Introducing the newest free money challenge from Balanced FI – the Money Makeover Challenge!
This free year-long program is very easy and low-key. All you have to do is download the current month’s calendar and implement as many of the tips as you can work into your life.
Most of the daily tasks will take less than 10 minutes. Many just require awareness and intention from you as you go about your daily spending (or not spending).
What is the Money Makeover Challenge?
For a whole year, Balanced FI will publish monthly calendars. Each calendar will have unique money-saving tips for each day.
You can choose which daily tasks you want to follow. You can choose which tips you want to add to your everyday life. Some things can be repeated often, like meal planning.
Maybe you already know everything listed on the calendar, but you don’t actually do the things. It’s so easy to get stuck in your routine and forget to do things that could make a big impact over time.
Having reminders in front of you gives you a little kick to take action.
How do you sign up?
Getting the monthly calendars is very easy, lucky for you. Just sign up below:
You’ll be added to the Balanced FI email list, so you’ll get an email each month when a new calendar is issued. That means you won’t have to remember to look for the newest calendar each month.
You won’t get rich
The free Money Makeover Challenge isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme or pay-off-debt-super-fast method.
In fact, you’re probably not going to increase your income by very much, if at all.
Instead, the Money Makeover Challenge is full of small reminders that will help you change your entire mindset about money. The daily reminders will keep money at the forefront of your mind.
No one should obsess over money; that’s not healthy. You should be aware of and in touch with your finances though.
You won’t save hundreds of thousands
Small changes to your daily spending won’t save you hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. A lifetime of intentional frugality might help you save that much though!
It’s a lot easier to make small changes that add up over time than it is to, say, sell your house and car and live in an RV.
I’m not saying a huge change like that is impossible… it’s just not easy or practical for most people.
None of the tips on the monthly calendars are drastic or life-altering… so the financial payoff won’t be that big either. Heck, the tips themselves might not even save you thousands,.
The real payoff of the Money Makeover Challenge is mental.
You will think about money differently
Your mindset shift is the real benefit of a free money challenge like this.
Since it’s a free challenge, you’re probably not going to dedicate a lot of time to it. You just don’t have the high stakes invested to take THAT much time out of your day.
That’s why I designed the Money Makeover Challenge to be easy. Simple. Low-stakes. Not hard-core.
I struggle to fit everything into my day (and almost always fail to get it all done), so I completely understand that you need something easy but effective.
Remind yourself
All you need to do is print out this month’s calendar and post it somewhere visible. Somewhere you look every morning, so you have time to accomplish the day’s task.
I have my calendar on the fridge. I don’t really care who sees it. As a stay-at-home/ work-from-home mom, I open the fridge three thousand times a day, so I see it often. That means I’m reminded that I have a financial task to do about three thousand times.
If you want a less visible place, try your bathroom mirror or inside your closet. You could even fold the calendar up and keep it in your wallet or your lunchbox. If you spend a lot of time in the school pickup line, keep the calendar in your car.
You could even print out two copies to post in two places so you don’t forget.
Just find what works for you and commit to printing the calendars and following through.
The Money Makeover Challenge is simple but effective
The beauty behind this money challenge is its simplicity.
One task a day isn’t a lot to ask. 10-15 minutes a day isn’t a big commitment.
Not ignoring your finances is a big deal though
A lot of people actively try to ignore their finances, especially when the situation isn’t great. Who doesn’t push down the hard things sometimes and hope they go away?
There comes a day, however, when you have to face your problems head-on. They’ll never get better otherwise.
The Money Makeover Challenge will help you tackle your money problems, just through awareness. Acknowledging a problem is the first step in solving it, but breaking avoidance patterns goes even further.
Paying attention to your spending, and doing it often, helps you change your spending. If you know you only have $100 left for groceries, and it’s the 15th of the month, you’re going to spend and cook differently.
You may not realize it when you’re in the drive-through line, but spending $7.50 each weekday to buy lunch adds up to almost $2000! Knowing how much you can save is a great motivator to spend 10 minutes each evening packing a lunch for the next day.
Habits are powerful
You can change bad habits into helpful patterns and routines:
- Add meal planning to your Sunday night TV-watching habit.
- Tell your family that leftovers are now your lunches, and stick to it.
- Put a reminder on your calendar to check homeowners and auto insurance rates annually
- Make a spending plan or budget every month
- Hold weekly spending plan meetings with your significant other or accountability partner
Smart money habits will become second nature after a while.
You’ll buy store-brand pasta without even looking at the name-brand options.
You’ll research bigger purchases so you get a good deal on a quality product that meets your needs, instead of wasting money on something that doesn’t work for you or falls apart quickly
You’ll look for coupon codes and grocery sales without realizing it’s the first step in your purchasing process.
Want more money challenges?
If you’re interested in more money challenges, you’re in luck! Making money fun keeps the whole process more enjoyable.
Whether you’re saving money, paying off debt, or just want to watch your spending, turning your goal into a game keeps you engaged and motivated.
30 Day Challenge
The 30 Day Challenge Tracker is super customizable. You choose the rules and reward, and when you start. If you’re motivated today, start today, even if it’s the middle of the month!
I like to use the 30 Day Challenge Tracker for no spend challenges, but you could also use it to help you start a workout habit or drinking-more-water habit. It’s an open concept on purpose.
Frugal Year Challenge
The Balanced FI Frugal Year Challenge is more about education than really pushing yourself. It’s also a year-long challenge, but each month focuses on one area of saving money.
The concept is similar to the Money Makeover Challenge, but the steps are bigger. They take more effort, but that means the savings are larger too.
The money-saving focus areas include:
- Travel
- Back-to-school
- Property insurance
- Medical expenses
- Monthly bills
As of this writing, the Frugal Year Challenge is still free… but it won’t always be. Make sure to enroll now, while you can get it for free!
52 Week Savings Challenge
The 52 Week Savings Challenge is a straight-up push to save money, following a specific formula. There are no tips & tricks or mindset changes, but it does take a year to reach the goal set.
If you have sufficient income, just not the discipline to save, you could even schedule an entire year of bank transfers to ensure you meet the end goal chosen.
There are 4 different layouts to this challenge, so you can choose the one that works best for you:
- Basic Challenge: increase your savings by $1 each week, starting with $1
- Reverse Challenge: reduce your savings by $1 each week, starting with $52
- $1000 Saved: accumulate $1000 over 50 weeks by saving $20 each week
- $5000 Saved: save up $5000 over 50 weeks by depositing $100 every week
Obviously, the end result and the weekly savings vary quite a bit. Look at your own budget and see which option is better for you.
Get Your Money Makeover Challenge Calendar Now
Now that you’ve read all this, and you know how impactful small changes can be, don’t shortchange yourself. Go download your Money Makeover Challenge calendar right now.
If you’re feeling extra motivated, check out the other money challenges listed above.
You can change your money, your future.
You just need to take that first step.
