The 100 Envelope Challenge: How to Save Over $5000 in 100 Days
Hey friend! If the $10K savings challenge felt a tad overwhelming (I get it, times are tough), let’s scale it down and make saving money way more doable. Enter: The 100 Envelope Challenge—aka the fun, low-pressure way to stash away cash without feeling broke!
How Does It Work?
Super simple! You grab 100 envelopes and number them from 1 to 100. Each day (or however often works for you), pick an envelope at random and put that amount of money inside. So if you pull envelope #37, you tuck away $37. By the time all your envelopes are filled, you’ll have saved $5,050—not too shabby, right?
DIY or Get Fancy?
You can totally do this with plain old envelopes (no need to be extra), but if you love a cute system like I do, there are savings challenge binders that make it even more fun and organized! I’ll link to the one I use, but honestly, use whatever makes you feel excited to save.
How to Make It Work (Even If Money’s Tight)
I know setting aside cash isn’t always easy, so here are some ways to make it work:
- Go at your own pace – If daily is too much, do it weekly or biweekly instead.
- Swap big numbers for what you can afford – Can’t do $97 today? No worries! Pick a smaller envelope and save what you can.
Make it a game – Challenge yourself to use “found” money, like that $10 from your coat pocket or cashback rewards.
Why This Challenge Works
Unlike rigid savings plans, this one gives you flexibility. Some days you save more, some days less—but by the end, you’ll have over $5K saved! Perfect for a vacation, an emergency fund, or that splurge you’ve been dreaming of.
So, what do you think? Ready to take the challenge? Let’s do this together—one envelope at a time! Let me know in the comments if you’re giving it a try, and grab your savings challenge binder (buy here) to stay organized!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through my links—at no extra cost to you.
April 1, 2025 @ 3:15 pm
Hey there,
I’m going to take this challenge on and use the savings towards my credit card debt. I would like to do this biweekly on my paydays – can you suggest how to pick the envelopes without stretching my paycheck too much?
Thinking outside the box: I could split the 100 envelopes into 3 categories ($1-$34 low, $35-$68 medium, $69-$100 high) and on payday I select 14 envelopes total from the 3 categories and set aside that amount of $. I guess, I’ll need to be flexible with how many I pick from the “high” due to what else needs to be paid from that paycheck. Example: On payday take 7+ envelopes from Low, 6+ envelopes from Medium, and 1+ envelope(s) from High and the total of the envelopes is the amount I set aside. I sorta did the math (random envelopes) and don’t think I can set aside the “total” for each payday. Would you suggest setting a number goal for the amount I set aside. I would like to reach the $5050 goal in 100 days. 🙂
Would love to brainstorm with you on this great idea! 🙂
April 1, 2025 @ 5:00 pm
That sounds like a great idea! I love that out of the box thinking. Yes, let’s brainstorm on different ways to do this!!🤑