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"Fall Into Savings" Challenge Wraps Up

savings challenge for tara

The special 2012 "Fall Into Savings" Challenge is now history, and it indeed made some history, with a record number of more than 5,600 individuals now registered in the Savings Challenge group. Who knew there were so many cheapskates out there? This month-long Challenge, which ended on Oct. 28, was all about finding simple, creative ways to save money. So simple, in fact, you might say you just "fall into" these money-saving methods (get it?).

Yep, group members really got their cheap on during this Savings Challenge, sharing tips and tricks for saving cash on everything from car repairs to home heating costs, groceries to the cost of dining out, and lawn care to health care to pet care.

See also: Talk savings all year round.

The four weekly challenges during the month were not only highly informative, but a heck of a lot of fun. The first week we challenged members to carefully check their monthly bills and see if they couldn't turn up some errors or other discrepancies that could be corrected and save them money. The winner of that weekly challenge once noticed a little overcharge on her electric bill, in the truly "shocking" amount of $1,700!

The second week we challenged members to "break a bad spending habit" and tell us how much they saved because of it, and in the third week we asked members to set aside their frugal pride and tell us about their " cheap regrets." And in the final weekly challenge that just ended, members told us about the " cheapest person they know"... even if it's them. You have to check out those stories!

Now that the Savings Challenge is officially over, the tough job begins: selecting the top 3 winners of the grand prizes. We're already hard at work on that difficult task, and we hope to be able to announce the overall winners in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2012 "Fall Into Savings" Challenge and made it so entertaining and informative.

Stay Cheap!

-Jeff Yeager, AARP Savings Expert

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