is not meant to make you broke or put your finances in jeopardy.

With that said, I know some of you do not use cash at all and if this is you, you can still do the challenge. An alternative could be that you send $5 over to your saving account every week from your checking account. You can keep track of your savings on a piece of paper so you can add up your balance at the end of the challenge or you can take out money on a weekly/monthly bases and put it in your challenge envelope.

However, if you are someone that is always overspending or you just don’t know where your money is going. I would encourage you to start using cash at least in one category. Look at your budget or bank statement and see where you tend to overspend. Budget a set amount for that category, take the money out of the bank and only use the amount you allotted yourself for that category. For me that category is groceries. Using cash prevent us from overspending and keep us on budget.

Have anyone else run into any challenges like I did, how is the challenge going for you, are you finding it difficult, is it helping you save, let me know?