5 Challenges I'm Starting in 2026: Using Side Income for Savings


Welcome back friends!

It's been COLD this past month. The weather has kept Will and I inside planning our big summer projects. Come spring we won't have so many opportunities to relax, so we've been really enjoying the downtime.

Reaching Goals with Online Surveys

I broke a personal record and made over $50 this month taking online surveys. That is crazy for me! If I keep this up, I will definitely reach my $400 goal. 

If you do online surveys, check out my FREE 30 Deposits Survey App Challenge. This tracker has been a game changer for me!

Introducing The Challenges: 100% Digital

I'm starting with my Squirrel Away Savings challenge I've designated as a catch-all saver.


I don't have dice at home, so I use this free dice simulator: https://www.calculator.net/dice-roller.html 

Rolling a D8. Roll 1: $1

Dang that's low! I'll roll again. Roll 2: $8

Haha!! Of course I get an 8. Total going into Squirrel Away Savings is $9

I save my challenges as JPEGs and use Paint on my laptop to update the files. I then "Save As" in a separate folder with the name of the month I contributed. For example, "Jan - Squirrel Away Savings - Catch-all" is the file name.

For the remaining 4 challenges, I'll be allocating $46. I'll be rolling a D6 dice for each challenge: even gets $2, odd gets $3. 

Savings Challenge #1



First savings challenge comes from Anh @CraftandBudgetwithAnh. She has some fun, adorable free digital downloads on her ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/craftandbudgetwithanh 

I'm using one of her March Madness 2026 challenges to save $84 (42 dots x $2). The money saved is earmarked to special order dry organic beans from a local farm. The company offers free shipping on orders over $50, so I'm planning to use $51 from the $84, and the remainder will be rolled into my Squirrel Away Savings.

Savings Challenge #2


Second challenge is one of my own featured this last Freebie Friday. It's a $20 mini challenge and my savings are earmarked for treats to feed our native bird population. 

I absolutely adore the chickadees, quail and woodpeckers we have on the homestead. I recently unpacked my bird feeder and the birds are loving the suet and birdseed bells. I'll need to purchase more treats soon and this challenge will help me save a few dollars to buy more.

Savings Challenge #3


Third challenge is one of my own as well, and will be featured in the next Freebie Friday! Once completed, this challenge will save me $65 to cover our bulk store membership fee due at the end of the year. Plenty of time to meet this goal! 

Savings Challenge #4


Final challenge comes from Anh @CraftandBudgetwithAnh at https://ko-fi.com/craftandbudgetwithanh

I'm using one of her March Madness 2026 challenges to save $42 (42 dots x $1). The money saved is earmarked for general garden, so maybe some starters. 

I had great luck last year purchasing plants on clearance and nursing them back to health. I started a little rock garden on the side of our driveway and several of the plants I saved from the local garden center are flourishing there. I'm hoping to add more rosemary and lavender this spring, and maybe some more raspberries for the animals.

Let's Roll

I started with the remaining $46 dollars. Here is my tally for the games:

#1: 5 ($3), 2 ($2), 3 ($3), 4 ($2), 1 ($3) = $13
#2: 2 ($2), 1 ($3), 3 ($3), 3 ($3), 5 ($3) = $14
#3: 4 ($2), 1 ($3), 4 ($2), 1 ($3) = $10 *Start here next month
#4: 6 ($2), 4 ($2), 1 ($3), 6 ($2) = $9

Challenge 1 get $13 dollars, so I'll color in 6.5 dots.
Challenge 2 gets $14 dollars, so I'll start with the highest numbers and climb down the hill.
Challenge 3 gets $10 dollars, so I'll cross off 2 of the 3 big $5 raindrops.
Challenge 4 gets $9 dollars, so I'll color in 9 dots.

Alright friends! I have disbursed my $55 earnings across the 5 different challenges. The #2 mini challenge should be done soon, and then I'm shopping for birdie treats! 

See you in a couple weeks for another round of saving challenges!! 

This blog is for entertainment and educational purposes only. I am not a finance professional, and this is not financial or legal advice. Links are not affiliate links and I do not receive any compensation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Planning for January 2026: Zero-Based Budget as a First-Time Homesteader

Image
Well friends, I finally sat down and got my planning budget done!  I decided to go with a zero-based budget format because I liked the idea of putting each dollar to work. Two Expense Categories Living off-grid means different types of expenses. I split my budget plan into two categories: Fixed expenses and Variable expenses. My fixed expenses are costs that stay the same, no matter the weather or usage. This includes things like car payments and utilities. Following is my list of fixed expenses: Cell Phone: $130 Car Payments: $1140 Trailer: $1000 Insurance: $285 Medical: $65 Waste Management: $47 Internet: $120 Subscriptions (i.e., streaming services, etc.): $58 Total: $2845 My variable expenses include the expenses that do change based on weather and use. Following is my list of variable expenses: Fuel (gasoline, kerosene, diesel): $490 Laundry: $120 Groceries: $800 Home Improvements: $2000 Propane: $100 Dining out/entertainment: $345 Total: $3855 Whoa. Those variable expenses ...
Read more

3 Free Websites For Creative Money Saving Coloring Pages

Image
Have you ever considered coloring as a budgeting tool? Imagine creating beautiful works of art while building your emergency fund.  But coloring books can be expensive. So I went to the internet to find some free sites that offer coloring pages at no cost.  In my research, I found three free websites with downloadable coloring pages. With a little ingenuity, any of these can become your next savings challenge. (I am not an affiliate for any of these websites and will not receive any compensation.) 1. Color by Number: Crayola.com Crayola.com has free Color by Number pintables. Use each color number as the dollar amount and watch your savings grow as the picture comes to life. Crayola's site has about 16 Color by Number pages available, and new ones are posted all the time. Some are very simple, others are extremely intricate.  Don't see any images you like? You can create your own Color by Number by adding your own numbers to the over 1,000 coloring sheets Crayola offers ...
Read more

Freebie Friday the 13th: It's Raining Savings!

Image
  Alright friends!  I am so excited to post my FREEBIE FRIDAY the 13th savings challenge available at my Ko-fi shop:  @offgridbudgetwithkay ! This was one of the first challenges I made using my photography. It was taken during a pause in a rainstorm we were having on our property, hence the raindrops with dollar amounts. It was a fun project to remember our first winter rainstorm on the homestead. What did one raindrop say to the other? Two's company, three's a cloud! Catch those raindrops and save $65 with this mini savings challenge, available as a FREE PDF DOWNLOAD at my Ko-fi shop:  https://ko-fi.com/offgridbudgetwithkay I recently started a handful of saving challenges this month with money earned from completing online surveys. This specific challenge is for our bulk store membership renewal, which is due at the end of the year (plenty of time to complete!).  Hope you enjoy this Freebie Friday savings challenge! This post and savings challenge are for en...
Read more