A savings challenge beginning on October 1 could give households a novel way to build money for the festive period. The idea involves checking the day's highest temperature and putting the same amount in pounds into a savings pot, so a 12C maximum would mean saving £12 that day.
How the challenge works
Pawel Kruszynski, trend expert at Promizi, explained: "It might sound bizarre, but the weather could decide how much you save each day. This challenge involves checking the day's highest temperature and putting the same figure in pounds into your savings."
"Warmer days cost you more, while falling temperatures towards Christmas should make the challenge gradually cheaper. The unpredictability is what makes it fun. You won't know exactly how much you're putting away until you check the forecast," he added.
Potential savings of £863
The potential £863 figure comes from applying the Met Office's UK 1991-2020 average maximum temperatures for October, November and December to the number of days in the challenge. The Met Office gives average maximum temperatures of 13.08C for October, 9.41C for November and 7.02C for December.
Using those figures, saving the equivalent temperature each day from October 1 to December 25 would produce a theoretical total of £863.28, made up of £405.48 in October, £282.30 in November and £175.50 for December 1-25. Promizi stresses that this is only an illustration, as the actual amount saved would depend on the weather experienced during the challenge and where the saver lives.
Advice for savers
MoneyHelper recommends setting a realistic savings target and says people who are new to saving should consider starting with a smaller goal that they can afford to maintain. It also says regular saving can help people build an emergency fund, while its savings calculator can be used to work out how much needs to be put aside to reach a particular target.
Anyone trying the weather challenge should therefore make sure the daily amount is affordable rather than treating the £863 figure as a target they must reach. MoneyHelper says the amount someone saves depends on their goal, how much spare cash they have and how quickly they want to reach it, and recommends saving what is affordable rather than overcommitting.
