Looking ahead to 2018
As the old year draws to a close, it’s a great time to look ahead to the new year. Over the next few days I’ll be reviewing how well I did at achieving my goals from 2017, then I’ll be setting some new goals for 2018. This is an exercise I carry out at the end of every year to get me feeling excited and energised for the new year.
Thinking about financial goals for 2018
I always have some financial goals on my list. Striving for income independence and ultimately financial independence is never far from my mind. Some time ago I stumbled across an idea on Instagram which I absolutely loved. It had the intention of encouraging you to save additional money over the course of a year by a simple visual tool.
I’m a big believer in gamification - the art of turning every day chores or tasks into little games to make them more appealing. This chart feels like the perfect way to add a bit of fun to saving, which can sometimes feel like a dull and unpleasant task.
Challenge 2018!
The chart I found encouraged you to save $1,000 in a year by splitting this down into 52 more manageable chunks of money to be saved. Building up your pot of savings one week at a time, adding to it bit by bit.
I decided to create my own British pounds version of the chart to use in 2018.
Every week I’m going to save an amount specified in one of the boxes, crossing off the money saved as I go. The amounts can be saved in any order, so if it’s a bad week I can save as little as £1!
I’m opening up this challenge to YOU!
Would you like to join me in saving or making £1,000 (or $1,000) this year? Perhaps you’d like to use the money toward a holiday, or your Christmas expenses next year. Or perhaps, like me, you are saving toward your own financial independence.
Since I’d love for you to join me on this challenge, I have created a Google Sheet version of this chart for you to use. There are several formats for you to choose from (on different tabs)…
In Pounds:
- A spreadsheet version you can update daily online
- A colour printable version
- A black and white printable version
In Dollars:
- A spreadsheet version you can update daily online
- A colour printable version
- A black and white printable version
I created the printable versions for anyone who may want to stick this up on a wall or fridge door, or even into a bullet journal.
I’m planning on updating mine in the Google Sheet and sticking a copy in my new Bullet Journal so that I can keep an eye on my progress wherever I am!
In order to use this chart, you will need to be able to access Google sheets (you can sign up for your own google email address for free if you don’t already have one). Once you have followed the link, you can then make a copy of the spreadsheet and then you will have full edit rights to your version. There are instructions at the top of the spreadsheet for how to make a copy.
Tracking our success together
To make things a bit more interesting, I thought it would be fun to track our progress together. For this reason, I’ve set-up a page where you can view everyone participating in the challenge and their progress to-date. I really hope you’ll join in!
All you need to do to is:
- Sign-up to the challenge. Edit: Unfortunately sign-ups for #Challenge2018 are now closed. However you can join the waitlist for future challenges here:
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Make your copy of the Google Sheet and start saving
- Whenever you save a new amount (or as often as you choose to let me know) email me how much you have saved
- Check back regularly on my Challenge 2018 page to see how everyone is doing! (You may want to bookmark this page)
I will be keeping the page updated on a regular basis, so you can see how well you’re doing alongside the other participants.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you sign-up for the challenge your name and amount saved will be openly visible on my website (but your email address will never be disclosed or visible to anyone). I may also include your name and progress in future posts, so please only sign-up if you are comfortable with this.
What are you waiting for? Sign-up to the challenge today!
The chart could also be used as an Income Generating Challenge crossing off the amount of money earnt in any given week (this could be from ebay selling, matched betting, or any number of other income generating activities).
I really hope you join me on this challenge - let’s be £1,000 richer by this time next year!
Previous & Next Posts
My last post was about the first six money makers I’ve tried.
In my next post you can find out how #Challenge2018 is going 3 weeks in!
