15 Money-Saving Strategies to Strengthen Your Finances

Most of us would do well to beef up our saving and investing for our futures. According to the 2021 Retirement Confidence Survey, only seven in 10 workers report feeling confidence that they will be able to live comfortably in retirement. Saving and investing more is easier said than done, though.

Here then are 15 ways to save more, so that you can sock away more dollars toward your future financial security.

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First, take some time to make a budget -- it can help you see exactly where your money is going. Making a good budget involves tracking all your spending over a certain period, by doing a little detective work. Your credit card statements and bank statements are good places to start. You might even carry a small notebook for a month or two, jotting down all cash payments. Once you see where your money is going, you'll likely be inspired to make a few changes. Maybe you'll vow to spend less on dining out, for example.

Reviewing your statements might help you spot some payments that you didn't even realize you were making. You might be paying for a membership to a club you're not using, for example, or for a magazine you don't read. Check out what you're spending on streaming subscriptions or memberships, too: You might have cut your cable cord because you didn't like paying, say, $150 for cable TV, but you might be paying that much or more in total for a bunch of streaming services. See if you can reduce those to just a few services that you watch the most.

For those carrying a lot of high-interest debt, such as that from credit cards, a powerful way to save a lot of money is to pay off that debt as soon as possible. If, for example, you've got $30,000 in debt on which you're being charged a (not unusual) annual interest rate of 20% or 25%, you're on the hook for $6,000 to $7,500 in interest payments each year. It's not easy to pay off a lot of debt, but it can be done.

ALSO READ: Will 2022 Be the Year You Pay Off Your Debt?

This strategy won't generate additional savings on its own, but it can make sure that you are saving: automate your savings. Many employers let you direct portions of your paycheck into various accounts, instead of just plunking it all in an account that you can spend freely from. You may even be able to direct specified sums to go to an investment account, where your brokerage automatically moves specified sums into investments, such as a good index fund.

With gas prices rather high these days, many of us are spending a lot just getting to and from work. See if you can do anything about that. Maybe you can carpool with some colleagues or friends? Perhaps you can work from home several days a week? Possibly you can bike to work or take public transit? Think about what could work for you.

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Many of us would do well to make use of health savings accounts (HSAs), as they let you spend pre-tax dollars on qualified health-related expenses. These accounts also have an added benefit: They let you accumulate money in them, invest that money, and then withdraw it in retirement. So they can serve as retirement accounts, too. Focus first on their usefulness for healthcare spending, though.

ALSO READ: What Is an HSA & How Does It Work?

Here's an old-fashioned money-saving strategy: bartering. Many of our routine household expenses can cost us a lot, but might be easily managed by a friend or relative -- especially in exchange for a service we can provide. For example: Are you good at cutting hair? You might cut a neighbor's kid's hair in exchange for a few babysitting sessions. Maybe you can change the oil in a friend's car in exchange for your friend fixing a leaky faucet.

If you're a smoker, you may be rolling your eyes at this suggestion, because you've heard it too many times before. But have you seen the math behind it? If, for example, you smoke one $8 pack of cigarettes per day, that amounts to $2,920 per year -- and $29,200 over a decade, if prices don't go up. If you smoke two packs a day, you can double this sum. If you're not a smoker, but you have some other pricey daily habit you can break, such as buying a $5 coffee on your way to work each day, when you could make it at home instead, consider reining in that spending.

Saving more money pretty much just means spending less, and one effective way to do so is to remove or reduce the temptation to spend. There are various ways to do this. For example, you might just carry less cash on you and/or leave your credit cards at home. If the idea of this makes you uncomfortable, you might keep a little cash and/or a card on you, but wrapped in a paper that says "for emergency use only."

ALSO READ: This Simple Trick Has Helped Me Save a Lot More Money

Think about some things you do frequently that are fairly costly. Examples might be golfing, skiing, traveling, or going out to fancy restaurants. These are likely activities that bring you great enjoyment, so don't cut them out entirely, but if you are spending $45 twice a week for a round of golf, that adds up to $4,680 per year. If you can golf just once a week, you might save $2,340 per year. Dining out a lot can add up, too. Three meals out per week at an average cost of $50 means you're spending $7,800 annually. Reining that in a bit can save thousands that might be deployed into retirement savings.

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This money-saving strategy won't work for everyone, but think about how many vehicles your household has, and consider whether you might be able to reduce your fleet by one. Doing so can save a lot on insurance, maintenance, and repairs -- and it might save on gas, too.

Another effective way to save money is to make a bit of a game of it. For example, see if you can go for a week without spending any money on anything that isn't mandatory (like electric bills and food). Then see if you can go a month. Before you enter the supermarket, give yourself a spending cap and aim to stick to it. Another trick is to save and put aside $1 today, and then $2 a week from today, and an additional dollar per week. At the end of a year, you'll have saved more than $1,300. Or try this one: Every time you have a $5 bill on you, save it. (Or, to be more ambitious, try this with $10 or $20 bills.)

ALSO READ: 3 Ways I Make Saving Money Fun

This money-saving strategy can net you several hundred dollars, possibly, and it will only take an hour or two. Get your car insurance policy out (and perhaps your homeowner and/or other policies, too) and call around to various insurance companies, asking what they would charge you for the same coverage. There's a good chance you'll find a better deal. Insurers each have different algorithms, and they can change over time, or your circumstances can lead to different results from different insurers. Consider doing this every year or two.

This might surprise you, but many people who call their credit card companies asking for a lower interest rate actually get one. If you're carrying a lot of debt, this can make a big difference. If you get "no" for an answer, consider moving your account to a different, better credit card.

ALSO READ: 3 Reasons to Get a New Credit Card in 2022

A final money-saving strategy to consider: Think of some things you pay others to do for you, and do them yourself, instead. Or enlist other household members to do them. For example, you might tackle mowing your yard, landscaping it, shoveling your driveway, cleaning gutters, and even cleaning your home. It's not exactly fun, but you might save $30 to $100 for each of these tasks, and those savings can add up quickly.

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Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
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These are only a few of many possible ways to save more money. A little searching online will yield many more ideas, and just sitting and brainstorming for a while can, too. If you can act on several of these ideas, you might be able to save thousands of dollars more each year, and that can make your retirement much, much more comfortable -- or it can help put your kids through college or meet any other financial goal.

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