The One Percent Challenge

Feel like you can’t save anything?

Start with one percent of your income, which is Php 10 for every Php 1,000 that you earn.

Just curious, have you taken the widely talked about Filipino version of the 52-week savings challenge and were able to finish it? The challenge requires saving Php 50 in the first week of the year and increasing it by Php 50 every week so that by the last week of the year you will need to save Phph 2,600. Basically, it requires saving specific amounts regardless of how much you earn. Sounds easy? Not really.

In the last 4 months of the 52-week savings challenge, you are to save somewhere between Php 7,000 to Php 10,000 a month. So, if you are earning Php 20,000 to Php 25,000 monthly, this represents 30% to 50% of your income. So, unless you earn more than Php 20,000 , I find it a bit unrealistic and unsustainable.

Here’s my challenge to you…

If you normally save nothing, starting today, save one percent of your earnings.

During the 2nd month, increase your savings by another one percent. On the 3rd month, add an additional one percent. Within a year, you’ll be saving an extra 12 percent of your income.

Example 1: Income = Php 20,000 / month; Regular Savings = Php 0

MONTHREGULAR SAVINGSMONTHLY SAVINGS
(month% x income)
TOTAL SAVINGS FOR THE MONTH
TOTAL AMOUNT SAVED FOR THE YEARPhp 15,600
January01% x 20k = Php 200Php 200
February02% x 20k = Php 400Php 400
March03% x 20k = Php 600Php 600
April04% x 20k = Php 800Php 800
May05% x 20k = Php 1000Php 1000
June06% x 20k = Php 1200Php 1200
July07% x 20k = Php 1400Php 1400
August08% x 20k = Php 1600Php 1600
September09% x 20k = Php 1800Php 1800
October010% x 20k = Php 2000Php 2000
November011% x 20k = Php 2200Php 2200
December012% x 20k = Php 2400Php 2400

If you are already saving regularly, the challenge will allow you to gradually increase the amount you are setting aside. If you already save 5 percent of your income, save 6 percent. If you currently save 10 percent, save 11. OR if you are regularly saving a fixed amount, save an additional 1 percent more on top of your savings.

Example 2: Income = Php 20,000 / month; Regular Savings = Php 1,000

MONTHREGULAR SAVINGSADDITIONAL MONTHLY SAVINGS
(month % x income)
TOTAL SAVINGS FOR THE MONTH
TOTAL AMOUNT SAVED FOR THE YEARPhp 27600
January10001% X 20k = Php 200Php 1200
February10002% X 20k = Php 400Php 1400
March10003% X 20k = Php 600Php 1600
April10004% X 20k = Php 800Php 1800
May10005% X 20k = Php 1000Php 2000
June10006% X 20k = Php 1200Php 2200
July10007% X 20k = Php 1400Php 2400
August10008% X 20k = Php 1600Php 2600
September10009% X 20k = Php 1800Php 2800
October100010% X 20k = Php 2000Php 3000
November100011% X 20k = Php 2200Php 3200
December100012% X 20k = Php 2400Php 3400

For easy reference, here is a table showing the required monthly savings for different levels of monthly income.

MONTH   MONTHLY INCOME (in PHP)   
TOTAL SAVINGS Php 7800Php 11700Php 15600Php 19500Php 23400Php 27300Php 31200Php 35100Php 39000
100001500020000250003000035000400004500050000
January100150200250300350400450500
February2003004005006007008009001000
March3004506007509001050120013501500
April400600800100012001400160018002000
May5007501000125015001750200022502500
June6009001200150018002100240027003000
July70010501400175021002450280031503500
August80012001600200024002800320036004000
September90013501800225027003150360040504500
October100015002000250030003500400045005000
November110016502200275033003850440049505500
December120018002400300036004200480054006000

The One Percent Challenge allows you to develop the habit of saving gradually. The amount you save depends on your income. So even if you earn a little, it wouldn’t be difficult.

Take the one percent challenge to save money. Jumping from saving nothing to saving 12 percent overnight is hard. The most effective way to do this is one step at a time — or, in this case, one percent at a time.

photo credit: In Time via photopin (license)

PS. This challenge is inspired by Paula Pant of Afford Anything.

2 thoughts on “The One Percent Challenge

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *