It was 13 January 2025 when I first discovered Monzo's ‘1p challenge’ – an automated in-app savings plan that promises to save you £667.95 over 365 days.
“I could save nearly 700 quid, just by putting aside a penny a day for a year?!” I thought, before the remnants of my GCSE maths kicked in. I'm no accountant, but something wasn't adding up.
The truth is, the 1p challenge does sound a little easier than it actually is, but it's definitely doable if you're serious about saving. And while the Monzo banking app is perhaps the easiest way to get involved, anybody can do it by simply transferring and saving each day – though admittedly that takes a little more admin.
Spoiler alert: so far (at the time of writing), I've saved £526.50 by doing the 1p challenge – I'm on day 324, FYI. So if you're thinking about trying it in 2026, here's everything you need to know.
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What is the 1p challenge?
The 1p saving challenge is a 365-day plan that allows you to save up to £667.95 by transferring money in 1p increments each day. You start on a penny, then the next day you save two pence, then three pence and so on. By day 365, you'll transfer – you guessed it – £3.65 to your savings account, meaning that's the biggest daily sum you'll have to part with.
If you bank with Monzo, you can opt in to the challenge on the app, and it will do it automatically for you each day. Alternatively, you can set up the payments yourself, or literally put aside the physical money.
Many find that the 1p challenge is a fairly accessible way to save a decent chunk of cash, particularly with the ease of Monzo doing it every day for you. As someone who was getting a little anxious about her lack of savings at the beginning of the year, it certainly seemed like a simple way for me to start putting some money aside without too much hassle (read: zero hassle).
What's the catch?
There's no catch, though saving increments of 1 penny a day sounds like nothing, it really does add up. By December, you'll need to find over £100 over the course of the month – but because it's small payments each day, it can sneak up on you.
Me four months ago:
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Can I do the 1p challenge without the Monzo app?
If you don't have a Monzo account, there's nothing stopping you from doing the 1p challenge on your own time – you'll just need some form of chart to track your progress and keep on top of the amounts each day. Another option is to make bulk payments each month, of course – or set them all up at the beginning of the year. Here's what you do:
It'll take a little organising, but you may be able to make a daily payment into your savings account, depending on your bank. If one-penny increments aren't allowed, it's probably best to transfer a bulk monthly payment, which I've outlined below. (Of course, it sort of defeats the point of the ‘daily’ challenge – but it saves a lot of time.) Sadly, Monzo is the only bank that offers a fully automated service.
There's nothing wrong with keeping it old school - if you have the coin. Put each amount aside each day and watch your money grow.
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1p challenge daily payments
Monzo offers a handy print-out chart here – it details every payment for the 365 days, should you want a physical piece of paper to tick each one off with when you're transferring manually.
1p challenge monthly payments
If you're doing the 1p challenge without the help of an automated app, it might be best to simply transfer the amounts monthly (as above). Here's what you'll need to save:
January: £4.96
February: £12.74
March: £23.25
April: £31.65
May: £42.16
June: £49.95
July: £61.07
August: £70.68
September: £77.55
October: £89.59
November: £95.85
December: £108.50
When you look at the challenge this way, you can see how the amounts do really add up - though another option is to split the total amount equally over the 12 months, which means you'll need to transfer £55.67 a month instead. (This will actually give you a total of £668.04 after the 365 days, so a teeny extra saving.)
What if I miss a payment?
Full disclosure: there have been occasions when I've missed a daily payment (or four). If you're doing the challenge via Monzo, you'll get a notification from the app to say that you don't have enough funds to transfer that day. That doesn't mean you'll be chucked out of the challenge completely, but you won't save the full amount by the end of the year. There is the option to go back and make up any payments you've missed when you're able, however.
If you're doing the 1p challenge manually, you can obviously make it as flexible as you like – making up any payments when you can.
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How to adapt the 1p challenge to your own finances
There are a few different ways of doing the challenge – some people like to go from top to bottom, starting with £3.65 in January and making their way to a penny on 31 December. And if you feel like December and January are some of your tougher months (who doesn't?), you could shuffle things around even more – though again, that takes a lot more admin.
To make the challenge fully flexible, you could use the daily payments print-out (above) and pick and choose any amount to transfer each day – ticking them off as you go.
Does the 1p challenge work? My verdict
All things considered, I'm a convert. Admittedly, having the Monzo app has made the whole thing very easy – all I had to do was opt in. Of course, the daily payments do start to really add up, and there was a period of time when I missed plenty because I couldn't afford it. But the app allows you to go back and make up the payments with one click (when you're able to), so I've managed to catch up. You can also pause it if you like, and start again when you can. Obviously, it all totally depends on your income and what you're able to save each month.
Outside of Monzo, I do think I'd struggle to keep up with the challenge manually (self-confessed habit-breaker here), but it is possible if you're consistent.
There's a pretty good reason for the sudden surge, apparently.
