The 12-month saving challenge 14/01/2017, 6*20 PM

The 12-month saving challenge

Tried the 52-week money challenge but did not
succeed? Then try this more flexible money-
saving dare.
By Alvin T. Tabaag, RFP

Published Sat, Jan 10, 2015 10:27 AM

I wonder how many of those who took up the widely talked about Filipino
version of the 52-week savings challenge in 2014 were able to finish it?

The challenge requires saving P50 ($1.11) in the first week of the year and
increasing it by P50 ($1.11) every week so that by the last week of the year
(week 52) you will need to save P2,600 ($57.87).

Sounds easy? Not really.

Drawbacks

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A major drawback of the 52-week savings challenge and other schemes which
require saving specific amounts regardless of how much you earn is that most
people will find it impractical, unrealistic, and unsustainable.

In the last 4 months of the 52-week savings challenge, you are to save P7,000
($155.80) to P10,000 ($22.57) a month. If you are earning P20,000 to
P25,000 ($445.14 to $556.42) monthly, this represents 30% to 50% of your
income.

For a vast majority of Filipinos, such percentage is unrealistically high and

cannot be sustained over the long-term because ideally, we should be saving
10% to 20% of our monthly income.

For individuals with higher incomes, the 52-week savings challenge may not
pose much of a challenge, particularly, in the first quarter of the year.

P50 to P600 ($1.11 to $13.35) per week will be peanuts for someone earning
more than P100,000 ($2,225.68) a month. Thus, high-income earners who
follow the 52-week savings challenge will end up saving too little.

Also, if you can afford to save P8,000 to P10,000 ($178.02 to $222.53) per
month, why wait for the last quarter of the year to come around before you do
it? Then you have to start saving this amount as early as January. Saving
unreasonably small amounts when you are already capable of saving a lot
more is foolish.

A better savings challenge

As such, I devised the 12-month saving challenge to address the shortcomings

of the 52-week savings challenge a more practical, realistic, and sustainable
alternative to building your savings.

Anyone can take on this challenge, whether you are earning less than P20,000
($445.04) monthly or more than P100,000 ($2,225.19) a month. You will find
this challenge achievable even if you have a masters degree or PhD in
spending and you have not tried saving since birth.

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If you are already saving regularly, the challenge will allow you to gradually
increase the amount you are setting aside. The challenge also works whether
you are earning in peso, dollar, euro, yen, riyal or any other currency.

Heres the formula:

12-month saving challenge

Savings for the month = base amount + additional monthly savings

Savings for the month = base amount + (month % x monthly

income)

Month % refers to the applicable percentage corresponding to the month

number. For January, the month % is equal to 1%, for February, it is 2%, for
March, 3%, and so on.

It is a lot easier to remember than week numbers. (Off the top of your head,
can you tell me the week number corresponding to August 1-7? I do not think
so.)

Base amount is the minimum amount you commit to save. If you are just
starting out with saving, you can set the base amount to zero. Or you can
really challenge yourself and set this amount to P1,000 ($22.26) or more.

Normally, the base amount remains constant throughout the year. But you
can increase it later in the year if you feel you can push yourself further. Below
are examples of how the formula is applied:

Example 1: Income = P20,000 / month; Base amount = 0

Additional monthly
Base Total savings for the
Month savings
amount month
( month % x income)
January 0 1% x 20k = P200 P200
February 0 2% x 20k = P400 P400
March 0 3% x 20k = P600 P600
April 0 4% x 20k = P800 P800

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May 0 5% x 20k = P1,000 P1,000

June 0 6% x 20k = P1,200 P1,200
July 0 7% x 20k = P1,400 P1,400
August 0 8% x 20k = P1,600 P1,600
September 0 9% x 20k = P1,800 P1,800
October 0 10% x 20k = P2,000 P2,000
November 0 11% x 20k = P2,200 P2,200
December 0 12% x 20k = P 2,400 P2,400
Total amount save for the year P 15,600

