52 Week Money Challenge

Saving money can be very difficult if you don’t plan it out well. That is why I’m here to introduce to you the 52 Week Money Challenge. I’m not the first person who has thought of this concept that I’m about to introduce to you. Unfortunately, I don’t know the original source. However, my goal is to forward this great information to encourage and motivate you to save money for something you really want.

Let me explain this challenge. Take a look at the template below. It consists of 52 weeks and for each corresponding week, you will add that amount. So Week 1 = $1, Week 2 = $2, Week 3 = $3 and so forth. If you’re starting late like I am, you can catch up by putting in the missed weeks or start now and end in January. To keep track of the weeks, I’ll be putting in money every Sunday and I’ll also keep this sheet inside the jar.

Variation 1: If you’re like every other person during the end of the year, there is an influx of spending (Christmas gifts, new winter tires, etc.) You can begin with Week 52 and work backwards. Do what will work best for your situation.

Variation 2: You don’t need to foot the whole weekly savings. Get your significant other or family involved. Split the weekly savings with someone who wants to be involved.

Variation 3: If your family can afford to do so, have your significant other do their own savings jar as well. Double the cash monies!

You can either make a goal or not, but it might be more motivating to make a goal for what you are saving for. By the way, if you follow the chart exactly, you’ll end up with $1378 at the end of 52 weeks. Freaking rad! Disneyland here I come! But I’d settle with any vacation really.

Tip: Put your laundry money into the jar or change that you find in your pocket at the end of the day.

So what exactly do you need for this challenge?

• The template to help you keep track: click here to download
• Jar or tub or whatever you want to put your money in. I think I’ll pick up a jar at the Dollar Store. My food jars aren’t quite big enough.
• Motivation

Good luck, home philosophers! Let me know if you decide to do this challenge with me.

How to Think Creatively: Part 3

source: enna.com

I mentioned in “How to Think Creatively: Part 1” to change up your environment and to seek new experiences and opportunities in order to not be stagnant with the same ideas and information. That’s what I’m going to talk about now.

We adapt to our native environments and learn to use certain skills and personality traits for each environment. We’re on mental auto-pilot, which is comfortable and familiar. However, think of when you travel or do something new, that new environment is forcing us to adapt to new people, a new culture, and a new way of thinking or behaving. We might begin to discover new aspects about ourselves, like new strengths, fears, and prejudices. It can be scary, but we become less frightened when we arm ourselves with knowledge about the unknown. And then we can master the unfamiliar to become a better-rounded individual. What other way is there to grow spiritually, mentally, physically aside from going off of auto-pilot and diverting from the usual?

Stimulate creativity by doing something different and possibly out of your comfort zone. You will create new connections and leverage those things around you. It will inspire new ideas, challenge old ideas, and draw into areas of your life that remain hidden in routine. Challenge yourself to do one of these things once a week, or every other week. It’s up to you to decide how often to engage yourself with new information and stimuli. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Visit a gallery or museum

Read a magazine you’ve never read (you can borrow tons of well-known magazines from the library)

Watch a foreign film

Write a poem

Eat an ethnic meal you’ve never had before

Talk to someone from another culture (visit ethnic grocery markets)

Think of a subject that interests you, go to the library, and check out books related to that subject

Go to your local Chamber of Commerce to see what’s going on around town and surrounding area

Go for an hour drive out of town on a route you’ve never taken (take your GPS just in case J)

Go for a walk in a neighborhood you’ve never walked in

Rearrange your furniture

Eat at a restaurant by yourself

Go to a movie by yourself

Get an account with StumbleUpon.com and stumble away

Go geocaching

Make a meal you’ve never made before

Write a letter to a friend you haven’t talked to in a while

Get a penpal (Google “penpal”)

Listen to a radio station you don’t ever listen to

Visit someone in a retirement home

Visit someone in a hospital

Volunteer for an organization

Go to a coffee shop, mall, large bookstore, etc. and people watch

Some of these will make you feel uncomfortable. Some of these will intrigue you and inspire you. Good! That’s the goal here. If you don’t want to do some of these alone, do it with your significant other or a friend (except for go to a movie and restaurant by yourself). Broaden yourself. If you like mundane, being stagnant, and not challenging yourself, that’s fine. But I imagine that if you’re still reading, you’re not like that all the time. The world, your very own city or town has so much to offer you if you would just let yourself go. Honestly, what is the worst that could happen?

If you missed the other How to Think Creatively parts, you can find them here:

How to Think Creatively: Part 1

How to Think Creatively: Part 2

Let me know in the comments about how you intend to grow as an individual in 2013. Or tell us some of your ideas about how to get out of your native environment.

Have a great January, home philosophers!