More Money Challenge: Can You Do It?

If you’re craving a reset for your finances, join our More Money Challenge to start fresh.

Are You Ready for a Reset?

I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the more I feel like the holidays are something I do for other people. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas, but with all the gift-buying, decorating, and baking, I’m exhausted! If you feel the same way, why not kick off the new year by saving for something special just for you. Maybe it’s a new, cool gadget. Maybe you want to beef up your emergency fund or kick start your saving for your first home. Maybe you’ve felt a little stuck financially and need a way to kickstart some new healthy money habits for the new year!

We’ve got a challenge that will help you achieve your B.F.G. (Big Financial Goal) in only 30 days, and bonus—at the same time, you’ll build better money habits and transform how you think about your spending.

Drumroll please …

Introducing the More Money Challenge

For 30 days, we challenge you to follow three rules each and every day that will help you reach your B.F.G. At the same time, you’ll reset your money mindset and make a tangible difference in your current financial state.

During the More Money Challenge, you’ll practice these three things every day:

1. Track your spending (if you’re a YNABer, you’re already doing this part!)
2. Only buy essentials (you decide what your essentials are).
3. No eating out (yeah I know, this last one is painful. I didn’t say this would be easy).

What Makes This Challenge Different?

I can hear you thinking, ‘Oh great, another challenge that won’t stick…’ Here’s why this is different. So many of the spending decisions we make are automatic. Every Tuesday, I get bland, expensive take-out because I have that meeting right at the end of the workday that always takes away all my energy. Every time I see an ad on Instagram for a new cute shirt, I feel compelled to click and buy. These three rules will help you break those habits at their roots. And we’ve heard it from so many people, once they try a different way, they find they didn’t even miss their old habits, because they weren’t serving them as well as they thought.

Alright, but maybe you’re not a feelings person. That’s okay, let’s talk about the cold hard math. This challenge brings results! Our surveys have shown that people save over $1,000 in 30 days doing the More Money Challenge. Seriously. We were as surprised as you were! 

But people gain so much more than money too. It’s a tough challenge with a huge reward! And you might find you’ll change your life in the process. 

How It Works

• Sign up for the challenge. (Right now!)
• Boom, hardest part complete!
• You’ll get an email confirmation with a link to your More Money Challenge Workbook. It’s a pretty workbook. 
• Add your B.F.G. in the workbook before you start and set your spending rules. 
• Take some time filling out the workbook. Feel your feelings. It’s full of inspiring questions and solid guidance for kickstarting financial momentum that keeps rollin’ long after the challenge is complete.
• Read the email series we sent you for inspiration, advice, and encouragement. Every time you receive one, it’s a reminder to stay the path. 
• Say ‘yes!’ to the invite you receive to join the challenge community. You might be surprised how much it helps to know other people are in it to win it with you. If you’re struggling, talk to your people. I see encouraging comments every day in our challenge community. There are good people everywhere… and most of them are YNABers. ? 
• Follow the three rules daily for 30 days. Yes, you can!
• After 30 days, use the money saved to complete your goal.

The average participant saves $1,000 or more. Think of all the incredible B.F.G.’s you could fund with that amount of money!

We ran the challenge on our team here at YNAB, and the results were pretty incredible:

• Kelly saved $1,789 by not spending from specific categories that were deemed “non-essential.”
• Shannon saved $900 and finally got her husband more involved with their finances!
• Veronica saved $3,850, a decent chunk of that was from holding a garage sale and selling a pop-up camper.
• Meghan saved $1000 on the dot! “It was tough toward the end, but I wanted an even $1,000, so I made it happen.“
• Chrissy saved $2,200 through selling things, saving money, and receiving an unexpected windfall.
• Blair saved $3,259: “Ours was all from challenging assumptions.”

