Admin
November 30, 2021

Financial security planning for your family is important, especially with the current uncertainties. This starts with securing your financial future. 

Financial security means living life on your own terms, taking calculated risks, and having more than enough for the unexpected. Getting to that level of security is often challenging. Sometimes you end up spending it all, no matter how much you save.

While it’s discouraging at first, reaching your savings goal is doable with enough preparation and creativity! Lately, people are coming up with “Ipon Challenges” to save money at their own pace. Because it’s easier to apply, your children can also learn about financial security earlier on.

Try these 5 helpful “Ipon Challenges” with your kids this 2022!

1. 52-week ipon challenge

Popular among Filipinos, the 52-week ipon challenge works by saving money that increases as the weeks go by within a year, becoming 52 weeks total.

This challenge is perfect for people who want to build a good saving habit through small but frequent deposits. The challenge starts off easy with 1-peso coins a day, and the amount gets bigger every week. For example, you start with 50 pesos in your first week, followed by saving 100 pesos the next week and so forth. You can even monitor your savings by creating your own 52-week ipon challenge sheet or you can download templates online. 

To help your kids with the challenge, we recommend starting them off with loose change and up to 50 pesos maximum nearing the end of the challenge. While reaching a larger amount is great, it’s best to focus on building their habit of saving each week instead. The key is to help them remember to set aside even a small amount.

2. Invisible 50 pesos challenge

While 50 pesos doesn’t buy much, every bill starts piling up for you to win this challenge!

The invisible 50 pesos challenge is a simple yet effective way to save money. Every 50 peso bill you have or get, you’ll need to save either in a bank account or in a makeshift bank container at home. This challenge is easy to do, depending on your consistency. Depending on how many 50 pesos bills you save within the time frame you set for yourself, you can save a lot of money from this challenge. 

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3. Envelope savings challenge

The Envelope Savings Challenge helps you save money by having different envelopes assigned for each of your  goals (ex. Travel, House, Car etc.). Get started by setting a timeframe for until when you will save, then label your envelopes with specific goals. This challenge will help you get motivated to save for a specific goal. 

To make this challenge easier for your kids, start in small amounts with 2-3 envelopes at most. Once they’ve gotten the hang of it, you can bump up the amounts for each envelope and even add more envelopes! 

4. NO spend day challenge

We recommend this for the more seasoned of challenge-takers. The No Spend Day challenge is not your typical savings challenge; instead of saving, you try not to spend on anything for a day within a week. To do this, start with picking a day in a week where you won’t be spending a single peso. As much as possible, you can stay at home to avoid buying anything. This challenge will teach you to focus on the things that are important, instead of spending your money on non-essential things. 

5. Loose change challenge

Compared to the 50 pesos ipon challenge, the Loose Change Challenge focuses on saving every coin you get. Tuck away loose change, like one peso coin or any amount, straight to your savings. Since people forget their coins, this challenge teaches you to be mindful of your money no matter how small the amount, because they build up and can save you later on. This may be the easiest challenge in the list, and one that your children can definitely join! We recommend introducing your kids to the concept of saving money through this challenge, as it helps them pick up mindfulness and being thrifty earlier on.

For a more creative way to help your kids join the challenge, we recommend starting with 1.5L plastic soda bottles for DIY coin banks. Have them decorate the exterior of the bottles so they know it’s their savings container.

Remember that no matter how much, saving money is helpful and can save you in the long run!

In saving money, there is no perfect formula or challenge. Regardless of what challenge you do, always remember that saving money takes a lot of discipline and knowing your specific goal will help you complete any ipon challenge you choose!

Sources: moneymax.ph, pesohacks.com

Image sources:Freepik, frimufilms from Freepik