Spring Forward Your Savings with Daylight Savings Time Challenge

I’m sure you’re excited as I am about longer daylight hours. I love waking up in the morning with the sun shining and heading home after a long day with the sun still high on the horizon.

The amount of time hasn’t changed. Technically, we lose an hour when we forward our clocks by one hour but we still have 24 hours in a day. It’s just the amount of sunlight we have during the day increases as we approach summertime.

I won’t talk about the pros and cons of Daylight Savings Time. You can read about the history and spend time reading conversations about DST lovers and haters.

Daylight Savings Time is a fact of life in the United States. And another fact of life in America is the low savings rates. A GobankingRates.com article stated that “nearly 30% of Americans aren’t saving more money.”

So, I’m claiming Daylight Savings Time as the perfect time period to spring forward your savings.

What’s great about saving money during the Daylight Savings Time period is having a concrete beginning and end. For non-savers or beginners, you can use this period to increase savings and build a good habit.

Daylight Savings Time is exactly 238 days. I’m challenging you to save money each and every single day. What’s the prize for completing the DST savings challenge? The pride you’ll feel having $238 dollars in a savings account.

How to Save During Daylight Savings Time

Two-hundred thirty-eight dollars might not seem much, but if you have no savings then it’s a big step forward.

The goal of my Daylight Savings challenge is to ingrain a habit of savings with just $1 each day for the next 238 days. If you read this article after we’ve moved our clocks forward, you can always catch up.

1. Set your $238 savings goal

I suggest you use Google Calendar to keep track of this period. Name it $238 Daylight Savings Challenge – Transfer $1 a Day. This is a good reminder for each and every day that alerts you to manually make the transfer. Or you can set transfer rules using your checking accounts or a savings app for auto-savings transfers.

2. Open and name your savings account

If you don’t have a savings account, I suggest opening a new saving account with your current financial institution, with an online bank or savings app. It’s important to name the savings account. Naming your savings can help you save by reminding you why you’re saving. Name or title the account “$238 Daylight Savings Challenge”.

3. Transfer $1 each day into your Daylight Savings account

You can manually transfer the dollar daily from your checking account into your savings account. Or you can set up automatic transfers to take place for 238 days. I find manually transferring the dollar creates a habit and mental process reminding you of the importance of saving money.

The reality is that some people can’t save money because every penny is accounted for, but do your best to lower your expenses to find the $30-$31 a month to reach the savings goal. Consider starting a side hustle for extra cash. You can sell items you no longer use, take online surveys, drive and shop for others or offer your skills to your family and friends.

Find more ideas in the Make Money category in our financial marketplace.

I hope you consider this Daylight Savings challenge. And let me know if you do!