There are four words that dominate January every year – New Year, New Me. With the excesses of the festive period behind us, people are focusing on gymming and dieting. But what people often forget is that that new gym membership or those healthier meals can be costly at a time of year when money is tight.
So it was a welcome boost at the start of 2026 to find £667.95 sitting in my account ready to be spent on whatever I fancied. What’s even better is it came from money that I barely even noticed leaving my account in the first place. It all started a year ago today when I signed up to Monzo’s 1p challenge – something Martin Lewis is especially fond of.
What is the 1p challenge?
The idea is pretty straightforward. On the first day of the challenge, you save 1p. The second day you save 2p, the third 3p and so on until you’ve been through 365 days of the year.
The most that will ever come out of your account is £3.65 – on the very last day of the challenge. And at the end of the challenge you’re left with a grand total of £667.95.
You’re never having to worry about removing a vast sum from your day-to-day account and just need to make sure there’s a maximum of £3.65 in there.
How I achieved it
While the sums are pretty manageable, actually remembering to save every single day may seem a bit tricky.
Thankfully, Monzo did all the hard work for me. Once you set it up, it will automatically transfer the increasing amounts out of your current account into a virtual savings “pot”.
You can even gain interest on what you earn, if you pay for the premium accounts such as Monzo Extra, Perks, Max or Max + Family.
What if I don’t have Monzo?
While the digital banking app was a lifesaver for me, there are plenty of other tools out there to help you achieve the goal.
Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert site has an easy-to-use table that can be printed off. You can tick off one box per day to keep on track.
For those with mountains of loose change hanging around, you could try the challenge literally – by putting increasing change into a piggy bank or sealed jar every day.
Daily alarms on your phone to transfer the cash might also do the trick.
Other ways to achieve the challenge
If saving daily still seems too arduous, there are other tips and tricks to get to the all important £667.95. You could save monthly instead, which may be more manageable. The numbers you’d need are as follows:
- January: £4.96
- February: £12.74
- March: £23.25
- April: £31.65
- May: £42.16
- June: £49.95
- July: £61.07
- August: £70.68
- September: £77.55
- October: £89.59
- November: £95.85
- December: £108.50
Alternatively, you could avoid saving the largest sum on notoriously the most expensive month of the year (December) by reversing the order:
- January: £108.50
- February: £95.85
- March: £89.59
- April: £77.55
- May: £70.68
- June: £61.07
- July: £49.95
- August: £42.16
- September: £31.65
- October: £23.25
- November: £12.74
- December: £4.96