This article has been re-posted from its original source in the Financial Post which can be found here. 

It’s getting harder and harder to retire comfortably nowadays. Between higher education costs for your kids, increasing housing prices and rising utility bills thanks to this dreadfully cold winter, finding ways to save can be challenging.

But here are five ways to pay yourself and hopefully provide an edge in the race to save for retirement.

Use tax-efficient accounts
Tax-Free Savings Accounts and RRSPs seem like simple concepts, yet not everyone takes advantage of them. But it’s T4 season and that’s when the amount of taxes that come off your income really hits home.

The best account to use may differ depending on the type of securities being held within them and the individual, but the important part is that you are saving today and pushing the tax bill further back to a time when it should take less of a bite out of your income or gains — or eliminate taxes altogether on TFSA gains.

Reinvest your dividends
Some dividend-paying companies offer programs where the dividends paid are immediately reinvested in the stock that is owned, increasing your share count as well as your future dividend take. A further bonus is that some companies allow these shares to be purchased at a discount.

Dividend reinvestment programs (DRIPs) are great as they take the work out of reinvesting dividends, encourage holding investments for the long term and really take advantage of the power of compounding.

Cut back on fees
Reducing fees by investing in low-cost funds is one of the few assured returns an individual can get when investing.

You may not know whether a fund will be up or down on any given day, but you do know that moving out of a fund with a 1% or 2% fee and into an exchange-traded fund that charges 0.5% or less will result in immediate savings that go straight into your pocket.

Pay down/refinance debt
Finding the resources to pay down debt can be difficult, but the short-term pain leads to long-term gains.

The lower the principal amount on your debt, the lower the interest payment, which means more cash in later months to put into your tax-efficient accounts that just may hold companies that have DRIPs. See how savings and investment strategies all start to compound?

Refinancing to get a lower interest rate may be beneficial as well, but make sure the savings justify any fees paid.

Max out your employer’s RRSP matching programs
Many employers offer an incentive where they match a certain amount (usually 3%) of an employee’s pay that is directed into the company RRSP. This is essentially free money and a great way to pay yourself.

But be aware of the vesting period, because if you leave before a certain time, the employer keeps its portion of the contributions.

Many individuals cite an inability to afford maxing out these contributions. This is no doubt a reasonable issue, but everything should be done in one’s power to utilize this tool because not doing so might cost you more down the road. And it is the closet thing you may get to ‘free’ money.

The above points are all ways to make your hard-earned dollars go a bit further and your retirement all the more comfortable. Finding the extra money to save in order to use these tools can be difficult, but the pain endured at first will be well worth the compounded gains years later.