52-Week Money Challenge 2027: Free Printable, $1,378 by Dec. 27

The 52-week money challenge saves $1 in week 1, $2 in week 2 and $52 in week 52, which totals $1,378; in 2027 week 1 is the week of Monday, Jan. 4 and week 52 is the week of Monday, Dec. 27. Fresh Calendars computed the dates from the 2027 calendar and the total as the sum of 1 to 52. The free printable tracker lists every date, and the reverse and half versions are below.

2027 starts on a Friday, so a Monday start puts week 1 on Jan. 4, and 2027 has 52 Mondays. Pair the tracker with our 2027 printable yearly calendar or the printable weekly calendar.

52 week challenge chart 2027 with dates

Each row is one week, named by its Monday. The classic columns save $1 more each week. The reverse columns start at $52 and save $1 less each week. Both reach $1,378 on Dec. 27.

Week	Week of (Monday)	Classic deposit	Classic total	Reverse deposit	Reverse total
1	Jan. 4	$1	$1	$52	$52
2	Jan. 11	$2	$3	$51	$103
3	Jan. 18	$3	$6	$50	$153
4	Jan. 25	$4	$10	$49	$202
5	Feb. 1	$5	$15	$48	$250
6	Feb. 8	$6	$21	$47	$297
7	Feb. 15	$7	$28	$46	$343
8	Feb. 22	$8	$36	$45	$388
9	March 1	$9	$45	$44	$432
10	March 8	$10	$55	$43	$475
11	March 15	$11	$66	$42	$517
12	March 22	$12	$78	$41	$558
13	March 29	$13	$91	$40	$598
14	April 5	$14	$105	$39	$637
15	April 12	$15	$120	$38	$675
16	April 19	$16	$136	$37	$712
17	April 26	$17	$153	$36	$748
18	May 3	$18	$171	$35	$783
19	May 10	$19	$190	$34	$817
20	May 17	$20	$210	$33	$850
21	May 24	$21	$231	$32	$882
22	May 31	$22	$253	$31	$913
23	June 7	$23	$276	$30	$943
24	June 14	$24	$300	$29	$972
25	June 21	$25	$325	$28	$1,000
26	June 28	$26	$351	$27	$1,027
27	July 5	$27	$378	$26	$1,053
28	July 12	$28	$406	$25	$1,078
29	July 19	$29	$435	$24	$1,102
30	July 26	$30	$465	$23	$1,125
31	Aug. 2	$31	$496	$22	$1,147
32	Aug. 9	$32	$528	$21	$1,168
33	Aug. 16	$33	$561	$20	$1,188
34	Aug. 23	$34	$595	$19	$1,207
35	Aug. 30	$35	$630	$18	$1,225
36	Sept. 6	$36	$666	$17	$1,242
37	Sept. 13	$37	$703	$16	$1,258
38	Sept. 20	$38	$741	$15	$1,273
39	Sept. 27	$39	$780	$14	$1,287
40	Oct. 4	$40	$820	$13	$1,300
41	Oct. 11	$41	$861	$12	$1,312
42	Oct. 18	$42	$903	$11	$1,323
43	Oct. 25	$43	$946	$10	$1,333
44	Nov. 1	$44	$990	$9	$1,342
45	Nov. 8	$45	$1,035	$8	$1,350
46	Nov. 15	$46	$1,081	$7	$1,357
47	Nov. 22	$47	$1,128	$6	$1,363
48	Nov. 29	$48	$1,176	$5	$1,368
49	Dec. 6	$49	$1,225	$4	$1,372
50	Dec. 13	$50	$1,275	$3	$1,375
51	Dec. 20	$51	$1,326	$2	$1,377
52	Dec. 27	$52	$1,378	$1	$1,378

The printable tracker holds the classic column: 52 dated rows, each with the deposit, the running total and a tick box. The January printable calendars show where Jan. 4 falls.

How much do you save each quarter?

The classic order saves the most in the last 13 weeks. The reverse order saves the most in the first 13. The half version saves half of each classic amount, from $0.50 in week 1 to $26 in week 52, for $689 in all.

Weeks	Dates	Classic	Reverse	Half
1-13	Jan. 4 to March 29	$91	$598	$45.50
14-26	April 5 to June 28	$260	$429	$130
27-39	July 5 to Sept. 27	$429	$260	$214.50
40-52	Oct. 4 to Dec. 27	$598	$91	$299
Year	Jan. 4 to Dec. 27	$1,378	$1,378	$689

By the week of June 28 (week 26), the classic order has saved $351 and the reverse order $1,027.

How does the reverse 52-week challenge work?

The reverse challenge puts $52 in the week of Jan. 4, $51 in the week of Jan. 11 and ends with $1 in the week of Dec. 27. In January alone, weeks 1 to 4 add up to $202, against $10 for the classic order. If you expect December to cost more than January, the reverse order saves the large amounts first. The classic order suits a smaller start.

How much interest would the money earn?

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) publishes national average deposit rates. Its October 2026 table, last updated Oct. 19, 2026, lists these:

Account type	National rate, October 2026
Savings	0.38%
Interest checking	0.07%
Money market	0.63%
12-month certificate of deposit (CD)	1.76%

The FDIC says the money market rate represents an average of the $10,000 and $100,000 product tiers. These are national averages, and no bank is shown to pay them.

As a simple-interest illustration at 0.38%, with each deposit made on its Monday and held to Dec. 31, 2027, the classic order earns about $1.78 and the reverse order about $3.49. The reverse order earns more because its large deposits are held longer. Real accounts differ in rate, compounding and fees, so treat these as estimates.

Is the money insured?

The FDIC says deposit insurance “covers $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, for each account ownership category.” The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) says “the $250,000 in coverage applies to each share owner, per insured credit union, for each account ownership category.” A challenge total of $1,378 sits well inside both limits.

TreasuryDirect lists a composite rate of 5.51% and a fixed rate of 1.40% for I bonds issued Nov. 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027. We left out the rules for holding I bonds; read them on TreasuryDirect before you buy.

Where does the challenge come from?

For tax dates and paycheck months beside it, see our 2027 monthly budget planner, the 2027 tax brackets and retirement limits and the year-end money deadlines.