It’s January which means we’re totally low on cash. Ironically a new year has us dreaming and planning on ways to spend money.  We’re not going to stop dreaming so we need to save extra money this year.

Here are three simple ways we save extra money:

Take A Money Challenge

Pinterest is over run with money challenge ideas.  Probably the most popular one is the 52-Week Money Saving Challenge where you put money away each week  progressively and save €1.378 within a year.  Week 1 you save €1, week 2 save €2 and so on until you’re putting away €52 the last week.

We tried this a few years ago and found when we needed money most it was hard to save.  We didn’t make it through the whole year but we did save an extra €500 for our summer holidays.

It worked better for us when we started jumping around the weeks and saving some of the bigger amount weeks earlier in the year.

The Manage

I had never heard of a ‘manage’ before I met ThisIrishDad and his family.  It is such a genius way to put away a bit of extra money over the year.  We participate in a Christmas manage but you could have a manage for any reason really.  All you need is a few willing participants and someone to religiously deposit money into an account for the group.  For 50 weeks out of the year we each contribute €10 to the Christmas manage.

Every group member hands over their weekly money and one person deposits it into a bank or credit union account.  Then 50 weeks later you get €500!!  Ours is run so we get it at the end of November every year.  We have two weeks off and then we are actually saving again for the next Christmas before this Christmas even happens.

Even though I try to have most of my Christmas shopping done early,  the extra cash in late November is always welcome!

Keep the Change

When Ireland started rounding to get 1 and 2 cent coins out of circulation I had a thought that ’rounding’ could work as a way to save extra money.  This is how it works:

• use cash to buy things as much as you can
• any time you get coins as change SAVE it

Pretty easy!

We have one of those money saving tins that you have to open with a can opener.  I’ve gotten a small change purse to carry with me and put any coins I get as change in.  When I’m home it needs to get into the money tin as soon as possible (to keep me from spending it on coffee etc).

The extra money always comes in useful whether its saving for holidays, a rainy day or to have for when the washing machine inevitably gives up.

Got more ideas on how to slowly squirrel away some extra money this year?  I’d love to hear them.