The 12 month budgeting challenge that could save you thousands

Budgeting challenges may be something you set for yourself at the start of each year.

Whether they're successful (or not), saving money has become one of the staple resolutions we tend to add to our New Year's lists.

But one clever challenge is helping hundreds of Aussies save thousands of dollars as the calendar flips over - and it's as simple as sparing a coin.

READ MORE: Mum who saved nearly $45K in a year shows how you can too

In the Facebook group Budgeting, Food, Savings Ideas, one user questioned whether people had participated in the "12 Month Challenge" with "gold coins and $5 notes."

The challenge involves putting away each gold coin and $5 note that comes your way, as a simple way to save spare cash lying around.

The woman, who posted the question wrote in her post: "what I saved doesn't seem like a lot, but it's what I could put away."

READ MORE: 'The "holiday" that saved our mortgage during the height of COVID-19'

In her post, she shared two images of the money she'd saved - totaling $250 in $5 bills and $383 in gold coins.

The Facebook user notes she saved $633 dollars that year by following the hot tip.

Other social media users quickly hopped on the trend, revealing they had saved hundreds - and almost thousands - of dollars by stashing away their loose change.

One man said he had saved $725 through the challenge which was "not bad for a COVID year and tap and go."

"We saved 1k in gold coins this year! And $800 in cash," revealed another.

While a third revealed: "My husband filled a 2L juice bottle with $2 coins. It took longer than 12 months and even the girls would collect their $2 to swap out for notes. In the end it was over $3000 crammed in the bottle!!!"

Another person said while they don't carry cash, they did put "all the coins and notes" they received in a budget box, saving $800 by the end of the year.

"I cracked into it to treat myself for Christmas," they admitted.

"My mother puts all her $2 coins into a coke bottle all year and ended up with about $600," said another person.

While one person's savings method was interrupted by coronavirus.

"Last year I had $1600 in $5 notes but this year because of covid, no one was accepting cash for a while."

They still managed to save $1200 during the pandemic year.