1p Challenge Monzo: Automate Your Savings to Save £667

The psychological friction of saving money is often a greater barrier than the actual amount saved. Deciding to put away £50 or £100 at the end of the month requires active willpower—a resource that is notoriously finite. This is where micro-saving strategies like the 1p Savings Challenge excel. By starting with just one penny and building up incrementally, the challenge makes saving feel painless.

However, manually transferring pennies every single day is a recipe for abandonment. Very few people have the discipline to log into their banking app 365 days a year to transfer £1.42, then £1.43, and so on. Fortunately, if you are a Monzo user, you can automate this entire process. By combining Monzo’s robust digital banking platform with the automation tool IFTTT (If This Then That), you can effortlessly build a pot of £667.95 over the course of a year.

This guide will walk you through the mechanics of the 1p challenge, provide a step-by-step implementation guide for Monzo, address common cash-flow pitfalls, and explore advanced variations to accelerate your financial goals.

The Mathematics of the 1p Savings Challenge

The premise of the 1p Savings Challenge is simple: you save an amount of money corresponding to the day of the year you are on.

Day 1: Save £0.01
Day 2: Save £0.02
Day 3: Save £0.03
...
Day 100: Save £1.00
...
Day 365: Save £3.65

Mathematically, this is an arithmetic progression. The formula to calculate the sum of an arithmetic series is:

$$S = \frac{n(n + 1)}{2} \times 0.01$$

Where $n$ is the number of days. For a standard 365-day year, this yields:

$$S = \frac{365 \times 366}{2} \times 0.01 = 66,795 \text{ pence} = £667.95$$

In a leap year of 366 days, the final day's deposit is £3.66, boosting your total annual savings to £671.61.

The Monthly Breakdown

While the daily transfers are small, they accumulate non-linearly. It is vital to understand how the monthly savings requirements scale over the course of the year so you can budget accordingly.

Month	Days	Daily Transfer Range	Total Saved This Month	Cumulative Total
January	31	£0.01 – £0.31	£4.96	£4.96
February	28	£0.32 – £0.59	£12.74	£17.70
March	31	£0.60 – £0.90	£23.25	£40.95
April	30	£0.91 – £1.20	£31.65	£72.60
May	31	£1.21 – £1.51	£42.16	£114.76
June	30	£1.52 – £1.81	£49.95	£164.71
July	31	£1.82 – £2.12	£61.07	£225.78
August	31	£2.13 – £2.43	£70.68	£296.46
September	30	£2.44 – £2.73	£77.55	£374.01
October	31	£2.74 – £3.04	£89.59	£463.60
November	30	£3.05 – £3.34	£95.85	£559.45
December	31	£3.35 – £3.65	£108.50	£667.95

As the table demonstrates, the challenge is highly back-loaded. Over 30% of your total savings are accumulated in the final two months of the year. This is a crucial detail to keep in mind when managing your current account balance.

Why Monzo is the Perfect Platform for the Challenge

Historically, completing this challenge required a physical jar and physical coins—an outdated approach in our increasingly cashless society. Traditional high-street banks make automating this challenge difficult because their standing orders and scheduled transfers typically require fixed amounts (e.g., £10 every week) rather than dynamic daily adjustments.

Monzo overcomes this limitation through its open API and deep integration with IFTTT (If This Then That), a free automation service. By linking your Monzo account to IFTTT, you can authorize a pre-built applet to calculate the correct daily amount and move it automatically from your main balance into a dedicated "Pot." This keeps your savings segregated from your daily spending cash, reducing the temptation to spend it.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Automate the 1p Challenge on Monzo

Setting up the automated 1p challenge is straightforward and takes less than five minutes. Follow these step-by-step instructions:

Step 1: Create a Dedicated Savings Pot

First, you need to create a specific place for your 1p challenge funds to live.

Open your Monzo app.
Scroll to the bottom of your home feed and tap Create Pot.
Choose Regular Pot (do not choose a Savings Pot with a partner provider, as IFTTT cannot write to external partner pots in real-time).
Name the Pot something clear, such as "1p Savings Challenge" or "Year of Pennies".
Choose an icon or upload a custom image (like a piggy bank) to keep yourself motivated.

Step 2: Download and Sign Up for IFTTT

IFTTT is the bridge that connects the calendar to your Monzo account.

Download the IFTTT app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store (you can also do this on a desktop browser at ifttt.com).
Create a free account. You do not need a paid IFTTT subscription to run this single applet.

Step 3: Connect Monzo to IFTTT

In the IFTTT app, use the search bar to search for "Monzo".
Tap on the Monzo service and select Connect.
You will be redirected to a Monzo authorization page. Log in with your Monzo credentials and authorize IFTTT to access your account. This secure integration uses OAuth, meaning IFTTT never sees your login password or PIN; it only receives a secure token allowing it to move money between your own account balances.

