Mindful of your Money: The 52 Week Money Cure

Have you heard of the 52 Week Money Challenge? It’s a simple concept all over the Internet and appropriate as we begin 2016. Perform a simple Google search and you will see every 52 week money challenge method out there (including affiliate links) of how to do it and how not to do it. If you find it difficult to save even $5, this challenge will be a “CHALLENGE” for you. I don’t like the word challenge because a challenge already sounds hard from the beginning and negative thinking only compounds an already difficult process. I changed it to the word cure because a person’s inability to save money or to be in constant money struggles is an ailment and a disability to their life and their future life. Being able to cure that by hitting this one small goal creates a mental shift in how a person views their finances. Nothing comes for free and if there is effort there is reward — that being the $1400 at the end of 52 weeks. If there is no effort, there is no reward.

How the 52 Week Money Challenge Works?

Starting at the beginning of the year, put away $1 on Week 1, $2 on Week 2…$26 on Week 26. By the time you reach week 52, when you make the final $52 deposit, you’ll have miraculously saved $1,378. You can also reverse the chart and save $52 on Week 1 and then deposit a dollar on the last week of the year. This is the method I am doing and I have a goal in mind as well. I will use the money towards travel expenses to visit my family in Hawaii at the end of the year. Either way without putting it into a savings account with interest you save $1378. It also doesn’t have to be $1 increments. You can choose $5 increments to eventually save $6,890. The key to success is repetition, commitment, and consistency. In some of the Facebook groups that I am in that talk about this challenge, some people have gone above and beyond and saved $50 a paycheck or $50 weekly. That can translate to anywhere between $1,300 or $2,600. The challenge is in putting in the effort and changing the way you think about money and yourself. Start this new year saving money rather than spending it.

Money is about your Self-Worth

In my career history working in the telecommunications, shipping and energy industry in sales, marketing, finance, collections and billing I have had the opportunity to be on many sides of observing how people spend and save money. It is such an interconnected aspect of every day life. I also have an MBA and started a Master’s degree in Finance. In simple terms we pick and choose what we spend our money on. I have had my own struggles with money. I have had to file for bankruptcy due to a money decision that was based upon emotion and not logic. So you might be wondering why you should listen to me since I filed for personal bankruptcy. I have an MBA and work in Finance, why can’t I get it together?

In simple terms, it’s because only after filing bankruptcy did I take a long hard look at my finances and how I was screwing it all up. I could have paid my obligations without bankruptcy but I just didn’t know how. Facing my debt situation meant confronting my past and my self worth. I was so insecure about myself, I had used money as a means to show the world that somehow I was something special being a divorced, single mom and going through another failed relationship (typically about money. When you can begin to take responsibility for your bad decision making, only then can you begin to effortlessly save money. You can do the 52 week challenge but if you are completely stressed out and ruining relationships because you didn’t have $52 to save at the end of 52 weeks, blowing up those relationships are not worth it. So you want to save with as little emotional effort and stress as possible.

I study astrology a lot and your astrological chart includes 12 houses that correspond to a particular astrological sign as well as aspects to planets. The second house in your chart always relates to your personal resources including the money you earn, your talents, and how you feel about yourself. For me personally I have the sign of Gemini in my second house. Gemini represents the mind and so I am very adept at using my mind to make money and enjoy budgets and planning to chart my goals. When emergencies arise I am adept at moving money around to meet those expenses. Knowing what planets and astrological sign is in your second house can give you a clue about how you feel about money and yourself.

Determining your debts and your budget before saving

You can save $1400 and still have $20,000 in credit card debt. Think of the debt you accumulated this past Christmas. I accumulated zero debt this past Christmas with regards to Christmas presents, decorating and social activities. I didn’t want to carry this debt into the new year. I have other debts which are top of mind and which I am working to pay off. With this in mind decide if paying down debt or accumulating savings is appropriate for your situation. There are many different schools of thought on this. Some say accumulate savings first, build an emergency fund and then pay off debt. Some say pay off debt first. I say try not to accumulate debt even though that is very difficult. As a divorced mom and single parent expenses arise fast and quick and I want to minimize the need to borrow to take care of emergency expenses. It is easy to get into debt, it is hard to get out of it. Sometimes we may pay down a credit card only to max out another one. Even if you have large amounts of debt you can still do this savings challenge in order to feel like you accomplished a goal. If you plan on using this savings to pay down debt at the end of the year, then as of today write yourself a check for the amount of $1,378 or write the check out to your debtor — date it for 12/31/2016 and save it in your wallet or keep it somewhere safe. When you accumulate the savings, deposit the money into the account and send off the check. There is no better feeling that knowing you paid off a debt.

Calling abundance to your mind and spirit

I had to train my brain to accept abundance rather than spend and not adhere to my budget and overspend. It is a constant struggle for me but I am committed to being more responsible because it means more abundance and opportunities for my children. Not only do I use online tools and mobile apps to track my spending but I also use excel spreadsheets and I think constantly about my financial situation. In the 52 Week Money challenge people use piggy banks and mayonnaise jars to save money. Some people use automatic withdrawals into savings accounts. I do those things as well for things like college savings, retirement and more. I am using an old metal container that I received this past Christmas from a vendor of mine that had cookies in it. I thought it was pretty symbolic since I look at cookies, dough and bread as money. Since the goal is to save money for next Christmas it has a Christmas theme but also contains wealth and money affirmations that I wrote in the box as well as photos of what I want to use the money for. I also included a check written out to myself in the final amount of what will end up in the jar. Other Feng Shui money cures I use in my living and work space to attract abundance include the following:

Chinese Coins

Lucky Bamboo or fresh plants with rounded leaves

Water fountains

Aquariums

Laughing Buddha

Dragon turtle statues

Citrine crystals

Pyrite stones

Feng Shui Money trees such as a Jade tree which is also a succulent

Understand your money habits

How would you like to double or triple the money you save from the 52 week money challenge? How would you like to do the 52 week mega money challenge instead? You can save more than you think if you follow simple rules of either making more money or spending less. Find out where your money is going, reduce expenses, sell things and more. I am consolidating all of my bank accounts. I currently have 9 bank accounts and that is way too many bank accounts with accumulated fees etc that are not serving my best purpose. The goal is to reduce that number down to 5 bank accounts total: Business Accounts, Credit Union Savings, Bank Checking, and an online Investment Savings and Checking account. Aside from that I also have a Paypal account that piggy backs off of my checking account that is useful in easy transactions to friends and family members as well as paying freelance contractors. I am also going to budget more often and avoid wasteful expenses such as fast food, eating out, coffee and fees associated with paying toll bills late etc. For this year I wrote myself a check for $1 million dollars and put a date of 01/01/2016 on it. I plan on keeping it in my wallet to increase abundance and make the mental shift of a “money mindset.”

What bad money habits are you trying to conquer for this year? What debt or debts are you going to pay off? If you would like to learn more your astrological chart and your second house come join my Astronewbies group on Facebook.

Follow me on Twitter at @DallasSingleMom or email me at heatherkbuen@gmail.com