I’ve truly never been more in-tune with my budget than during this challenge.
-Hannah

And we all know it’s not just about the money, it’s about what you DO with that money that makes all the difference. See what that money did:

• Chrissy paid off her last debt!
• Kait bought the paddleboard she’d been meaning to buy, but had never gotten around to it.
• Jen was able to pay for an unexpected tax bill.
• Amanda created a Major Home Repairs/Improvement category and put some money toward college savings.
• Rene bought gifts for family members and an air purifier that was leftover from a wedding wishlist four years ago!
• Shannon took her husband on a surprise $100 Target shopping spree with some of the money from the challenge. “He just about died of excitement.”

And these incredible results are all from long-time YNABers who already have their spending and saving dialed in!

What to Expect

Before You Start

There will be nerves. You might feel a little overwhelmed. You might be saying to yourself “There’s no possible way. Can I actually do this?”

A few frantic Amazon orders will be placed before the challenge officially starts. (I’m not telling you that you should do this. But you likely will do this.)

Day 1

The challenge officially kicks off and you’ll start your day one. Your brain will be buzzing at the ready: What can I save? What can I sell? What can I cancel? Your engine is revving to stockpile cash at a wild rate—and that’s the exact energy we want. Take that motivation and run with it.

Day 5

You will want to buy SO MANY things. Instagram is just a siren call of products—they just know you so well. During this time, we find planting a wish farm of all the things you wish you could pay assuages the desire a wee bit.

Day 12

You’ve been going at this for almost two weeks, and the progress is pretty noticeable at this point. Your spending trends are half what they usually are and the money is accumulating. Go progress, go!

Day 17

There will be some agony. Somewhere along the way you will be SO tired of cooking at home. All your heart will want is a Starbucks coffee (money in your app counts as free, yes? I say yes). Keep sprinting: we know your legs are burning at this point but just keep going. It won’t last forever.

Day 24

Loopholes will be sought out and sometimes found. Does it count if I tell the babysitter to pick me up at Starbucks on the way over and then she just happens to get paid a little extra that day? I’m not buying coffee. Not me!

Day 28

You’re so close. So, so close. You can’t wait to order takeout. Heck you might even have it delivered. You don’t even care how much it costs because you’ll have saved so much money.

This challenge has been a really wonderful reset for me! I think I had sort of “plateaued” and I hadn’t been looking for opportunities for improvement or increased mindfulness.
-Emily C.

Day 30

It’s your last day. It breezes by. You’ve gotten pretty good at this. You feel settled, pleased—even impressed with yourself. And tomorrow is a whole new day.

Day 31

You’re donezo! You did it! You crossed the finish line. And wait, HOW MUCH did you save? Your jaw drops open. Success. You buy your B.F.G. Pay off the debt. Stock the cash away for safe-keeping. You feel accomplished, safer, more secure. Delighted! That plateau is no more. You feel lighter, more confident, and dang, you can’t wait to order takeout.

Ready to reset? Learn more about the challenge, or take the plunge by joining below!

YNAB IRL: Fearless Single Mom ?

Meet Alissa! Four years after becoming a single mom, using YNAB has renewed her peace of mind and helped her handle everything life can throw at her.

In 2018 I became a full-time single mom on a public school teacher salary. Due to life circumstances, my ex has not been able to provide any financial support. Prior to our separation, we were borrowing money from my parents monthly to make ends meet, and our savings was nonexistent.

I put off starting YNAB because I was afraid of what I would have to give up. Imagine my surprise when I finally started budgeting with YNAB and saw how much I gained! Fast forward 4 years: My only debt is my mortgage. Loans from my parents? Paid off! Student loans? Paid off! Car loan? Paid off! Four month emergency fund? Funded—and I’m budget out 2 months! Retirement fund? On track to retire early!

However, the greatest accomplishment of all has been renewed peace of mind. So far, nothing has happened financially that has caused me stress—including earlier this year when I had to replace my dishwasher, tires, brakes and rotors, and my refrigerator within a span of 3 months—because I was saving for all of those things a little bit at a time over the last 4 years. My friends and family (well, maybe strangers, too) are probably sick of hearing me talk about YNAB, but it has quite literally changed my life, and I want everyone to experience the same freedom and peace of mind that I do.