So we’ve entered the 2nd month of the New Year and, let’s be honest here, I have really been struggling with my goals. Setting goals and keeping them has always been a really weak point of mine but I’m working on it.
I am happy to report that I haven’t had to ask my parents for any money because of my awesome new job. That’s something that I am extremely proud of. But while I have been more self sufficient, it’s been really hard for me to control my spending and a lot of my money has been going to pizza dinners. That’s why I’ve taken on a new challenge that will force me to put money into my savings and will hopefully curb my desire of unpurposed spending. One of my goals for the year was to save $1,000. I had no clear plan of how I was going to accomplish this and as a result, not too much money has gone into my Savings account. But I found a chart that will allow me to reach my goal of saving $1,000 in a year. I recreated the chart with deposit amounts that would best fit my budget and this is what I came up with:
| Week | Deposit Amount | Total Saved | Week | Deposit Amount | Total Saved | ||
| 1 | $26.00 | $26.00 | 27 | $19.50 | $617.50 | ||
| 2 | $26.00 | $52.00 | 28 | $19.50 | $637.00 | ||
| 3 | $25.50 | $77.50 | 29 | $19.00 | $656.00 | ||
| 4 | $25.50 | $103.00 | 30 | $19.00 | $675.00 | ||
| 5 | $25.00 | $128.00 | 31 | $18.50 | $693.50 | ||
| 6 | $25.00 | $153.00 | 32 | $18.50 | $712.00 | ||
| 7 | $24.50 | $177.50 | 33 | $18.00 | $730.00 | ||
| 8 | $24.50 | $202.00 | 34 | $18.00 | $748.00 | ||
| 9 | $24.00 | $226.00 | 35 | $17.50 | $765.50 | ||
| 10 | $24.00 | $250.00 | 36 | $17.50 | $783.00 | ||
| 11 | $23.50 | $273.50 | 37 | $17.00 | $800.00 | ||
| 12 | $23.50 | $297.00 | 38 | $17.00 | $817.00 | ||
| 13 | $23.00 | $320.00 | 39 | $16.50 | $833.50 | ||
| 14 | $23.00 | $343.00 | 40 | $16.50 | $850.00 | ||
| 15 | $22.50 | $365.50 | 41 | $16.00 | $866.00 | ||
| 16 | $22.50 | $388.00 | 42 | $16.00 | $882.00 | ||
| 17 | $22.00 | $410.00 | 43 | $15.50 | $897.50 | ||
| 18 | $22.00 | $432.00 | 44 | $15.50 | $913.00 | ||
| 19 | $21.50 | $453.50 | 45 | $15.00 | $928.00 | ||
| 20 | $21.50 | $475.00 | 46 | $15.00 | $943.00 | ||
| 21 | $21.00 | $496.00 | 47 | $14.50 | $957.50 | ||
| 22 | $21.00 | $517.00 | 48 | $14.50 | $972.00 | ||
| 23 | $20.50 | $537.50 | 49 | $14.00 | $986.00 | ||
| 24 | $20.50 | $558.00 | 50 | $14.00 | $1,000.00 | ||
| 25 | $20.00 | $578.00 | 51 | $13.50 | $1,013.50 | ||
| 26 | $20.00 | $598.00 | 52 | $13.50 | $1,027.00 | ||
As you can see, in one year (which will be Feb of 2015 since I started this week), I should have saved $1,027 based off of this chart. I have already made my first deposit of $26.00 and I’m excited to continue the rest. Having a clear plan definitely makes me feel more comfortable and confident about reaching my savings goal.
-Cynthia
*feel free to use this chart if your heart so desires
Breathe. 