Savings Challenge Tracker Spreadsheet

About this template

This savings challenge tracker puts six saving games in one spreadsheet, along with somewhere to see what they add up to. Tick off weeks, pull envelopes and mark no-spend days, and the workbook counts what each challenge has put in the jar so far.

Please read: This is a tracker tool only, not financial, tax, legal, medical or any other professional advice or advisory service. It records and calculates what you enter; you are solely responsible for checking all figures, rates, dates and results and for every decision you make. By purchasing, downloading or using it, you accept these terms (your statutory consumer rights are not affected).

The dashboard

Pick the full year or any month and the cards and both grids follow. Nothing on the dashboard is typed; it fills itself from what you enter.

• Saved in challenges: the total all challenges have saved, with a mini chart by month
• The 52 weeks as tiles: saved, missed or still to come
• What each challenge put in the jar, month by month
• The jar adding up: the total saved in challenges so far this year
• The no-spend days you ticked on the No-Spend tab
• The 100 envelopes as a ten by ten grid, with the envelopes you pulled lit up
• Every challenge against its target, the finished ones shaded darker
• How far each goal on the Savings Goals tab has got

Six money challenges

Each challenge shows what it is worth if you finish it. Complete all six and they add up to 13,228 dollars.

• The 52 week challenge
• The 100 envelope challenge
• A round-up challenge
• A five-dollar bill challenge
• A pantry challenge
• A no spend challenge

Ten connected tabs

Everything reads from one transaction list, so nothing is typed twice and there are no pivot tables to refresh. Next to the challenges sits a Savings Goals tab, so it is a savings tracker and a budget spreadsheet as well as a set of games.

• 2,000 transaction rows and 40 categories, all renameable
• Every figure calculated for you: totals, variances and percentages
• Over-budget and overdue amounts change color on their own
• Dropdown lists that grow as you add accounts and categories
• Charts that redraw from your own numbers, not pictures

A filled-in copy to learn from

Besides the blank workbook you get a full demo year to click through, so you can see every tab working before you enter your own numbers. Both come in Excel and in Google Sheets.

Works with

• Microsoft Excel 2016, 2019, 2021 and Microsoft 365, on Windows and Mac, and LibreOffice. No Microsoft 365 subscription needed.
• Google Sheets with a free Google account. The Google Sheets version is a real workbook, not a PDF with a link in it.
• No dynamic arrays, no macros, no add-ins and no bank connection

What you download

• The Excel workbook, filled with a worked example
• The same workbook, blank and ready for your own numbers
• The instruction guide, with one-click links to the Google Sheets versions (filled and blank)
• The terms of use as a PDF

Your files are ready as soon as payment clears. The template is for personal use on your own devices; please do not share or resell the files. Questions before or after you buy? Use our contact page and we will help.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use it in Google Sheets or Excel?

Both. The Excel workbook runs in Excel 2016 or later on Windows and Mac, and the instruction guide has one-click links to the Google Sheets versions for a free Google account.

Which savings challenges are included?

Six: the 52-week, the 100-envelope, round-up, five-dollar bill, pantry and no-spend challenges. Each shows what it is worth if you finish it.

How much would I save by finishing all six?

The challenges add up to 13,228 dollars if you complete every one.

Can I run more than one challenge at a time?

Yes. The dashboard shows every challenge against its target side by side, and what each one put in the jar each month.

Is there space for my own savings goals?

Yes. There is a Savings Goals tab, and the dashboard shows how far each goal has got.