Example 2: Income = P50,000 / month; Base amount = P3,000

Additional monthly
Base Total savings for the
Month savings
amount month
( month % x income)
January P3000 1% x 50k = P500 P3,500
February P3000 2% x 50k = P1,000 P4,000
March P3000 3% x 50k = P1,500 P4,500
April P3000 4% x 50k = P2,000 P5,000
May P3000 5% x 50k = P2,500 P5,500
June P3000 6% x 50k = P3,000 P6,000
July P3000 7% x 50k = P3,500 P6,500
August P3000 8% x 50k = P4,000 P7,000
September P3000 9% x 50k = P4,500 P7,500
October P3000 10% x 50k = P5,000 P8,000
November P3000 11% x 50k = P5,500 P8,500
December P3000 12% x 50k = P6,000 P9,000
Total amount save for the year P 75,000

For easy reference, here is a table showing the required monthly savings for
different levels of monthly income. Simply add the base amount to the figures
below to get the total savings for the month.

Table of monthly savings

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Monthly income (in PHP)

Month
P10k P15k P20k P25k P30k P35k P40k P45k
January P100 P150 P200 P250 P300 P350 P400 P450
February P200 P300 P400 P500 P600 P700 P800 P900
March P300 P450 P600 P750 P900 P1,050 P1,200 P1,350
April P400 P600 P800 P1,000 P1,200 P1,400 P1,600 P1,800
May P500 P750 P1,000 P1,250 P1,500 P1,750 P2,000 P2,250
June P600 P900 P1,200 P1,500 P1,800 P2,100 P2,400 P2,700
July P700 P1,050 P1,400 P1,750 P2,100 P2,450 P2,800 P3,150
August P800 P1,200 P1,600 P2,000 P2,400 P2,800 P3,200 P3,600
September P900 P1,350 P1,800 P2,250 P2,700 P3,150 P3,600 P4,050
October P1,000 P1,500 P2,000 P2,500 P3,000 P3,500 P4,000 P4,500
November P1,100 P1,650 P2,200 P2,750 P3,300 P3,850 P4,400 P4,950
December P1,200 P1,800 P2,400 P3,000 P3,600 P4,200 P4,800 P5,400

Develop a habit

The 12-month saving challenge is designed to allow you to develop the habit
of saving gradually, realistically, and sustainably, and therefore, increasing
your chances of succeeding.

Since the savings amount depends on your income, the challenge does not
unnecessarily burden people with relatively smaller incomes. The inclusion of
a base amount also makes the challenge suitable for individuals who are
willing to commit to saving bigger amounts.

To make this more challenging and help you save further, you can double the
amount of the additional monthly savings. Remember: do not to save too
much. Do not allow your desire to save more severely affect your familys
quality of life.

You will likely quit saving if it becomes too painful for you and your family.

Take the challenge

Begin your journey to financial freedom by taking the 12-month saving

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challenge.

If you take on the challenge, do not worry so much about where to put the
money. Our main objective here is for you to develop the habit of saving and
not to learn about investing.

It will be more exciting to learn about investing once you have the money to
invest. You can also invest regularly only if you are already saving
consistently. You can keep the money at home if you are only saving small
amounts.

But try to avoid using it for whatever reason. It is highly recommended that
you open a savings account specifically for this challenge and deposit the
amount every 15th or end of the month starting January.

If you have what it takes to succeed, take on my challenge and join the
Facebook group, 12-Month Saving Challenge. There, you can download the
calculator to help you determine the exact amount you need to save every
month.

I will also post every week tips on managing your money and reducing
expenses so that you will have more money available for saving. Do you think
you can do it? I dare you to take the challenge! Rappler.com

Alvin T. Tabaag is a personal finance coach and

registered financial planner. He is the founder of
Pinoy Smart Savers Learning Center. He is the
author of the bestselling 12 Steps to Build Wealth on
Any Income and 1,001 Ways to Reduce Expenses and
Save Thousands. Alvin teaches Filipinos how to
secure their financial future. For advice send email to
alvin@pinoysmartsavers.com.

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Piggy bank and calendar images from Shutterstock

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