9 money challenges to tackle in 2019

9 money challenges to tackle in 2019

With 2019 around the corner, it's the perfect time to test your resolve with these fun-to-do challenges to help you save money, earn some extra and stay healthy.

Here are nine money challenges you can try out. Some are for earning money, others for saving. Which will your pick be?

1. Kumpul Hijau Challenge

This challenge is easy – simply stow away all the RM5 notes you receive and see how much it can add up to.

2. No-spend Challenge

Some people have already tackled No-spend Challenges and it’s so much fun to read. Their write-ups usually includes:

• Their rules’ – what expenses are excluded during the No-spend Challenge i.e. medicines

• How they adjusted their lifestyles

• How and where they failed

• How much money they saved

• How they learned to be more intentional with their purchases after the challenge ended (most, if not all became less impulsive spenders).

3. Eat Vegetarian Challenge

Vegetables are cheaper than meat, so going vegetarian should reduce food expenses, no? It would be fun to go on this challenge as vegetables and non-meat proteins are truly delicious. Plus who knows – you might lose some weight in the process.

4. Meal Prep Challenge

You will soon realise that when you do meal-prepping for the week, not only will your food expenses be lowered, you will also save so much time.

Idea: Why not combine the meal prep challenge with the eat vegetarian challenge. Wow, brilliant.

5. Sell Unwanted Stuff Challenge

Set a target amount to reach say RM1,000, and sell whatever stuff you no longer need until you reach that amount.

You can sell clothes, bags, accessories and random knick-knacks – the possibilities are endless.

6. Resist the Sales Challenge

There are way too many sales these days – holiday-related sales, Raya sales, Christmas sales. Then there are New Year, Mid-Year and End-Of-Year sales. And of course seasonal Back-To-School and School Holidays sales.

That’s not even counting warehouse sales, clearance sales, weekend sales etc – you get the drift.

The point here is to not avoid the sales, but rather resist impulse buys during these sales, because retailers are SO GOOD at making you think you’ll never come across the same deal ever again. That’s not true.

Also, if you’re the type who waits for sales to buy things, you might want to be aware of this phenomenon in which some prices are sneakily increased during sale times.

7. Flipping Challenge

A money-making challenge. Buy items at secondhand and thrift shops, then re-sell them at higher prices. The people at r/flipping are so good at this, and some of them make a bunch of extra money from it!

Of course, knowing what items are in demand is another story. That’s the hard part.

8. Quit-a-bad-habit Challenge

Directly or indirectly, ALL bad habits waste money (some waste time, which is money).

Some habits to quit:

• Smoking

• Drinking (excessively)

• Going to the mall just because you’re bored

• Saying “yes” to everything

9. Tracking Expenses Challenge

Some people love to track their expenses (my monthly budget updates) and find it easy but for others it’s too hard to sustain. They “semangat” do it for a few days/weeks then forget for a few days and give up.

It’s okay to pick up where you left off, you know? If you don’t have the receipts and can’t remember the amounts, just make a guesstimate of what you spent and log that in. As Sheryl Sandberg said, done is better than perfect.

This article first appeared in ringgitohringgit.com

Suraya is a corporate writer-for-hire and the blogger behind personal finance website Ringgit Oh Ringgit. She is more of a minimalist, less of a consumerist, a konon DIY enthusiast, a let’s-support-small-businesses-over-big-corporations kinda girl. Prior to her current role, she worked in various capacities within the non-profit industry.

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