4 creative ways to save up to $12,000 in a year

Aussies are looking to gamify their budgets to save cash in 2023. (Source: Getty)

Aussies are looking to save some serious money in 2023, but they don’t want to do it the old-fashioned way.

According to Pinterest, Aussies are looking to make finance fun this year with Gen X and Millennials seeking out new ways to gamify their finances.

Pinterest said it found budget challenges and savings games were some of the most searched finance topics in the lead-up to the new year.

• Also read: 6 steps to set up your money game plan for 2023

• Also read: How this mum-to-be went from $7/hr to a 6-figure fortune by age 32

• Also read: How much money it takes for Aussies to feel rich

Here are the most popular savings techniques Aussies will be putting into practice this year.

1,000 savings challenge

Searches for the 1,000 savings challenge were up 185 per cent, Pinterest reported.

Basically, you put away small amounts - between $5 and $55 - until you have saved $1,000. Many Aussies are actually using this technique to put aside a small amount of money every day for 30 days - in the end, you have $1,000.

Do that every day for the entire year and you’ll have just over $12,000 by the time you ring in 2024.

This is a simple way to save $1,000 in just 30 days. (Source: freedominabudget.com)

Bi-weekly savings challenge

According to Pinterest, searches for the Bi-weekly savings challenge were up 355 per cent.

This challenge works by starting with a small savings amount, like $3 or $4. If you choose the first amount, put $3 away in savings the first week. Every two weeks, add an extra $3 to the last amount you put away.

So, the first week, you’ll put away $3. The second week, $6. The third week, $9. At the end of the 26-week challenge, starting with $3, you’ll have $1,053 in savings.

If you prefer to aim for a specific goal, you absolutely can - you just need to figure out the maths. For example, if you wanted to save $10,000 you would put away a set $385 every two weeks and you’d end up with $10,010.

Budget challenge

Searches for ‘budget challenge’ were up 135 per cent, but it’s not exactly clear what specific budget technique people were interested in.

But you can take a look at the video below to see some of Yahoo Finance’s top budget tips.

Envelope challenge savings

Searches for the 100 envelope challenge were up 145 per cent on the platform. The idea is that you can save $5,000 in 100 days.

You start with 100 envelopes and write a number from one to 100 on each envelope. You then shuffle the envelopes and place them into a bucket or basket where you can’t see the number on the front.

Each day, you draw an envelope and whatever number you draw, you place that amount of cash inside and you do this for 100 days until the envelopes are filled. In the end you’ll have saved $5,050.

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