KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In our quest to save you money, we are now helping you save cash by increasing the amount in your savings account.
Try the 100-day challenge. This challenge is a way to save $5,000 in 100 days using envelopes.
Here's how it works:
Get 100 envelopes and write on each envelope a dollar amount of $1 to $100. Then mix up the envelopes. For the next 100 days, draw an envelope each day and put that amount of cash in.
For example, if it says 42, put in $42. Seal it so you can't easily access it and put the envelope in a safe place.
At the end of the 100 days, you'll have $5,050 dollars.
If that's a little too ambitious—here is a more doable method.
It's the 52-week challenge. You basically do the same thing as the 100-day challenge. Label envelopes 1 through 52, but instead of drawing an envelope every day, you draw one every week.
The results are not as impressive, but you still end up with an extra $1,378.
It's a way to start saving money without taking a huge toll on your overall budget.
Another clever way to save, use cash. Then, put all your change from the day in a jug.
You can mark the jug with milestones and when you reach the milestone, reward yourself in a small way.
If you want more of a challenge, use the all-cash method and instead of just saving change—save all your $5 dollar bills.