Money Tree
By Money Tree team,
How to save $1,000 in 12 weeks (for a holiday or anything else)
Short answer: put away $84 a week for 12 weeks and you have $1,008. Pick one or two small changes that add up to $84, move the money on payday before you can spend it, and give the goal a name so you can watch it fill up.
You've got a trip in mind. Or a laptop. Or you just want $1,000 sitting there so a flat tyre isn't a crisis. Twelve weeks is about three months. Here is how the sum works, and five ways to find the money.
The sum
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| The goal | $1,000 |
| Weeks to get there | 12 |
| $1,000 divided by 12 | $83.33 |
| Rounded up, each week | $84 |
| After 4 weeks | $336 |
| After 8 weeks | $672 |
| After 12 weeks | $1,008 |
Rounding up to a whole number matters. $84 is easy to remember, and the extra $8 is a small cushion if one week comes up short.
Five ways to find $84 a week
You don't need all five. Two that fit your week are enough.
1. Cut one subscription
Look through your last two statements for anything that charges you every month. One streaming service you barely open, at about $16 a month, is roughly $4 a week. Two of them, $8. It isn't the whole $84, but it's money you won't miss.
2. Have one no-spend day a week
Pick a day. On that day, you buy nothing except what's already planned. No coffee out, no lunch out, no small online order. If a normal day costs you $20 to $30 in extras, one quiet day a week is $20 to $30 toward the goal.
3. Round up what's left over
At the end of each week, look at the odd amount left in your everyday account. If it's $127, move the $27. If it's $62, move the $12. It feels like nothing, and over 12 weeks the odd amounts add up.
4. Sell one thing
A bike you don't ride. A game console that's gathering dust. A coat that no longer fits. One decent sale can cover two or three weeks on its own, and it gives the goal a head start in week one.
5. Move it on payday
This is the one that makes the rest stick. The day you get paid, move the $84 first, before rent, before groceries, before anything. Money that's already gone can't be spent by accident.
Where it goes wrong
- Saving what's left at the end. There's rarely anything left. Move it first.
- No name on the goal. "Savings" is vague. "The trip, March" is a reason to keep going.
- Giving up after a bad week. One missed week is $84, not the whole plan. Carry on the next payday.
- Keeping it where you can see it. Money in your spending account gets spent. Give it its own home.
How to do it in Money Tree
- Set up a savings goal. Give it a name and a target. Money Tree also suggests goals if you'd like a starting point.
- Spot the subscription to cut. Recurring payments are detected from your bank feed, so the forgotten ones show up on their own.
- Check what's safe to spend before you buy. Safe to Spend shows one number for today, after your bills, budgets and a buffer (a little money you don't count), so the $84 stays put.
See what Money Tree does or download it on the App Store. New users get a 7-day trial of every feature.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to save each week to reach $1,000 in 12 weeks? Divide $1,000 by 12 and round up: $84 a week. After 12 weeks that adds up to $1,008, so you land just over the line.
What if I can't find $84 a week? Stretch the time instead of giving up. $84 a week over 12 weeks is the same $1,000 as $42 a week over 24 weeks. Pick the amount you can keep doing.
Where should the money go? Somewhere you don't spend from day to day, with a name on it. A savings goal you can see fill up is easier to keep than a number in your head.
Money Tree is a personal finance tool, not financial advice. This article is general information and doesn't take your circumstances into account. The amounts above are examples, not results.