1p Challenge 2027: day-by-day amounts, monthly totals and the £667.95 finish

Day 1 is Friday 1 January 2027 and day 365 is Friday 31 December. The amount for any day is its day number in pence, so the day of the year tells you what to save. 1 April is day 91 (91p) and Christmas Day is day 359 (£3.59).

Each figure is the sum of every day in that month. These are worked out from the real 2027 calendar, so February has 28 days.

January costs less than a fiver in total. December costs £108.50 and lands in the same month as Christmas, which is the main reason people stop near the end. Plan for it now: either set some money aside for December as you go, or use the reverse version.

Run the days backwards. Save £3.65 on 1 January, £3.64 on 2 January and so on down to 1p on 31 December. You still save £667.95, but the big amounts come while your new-year motivation is high and December asks for just £4.96.

The catch is January: £108.50 straight after Christmas. If that is too much, start the reverse version in February instead and run it to the end of January 2028. You can also mix the two: count up from January to June, then save the remaining days' amounts in whatever order suits you, ticking each one off as you go.

Moving a few pence every day is fiddly, and some banks will not let you move less than £1. Most people batch it. Pick the version that matches how you are paid.

Missing days happens. Because the amounts are tiny, catching up is easy for most of the year: if you missed 10 to 12 March, add 69p + 70p + 71p (£2.10) to your next save. Later in the year, when a missed week is worth £20 or more, spread the catch-up over a few days.

The idea that you should never miss two days running is a good rule. One missed day is a blip; two in a row is how habits end. SYM, our app, shows the amount for today, sends a reminder at a time you choose and keeps a streak so a missed day is obvious the next morning.

Three quarters of the money is saved between July and December, and that is where most people stop. A few small changes in the first half make the end of the year much lighter.

The 1p challenge is small enough to run next to something bigger. With the 52-week challenge for 2027 you would save £1,378 + £667.95 = £2,045.95 over the year. Pair it with the reverse 52-week version and your heaviest weeks land in different halves of the year.

If you want more variety, our penny challenge variations include 2p and weekly versions. Our 1p challenge calculator works out totals for any start date, including the 366 days of 2028, when the full challenge comes to £671.61.

An easy access savings account in your own name is the obvious home: you can pay in as often as you like and the money is there if you need it. Our guide to high-interest savings accounts explains what to compare. Keep the challenge pot separate from your current account, so the total is easy to see and harder to spend.