8 Savings Challenges to Try in 2025

It’s no surprise that saving money is a good idea. But the temptation to spend money today can overwhelm your desire to save for the future. Money-saving challenges can make it more fun. These suggestions might inspire you to build your savings and stick to your budget in 2025.

1. Round Up

This is one of the most popular savings challenge ideas. Round up your purchases to the next dollar amount and move that change into your savings account. Some banks and budgeting apps can automatically round up for you. If you pay for something with cash, you can stash the coins for savings.

2. Add a Dollar

If you stick with this weekly savings challenge, you’ll have $1,378 (before interest) at the end of 2025. Put $1 in savings the first week of January, $2 the second week of January and so on. For the last week of the year, you’ll put $52 in savings. Why not try to keep going in 2026?

3. The 26-Week Savings Challenge

This more-aggressive version of the weekly challenge will net you $1,053 in six months. That means if you start on January 1, you can have more than $1,000 saved before the 4th of July. For this challenge, you save $3 the first week and add $3 every week. It’s an ambitious plan — by week 26 you’re socking away $78 — but it can build your savings balance quickly. 

4. The No-Spend Challenge

For this 2025 savings challenge, you choose one day a week where you don’t spend any money. You might make your own morning coffee or tea instead of grabbing something on the way to work, try journaling instead of retail therapy or go for a walk instead of dropping in at a yoga class. Put the money you would have spent in your savings account.

5. See-You-Later, Subscriptions

It’s easy to sign up for subscriptions and overlook those expenses, even if you don’t use the service as often as you thought you would. Go through your bank and credit card statements and cancel any subscriptions you can live without, then create an automatic transfer to move that amount into savings. Set a calendar reminder to review your subscriptions again every three months or so.

6. Break a Bad Habit

You probably have a habit you know costs you more than it should. Maybe you buy lunch at work, you shop online for things you don’t need or you treat yourself to a pricey cocktail every Friday night. Try packing your lunch, thinking twice before you click “pay now” or switching to nonalcoholic drinks, and add the money you would have spent to your account. Break more than one habit and your savings will grow even more.

7. DIY Challenge

There are probably small things you’re paying other people to do that you could do yourself. Before you call a handyman, look to see if there’s a YouTube video you could follow to solve your problem. Same goes for things like paying for UberEats or Instacart delivery — can you pick up your own takeout or groceries? You can pocket the savings.

8. Monthly Savings Challenge

See if you can go a month where you don’t spend any money on entertainment. You might get creative and look for events at your local library, free concerts and community activities. Save the money you normally spend on movies, concerts and admission fees. With this challenge, you might find free activities become part of your routine going forward, cutting your expenses in the long term. Don’t spend much on entertainment? Change it to whatever feels like a challenge for you — maybe restaurant meals or takeout, manicures or hobbies.

Put Your Savings to Work for You

As you build up the balance in your savings account, you’ll want to make sure that money is working for you so you can meet your goals, whether that’s buying a car, putting a down payment on a home or continuing your education. Reach out to a Farm Bureau financial advisor and set up an appointment — they can help you build a plan for your financial future.