The 1p savings challenge: save £667.95 in a year (free tracker)

The 1p savings challenge was the first savings challenge I ever did. The amounts are so small at the start that it is hard to fail, and by the time they get bigger, saving every day has become a habit.

Use the tracker below to tick off each day. It remembers your progress on this device, so you can come back to it daily.

Your 1p challenge tracker

saved of £667.95 · 0 of 365 days done

Which version are you doing?

Days 1 to 30£4.650/30

Days 31 to 60£13.650/30

Days 61 to 90£22.650/30

Days 91 to 120£31.650/30

Days 121 to 150£40.650/30

Days 151 to 180£49.650/30

Days 181 to 210£58.650/30

Days 211 to 240£67.650/30

Days 241 to 270£76.650/30

Days 271 to 300£85.650/30

Days 301 to 330£94.650/30

Days 331 to 360£103.650/30

Days 361 to 365£18.150/5

Your ticks are saved in this browser only. Nothing is sent to us.

How the 1p challenge works

On day 1, put 1p aside. On day 2, put 2p aside. Keep adding 1p a day.
On day 365 you put aside £3.65.
If you miss a day, add it to the next one. Day 40 and day 41 together is 81p.
Keep the money somewhere separate: a jar, or better, its own savings account so it earns some interest.

You can start any day of the year. It does not need to be 1 January.

How much you will have each month

If you start on 1 January, this is your running total at the end of each month.

End of	Day	Total (1p upwards)	Total (reverse)
January	31	£4.96	£108.50
February	59	£17.70	£198.24
March	90	£40.95	£288.45
April	120	£72.60	£366.60
May	151	£114.76	£437.90
June	181	£164.71	£497.75
July	212	£225.78	£550.14
August	243	£296.46	£592.92
September	273	£374.01	£625.17
October	304	£463.60	£649.04
November	334	£559.45	£662.99
December	365	£667.95	£667.95

Notice how back-loaded the normal version is. Over 40% of the money comes in the last three months, right when Christmas costs hit.

The reverse 1p challenge

Flip it round: save £3.65 on day 1, £3.64 on day 2 and finish on 1p. You save the same £667.95, but the big days come first while your motivation is high, and December is almost free.

If you start in January, I think the reverse version is the better choice. Choose Count down in the tracker to use it.

If I save 1p a day for a year, how much will I have?

It depends which version you mean:

1p every day, flat: £3.65 (or £3.66 in a leap year).
1p more each day (the challenge): £667.95.
£1 every day, flat: £365.

In a leap year the challenge has a day 366, worth £3.66, which brings the total to £671.61.

Other challenges if you want to save more

52-week challenge: save £1 in week 1, £2 in week 2, up to £52 in week 52. That is £1,378 by the end of the year.
£1 a day: simple, and £365 a year without the maths.
Round-ups: many banking apps round each card payment up to the nearest pound and move the change into savings automatically.

Where to keep the money

Coins in a jar are satisfying, but most of us rarely carry cash now, and coins earn nothing. A separate easy-access savings account works better: set a daily or weekly transfer and you will barely notice it. If you do end up with a jar full of coins, here is where to cash coins for free instead of paying a coin machine.

When the year is up, £667.95 is a solid start on an emergency fund. If you are saving more than that, the ISA allowance checker shows how much tax-free allowance you have left.

Free toolISA allowance checkerSee how much of your £20,000 ISA allowance is left before 5 April, across every type of ISA.

This is general information, not personal tax or financial advice. Tax rules change and depend on your circumstances, so check GOV.UK or speak to an accountant before acting.