Keepin' It Real

I have just deposited $20 into savings as my "seed money" for this challenge. I want to make that grow, and I want to encourage myself to keep it up. So, here is what I am going to do for the first three months:

Pay for everything via debit or bills. ALL coins are to be Coinstarred and deposited once a week.

Modify my automatic deposit to be $1 per day ($31 per month, deposited on the 15th of each month).

"Tax" myself $1 for each pack of cigarettes I buy. Again, this goes straight into savings.

More and more people that visit the forums are asking what exactly the $20 challenge is. Basically it is a challenge of taking $20 to begin and using it to try and create money in some way that you haven't done in the past. The goal is to get you thinking about different ways that you can earn and save money that you aren't currently doing. That being said, these are general guidelines and you are free to make your own rules as you want them to apply to your challenge. If you choose to make adjustments to the guidelines, please take the time to explain exactly what you're doing and how it differs so that those reading don't get confused. For example, some have indicated they would like to continue their current challenge from 2006.

Where: To participate, simply Begin Your Own Personal Finance Blog and make sure to create a category with the name "$20 Challenge"

Length: 1 year, but anyone can join at any time. Start date is January 1, 2007 with an end date of December 31, 2007

Starting Amount: $20

Goal Setting: On a quarterly basis (every 3 months), more often if desired. This will allow both you and the readers to reflect on what you've accomplished and help keep you on track toward your final goal.

Final Goal Amount: To be determined by each individual

Other Notes: These earnings should come from ideas beyond what you would have normally done. The goal of this challenge is to motivate you to earn a bit of extra money when you usually would not have and get you thinking about different ways that you can earn money.