Updated: Get Your FREE 2019 SMC Money Challenge Guide

Today is the last weekend of 2017 and my last check-in for the She Makes Cents 52 Week BINGO Money Challenge for the year. In fact, this past Friday marked 104 consecutive weeks of doing this money challenge successfully. In the past two years, I have eliminated my credit card debt altogether as well as shaved YEARS off my student loan repayment term. More importantly, I have cultivated a habit of saving money. Personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge according to the financial writer, Dave Ramsey. To be successful doing this money challenge I had to change my behavior and put saving for my money goals above fleeting things and experiences. That was something that took a few failed attempts to learn. Yes, a few years ago I would start the challenge, hit a mini goal, and fall off. Then two years ago, I realized that I had to do something different if I wanted different results… and so I did.

What is the 52 Week BINGO Money Challenge?

The BINGO Money Challenge is a variation of the popular 52 Week Money Challenge that I created back in 2013. The original challenge called for people to save money according to the number of weeks of the year. For example, on week one you would save $1.00 and on week 52 you would save $52.00. At that time in my career, I had a base salary and I worked on commission so my checks were never consistent. I attempted the challenge and failed. Hey, it happens. I then thought to myself, girlfriend…. you should make a “bingo” version… So I created my first bingo money card and started saving because the original version did not work for me. I needed something that would set me up for success. The thing is, it doesn’t matter if you cross off $52 dollars on the 52^nd week of the year, all that matters is that you cross off a box on the money card every week. Either way, you end up saving the same amount of money and you have the ability to save more or less based off how your current financial situation for each week. Since then, the BINGO Money Challenge has evolved into a money challenge with unlimited savings potential.

Who is the SMC Money Tribe?

The support from She Makes Cents readers started to pour in when I began sharing my progress on the 52 Week BINGO Money Challenge. At the time, my money goals were top of mind but also was the new realization that I had to report my progress to people who were invested in my success. I started to get emails and social media shout outs from readers who started the bingo version of the challenge themselves. Before I knew it, I had accountability partners that I have never met who shared their progress. We supported the BIG wins and the days were all anyone could afford to save was $1.00. We were on this money-saving journey together and friendships started. Now, the SMC Money Tribe is an uplifting community of women from all over the world that supports each other’s financial journey and savings endeavors. Every year people contact me for the latest version of the SMC Bingo Money Card and I found that the most successful people had one major thing in common. In fact, people were 79% more likely to complete the challenge if they are active in the SMC Money Tribe. It makes sense when you think about it because you have accountability partners there to lift you up when the challenge gets hard to keep up with.

How to Join the 2018 SMC Money Tribe

The new 2018 SMC Money Tribe Facebook group will serve as a “home base” for the #SMCmoneytribe. There you will be directed to fill out a quick registration form and download the money card. This is a space for active members and as a member of the SMCmoneytribe, you will gain exclusive content, motivation, and financial tips and tricks that will help you whether you are saving to pay down debt like me or saving to take a fabulous trip or two in the new year (also me). This year, you will have the option to do your weekly check-ins on Friday and/or Saturday on all of our social media handles to make it easily accessible to people who are only active on certain platforms.