The 1p savings challenge - How to save almost £700 per year by putting aside small amounts

Take the 1p Savings Challenge and you could earn a fair chunk of change by the end of next year
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

With many looking ahead to the new year and different ways to save money during the cost of living crisis, the Money Saving Expert team have reintroduced a technique for families that could see them net almost £700 in savings. Called ‘The 1p Savings Challenge,’ those beginning on January 1 could end up with a cool £667.95 by the end of the year.

The premise is simple - on the first day of 2023, visitors of the website have been instructed to put 1p to one side, then add an extra 1p into their savings account per day. For example, January 2nd would see 2p saved, January 3rd would see 3p saved and so forth. The idea is that these incremental amounts won’t break the bank, but by the time you’ve put to one side £3.65, 2023 will be over and done with.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Although logging into a bank account day in/day out may sound like a laborious task, the total amounts per month would look as follows:

  • January: £4.96
  • February:  £12.74
  • March: £23.25
  • April: £31.65
  • May: £42.16
  • June: £49.94
  • July: £61.07
  • August: £70.68
  • September: £77.55
  • October: £89.59
  • November: £95.83
  • December: £108.50

The order doesn’t exactly have to start with 1p from January 1st either; those who have a particularly flush bank account in the New Year may wish to start with £3.65 and then lower the increments until finally saving 1p by December 31. The savings could even be as simple as finding change down the back of a sofa (a great tip if you’re having New Year’s Eve gatherings - just be honest when it comes to large amounts) and adding coppers into a jar.

If the 1p challenge manages to twist your arm out of your pocket and away from your wallet later in the year, you can simply catch up by adding together the totals of each day you missed – so if you begin on Wednesday 20 January you could add £2.10 on your first day, and then resume the challenge as normal on 21 January, when you’d save 21p.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.