Step 4: Activate the 1p Savings Challenge Applet

Search IFTTT for "1p Savings Challenge".
Look for the official applet created by Monzo (it will have the official Monzo logo and branding).
Turn on the applet by tapping Connect or Slide to Turn On.
You will be prompted to configure the applet options. Select the specific Monzo Pot you created in Step 1 from the dropdown list.
Save the configuration.

Once activated, IFTTT will automatically trigger a transfer from your main Monzo balance to your designated Pot every single day at approximately 6:00 AM.

Navigating the "December Crunch" and Alternative Approaches

While the automated 1p challenge is incredibly satisfying, it has one major structural flaw: the December Crunch.

Because the daily saving amounts increase throughout the year, you will save £95.85 in November and £108.50 in December. For many households, December is already the most expensive month of the year due to holiday shopping, travel, and festive social calendars. Adding an extra £100+ savings burden during this time can lead to overdraft fees or cause the automated transfers to fail due to insufficient funds.

Fortunately, there are alternative ways to run this challenge on Monzo to mitigate this issue.

1. The Reverse 1p Savings Challenge

If you want to get the heaviest savings out of the way early, you can run the challenge in reverse.

Day 1 (January 1st): Save £3.65
Day 2: Save £3.64
...
Day 365 (December 31st): Save £0.01

This approach aligns perfectly with New Year motivation when your enthusiasm is highest. By the time December rolls around, you are saving less than £5 over the entire month, leaving your cash flow free for holiday expenses.

How to set it up: IFTTT features an official "Reverse 1p Savings Challenge" applet. Simply search for "Reverse 1p" in IFTTT, connect it to your designated Monzo Pot, and disable the standard 1p applet.

2. The Fixed Weekly Average Method

If you prefer predictability over daily incremental adjustments, you can bypass IFTTT entirely and set up a standard recurring scheduled transfer in Monzo.

To save the equivalent of the 1p challenge (£667.95) over 52 weeks, you need to save an average of £12.85 per week (or £55.66 per month).

How to set it up:

Open your Monzo Pot.
Tap Add Money and select Set up scheduled payment.
Set the frequency to Weekly and the amount to £12.85.

This method lacks the gamified element of the daily 1p challenge but provides ultimate cash flow predictability.

Troubleshooting and Managing Your Monzo Automation

To ensure your automated savings challenge runs smoothly without causing administrative headaches, keep these operational tips in mind.

What happens if I have insufficient funds?

If your main Monzo account balance is lower than the required daily transfer amount, the IFTTT applet will attempt to run but will ultimately fail. Monzo will not force your account into an unarranged overdraft to complete an IFTTT transfer.

You will receive a push notification from both IFTTT and Monzo notifying you that the transfer failed. Once you deposit funds into your main account, you can manually transfer the missed amount into your Pot to keep your challenge on track.

Can I start the challenge mid-year?

Yes. While most people start on January 1st, you can start at any point. However, if you activate the standard IFTTT applet mid-year, it will calculate the transfer based on the calendar day of the year. For example, if you start on day 180 (late June), your first transfer will be £1.80. If you prefer to start at £0.01 on your personal "Day 1" mid-year, you may need to use a custom Google Sheets integration with IFTTT to track your unique timeline.

Is IFTTT secure to use with my bank?

Yes. Monzo’s integration with IFTTT utilizes highly secure API protocols. IFTTT is granted limited access permissions, allowing it to move money only between your own Pots and main balance. It cannot transfer money to external third-party bank accounts, ensuring your funds remain safe within the Monzo ecosystem.

Taking It Further: Advanced Monzo Savings Strategies

If you find the 1p challenge too easy or want to accelerate your savings rate, you can leverage Monzo’s features to build even bigger financial cushions.

The Double 1p Challenge

If you have a higher disposable income, you can double the daily amounts. On Day 1 you save £0.02, on Day 2 you save £0.04, up to £7.30 on Day 365. This simple tweak results in a total annual savings pot of £1,335.90.

Combine with Coin Round-ups

Monzo features an integrated "Round Up" tool. When enabled, every transaction you make is rounded up to the nearest pound, and the spare change is automatically funneled into a Pot of your choice.

If you buy a coffee for £2.60, Monzo rounds it up to £3.00 and puts £0.40 into your savings. Combining daily round-ups with the automated 1p challenge is an incredibly powerful way to save £1,000+ a year without ever feeling a significant dent in your monthly income.

Custom IFTTT Triggers

The Monzo-IFTTT ecosystem is incredibly vast. You can set up custom triggers based on your lifestyle:

The Rainy Day Challenge: Save £1 every time it rains in your local area (using the Weather Underground service on IFTTT).
The Fitness Challenge: Save £2 every time you log a workout on Strava or hit your step goal on Fitbit.
The Bad Habit Tax: Save £5 into a locked Pot every time you buy fast food or purchase from a restricted merchant.