2022 is here, and it’s arrived with about as unsettling an entrance as 2021 did. But let’s hope it will be better.
We are continuing the 21 in 2021 challenges but have slightly adjusted the goal post for a new year!
The goal is simple, but not easy: save $20,220 this year.
If saving $20,220 of your salary isn’t practical - or if you make less than, say, $80,000 - consider the alternative 22 in 2022 Challenge: Save 22% of your income in 2022 . Both get the same sticker, but the threads will have people at similar income/challenge levels.
Basic rules:
The goal is to save $20,220 in 2022. If you make $65,000 per year, that’s 31% of your overall income.
If your income is not in USD, you can choose to save 20.22K in your currency (i.e $20,220 CAD or $20,220 AUD or €20,220 ) OR save the equivalent to $20.22K USD (i.e. currently €17,783.13, $27,838.62 AUD, or $25,556.36 CAD) Just state the path and exchange rate you’re choosing (feel free to choose based on what makes sense for you.)
You can combine any type of savings: emergency fund, 401K, Super, IRA, taxable investments, buffer, house down payment fund, student loan payments - to reach your goal.
You can choose household or individual savings, whichever you prefer.
What Counts
Debt repayment counts towards your savings total!
Mortgage principal (but not interest or escrow) counts.
Only savings that occurs between 1/1/2022 and 12/31/2022 count
If you are already retired, you can count savings that you made after distributions (like pulling from a pension, etc).
You can use tax refund or any other windfall money towards your total savings.
What do you get:
Support on this thread as you go along - post monthly or quarterly check-ins as appropriate
A forum badge when you complete your $20,220
A sticker mailed to you for completing your $20,220 goal for the year
A shoutout on the livestream or podcast reaching your goal!
Here’s 2021 and 2022’s slightly unhinged stickers:
I’ll be trying to save $20,220 in the house down payment fund from my earned income. I’m also trying to max my retirement funds while fixing my employment situation to be less annoying - we’ll see if I can do it all
In for this one, but I may want to shift over to the 22% challenge if we pave our driveway/road into the property this year.*
So, assuming we can, we count money into retirement funds as “saved.” Cash savings at our house either go into IRAs at tax time (and then we count it toward saving) or, perhaps, fund some environmentally infuriating but much needed pavement.
*We’re now talking seriously about it after seeing the difficulties his dad is having as he ages - right now, an ambulance couldn’t get to our house. Previous estimates for paving have ranged from $20K to $50K.
I’m going to try! If we stick to our budget we will have direct savings of $17k. Adding in mortgage principle and TSP contributions I think we can make it!
I am in again. Being a dual income family the goal is 20,220 for each adult.
Contributions will include kids RESPs (kid1 has a $4900 limit this year then his lifetime contribution that’s eligible for grant money is complete, kid2 has a $2500 limit this year) kid RDSP (Kid1, a $1000 limit this year I believe, will update if I’m wrong when the government paperwork arrives), TFSA for adults (aiming for $6000 each for husband and myself) and mortgage principal.
I’m in! We’re single income, but make fire hoses of money now anyway ($135k/year), so I’m going to try for $20,220 per person- Aka $40,440, which is pretty much spot on how much we saved in 2021. And Husbands big raise was in July, so here’s to hoping we just smooth sailing in.
Potential challenges though:
-our bathrooms need help. Like, we keep repatching our shower pan so we don’t fall through and the drain of my sink is rusting out. It’s teetering on the line of cosmetic and use problems versus like, a legit functional problem. TBD if we have to address this this year.
-we might put Latte in some form of care, both for me having some non-mom time existence and for her being able to see other children. This could easily add $600-1000/month
-were trying to add another human to the clan, and given that I am A Certified Infertile, it’s quite expensive and time consuming to do this. Hoping we get away with “just” a few grand for this project, but then that leads into normal pregnancy and birth expenses.
I am tentatively signing up for this, as I achieved the $21,000 goal for 2021. With the caveats of:
we are moving out of state and do not know what our rent payment or other expenses will be. What utilities, if any, are covered in rent seems to also vary WIDELY from rental to rental there, where here in Chicago it’s pretty consistent, like as a renter here you almost never pay water or trash.
we do not yet know whether Boyfriend’s remote job can move with him (mine can and I outearn him by $20k-ish so I am not terribly concerned about this, also he has more than a year’s gross salary in liquid savings)
we need to buy a car, which we have saved for and will pay cash for, but we haven’t owned a car since something like 2006 and thus are completely out of touch with what repairs and maintenance costs now.
I’m in! I made 2021 quite restrictive and then failed so this year I’m counting all the saved monies, aiming for $20,220, stretch goal of $40,440. Renovations may happen this year, TBD, but that will be the pot of money already saved + additional mortgage.
I want all the aussies to know that at some point @PDM called AUD “dollarydoos” and now that is all I can think of when I do conversions. I hope the Australian love of abbreviations and nicknames excuses this mental correction.
Definitely a Simpsons reference. From the episode Bart makes a reverse charge call to Australia to confirm coriolis effect and ask which way their toilet flushes. Then is forced to visit to apologise.
Great episode.
Considering some sort of “deposit day” each month to reach the goal. Otherwise I think I am playing on easy mode by waiting for my winter bonus. It’s supposed to be a challenge, Noodle…
ETA: set up an alert for the third Friday of each month called Deposit Day. I will deposit whatever money is left in my checking account that I don’t include in my spend projections into savings. Let’s go!!
I’m down! So glad this is 20,220 instead of 22,000. I think I can do the first one!
I’ve currently got my savings divided up into a bunch of categories including employer retirement, Roth IRA, Deferred Comp, and then personal savings (which is divided down even further) and the projected savings add up so $800 shy of this goal. I think I can make up the difference though with the two months where I’ll get 3 paychecks instead of 2!
If saving $20,220 of your salary isn’t practical - or if you make less than, say, $80,000 - consider the alternative 22 in 2022 Challenge: Save 22% of your income in 2022 . Both get the same sticker, but the threads will have people at similar income/challenge levels.
