100 Envelope Challenge: What it is and how it works

The 100 Envelope Challenge is a trend that originated and gained traction primarily on social media. When done correctly, you can save just over $5,000 in 100 days.

What is the 100 Envelope Challenge?

The 100 Envelope Challenge is a savings challenge that helps speed-run saving by making you save $5,050 in 100 days—if you stick with it.

Step 1: Get prepared

To do the 100 Envelope Savings Challenge, you need some cash and—you guessed it—100 envelopes. Next, label each envelope 1 through 100. You’ll need at least $1 to begin.

Step 2: Start saving

For 100 consecutive days, add cash to an envelope that equals its number. For example, you would add $1 to the envelope marked ‘one’ and $10 to the envelope labeled ’10.’

There are a few ways to tackle this challenge, such as going in order, starting from the first day: $1 in the ‘one’ envelope, $2 in the ‘two’ envelope and so on. You could also bounce around, such as doing envelope 100 first and then doing a smaller amount the next day. Whichever order you choose, the goal is to save something each day for 100 days straight.

Step 3: Collect your cash

After 100 days, all 100 envelopes should be filled with cash totaling $5,050, which you can invest, save or spend as you please. Congratulations on completing the 100 Envelope Savings Challenge!

Can I do the 100 Envelope Challenge digitally?

Physical envelopes appear to be the most common way people are doing the challenge, since it offers a simple way to track savings. There are also many influencers on social media selling envelope books with sleeves for cash and a calendar to check off each completed day.

However, you can do the challenge without physical envelopes or a special book.

You can track contributions with pen and paper and simply send the contributions to your preferred savings account each month. For example, you could write out each day and draw a checkmark next to the completed days:

• $1
• $2
• $3 … and so on

As an added benefit, you’ll earn interest on every dollar transferred into your account. Your total savings after 100 days will be even higher than if you save cash in physical envelopes.

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Is the 100 Envelope Challenge hard?

The challenge requires saving $5,050 in just over three months, which is a bit of a time crunch and can be challenging for many people.

If you go in numerical order, the first 10 days of the challenge require saving just $55, which is fairly manageable. But in the final days of the challenge, following numerical order, you must save $1,045 in just 10 days.

An easier approach to the challenge is going out of order based on how much you can save on a given day. For example, you could fill the $100 envelope on your payday and save smaller amounts on non-paydays.

5 alternatives to the 100 Envelope Challenge

If following the 100 Envelope Challenge to the letter (pun intended) isn’t doable for you, you can modify the challenge to something more feasible or consider other money-saving strategies.

1. Modify the 100-day challenge. If saving something every day is too much, consider turning the 100-day challenge into a 100-week challenge. While it would take nearly two years to complete, it offers more flexibility.
2. Consider a 50-day saving challenge. Saving for 50 days straight with the same concept as the 100-day challenge can yield $1,275.
3. Opt into savings round-ups. Included with some modern accounts like any Scotiabank chequing account, the savings round-up feature automatically rounds up each debit card transaction to the nearest dollar and deposits the difference into your savings.
4. Automate your savings. If saving manually just isn’t your thing, you can automate it. This automation can include changing how your direct deposit is distributed, for example, allocating 90% of your paycheque to chequing and 10% to savings.
5. Increase your retirement contributions. Saving for retirement takes time. If your employer offers an RRSP, consider trying the 1% retirement challenge. This challenge involves increasing your retirement contributions by one percent each year until you reach the limit.

Bottom line

The 100 Envelope Challenge can be great for those looking to build discipline and savings quickly. If you struggle to save, this challenge might help you build the habit and a nice chunk of cash within a short period.

However, saving $5,050 in 100 days is a lot of money. If that’s way over budget for you, consider modifying the challenge to fit your budget better, such as stopping at day 50 or turning the daily challenge into a weekly one.

Check out our savings guides and accounts for more savings guidance and top accounts to store your funds.