diff --git a/templates/zshrc.zsh-template b/templates/zshrc.zsh-template
index e52553241..758fc26b8 100644
--- a/templates/zshrc.zsh-template
+++ b/templates/zshrc.zsh-template
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ ZSH_THEME="robbyrussell"
 # Comment this out to disable weekly auto-update checks
 # DISABLE_AUTO_UPDATE="true"
 
+# Change this value to set how frequently ZSH updates¬
+export UPDATE_ZSH_DAYS=13
+
 # Uncomment following line if you want to disable colors in ls
 # DISABLE_LS_COLORS="true"
 
diff --git a/tools/check_for_upgrade.sh b/tools/check_for_upgrade.sh
index 612901cbe..581f03a07 100644
--- a/tools/check_for_upgrade.sh
+++ b/tools/check_for_upgrade.sh
@@ -14,6 +14,12 @@ function _upgrade_zsh() {
   _update_zsh_update
 }
 
+epoch_target=$UPDATE_ZSH_DAYS
+if [[ -z "$epoch_target" ]]; then
+  # Default to old behavior
+  epoch_target=13
+fi
+
 if [ -f ~/.zsh-update ]
 then
   . ~/.zsh-update
@@ -23,7 +29,7 @@ then
   fi
 
   epoch_diff=$(($(_current_epoch) - $LAST_EPOCH))
-  if [ $epoch_diff -gt 13 ]
+  if [ $epoch_diff -gt $epoch_target ]
   then
     if [ "$DISABLE_UPDATE_PROMPT" = "true" ]
     then