THE 52-WEEK MONEY CHALLENGE: A COMEBACK ENTRY

photo credit to the real owner

This is a comeback entry, finally it is happening now and I am glad I am officially back to blogging.

It has been more than two years since I last posted an entry in my personal blog. A hiatus that resulted in years is now going to have its end. And what better way to re-launch my blog by also doing a major shift – from personal blog turning into a financial blog. I am putting a category into my blog starting this year 2017.  Yes, you heard it right! I will be talking more about financial literacy and money management this time as this is where I am passionate about now.

Occasionally, I will still be posting personal entries about my journey – topics about family, raising two kids, relationship and the likes. Human-interest stories will not totally be whisked-off from my blog. However, I will just focus more on my journey into financial freedom. 

And to jumpstart this 2017 I am joining the band wagon of having this 52-Week Money Challenge. This isn't new I know but this is the first time I am going to do it. And the twist is I will involve all my family members into achieving this goal - so the four of us will be doing it - my wife Wida, Caleb, Caitlin and me.

credit to the real owner of this photo

Since last year, I have been meaning to comeback into blogging but time isn't always in my favor plus the strong desire to return wasn't yet felt at that time. 

By the way, the purpose and beauty of this saving challenge lies in its simplicity and the habitual momentum it can create - not to mention the big chunk of change you'll end up with. It's a simple, effective way to build your first emergency fund (if you don't have one yet) or to save up for next year's big summer vacation or to whatever noble purpose you have in mind. And unlike so many financial endeavors, getting started isn't at all intimidating -- just about anyone can manage to save one peso (or riyal in my case) in a week. 

Setting up a starting amount is your own prerogative, choose an amount that is realizable up until you reach Week 52. I guarantee you it'll be amazing. And you can tell me through posting in the comment section what your realization are upon finishing this task. Perhaps, at the end of this year you'll say, you will step up by doubling the amount you started and the impact on your financial journey will be great.

Here's my modified excel sheet file I tailor-made just for this challenge. I started with SAR5.00 in Week 1 which is this running week. Then, in Week 2 it will be doubled and so on. As you may noticed, I already plotted until Week 52 and I could be saving in as much as SAR 6,890.00 in total. In the "Remarks" column, you'll just put any remark you want to keep you in track. In my case, I just put the words "Deposited/Saved".

By tomorrow, I will be receiving the piggy bank cans courtesy of my colleague, Ate Weng, who will do the honor of buying me four of them. I am excited with this journey and excited about my financial plans to defy the looming crisis this country is posing a real threat for us OFWs.

As they say, the rice field isn't always with great harvest. There comes a time where famine could strike and one should be ready before that arrives.

"SAVE AND INVEST not soon but NOW."

By the way, blog refurbishment shall follow soon. I need to have a total make-over with the appearance of my blog. I could have started a new one, but I opted to used this old blog since I have this sentimental connection with it and I don't want my old entries to get lost.