For me the best way to save money on a long term period is every time you get your salary get the 10% of it and invest it in a stocks or in bitcoin. Every cut-off its good to save your 10% for investment. Even the market is on uptrend or downtrend it doesn't matter because your money will cost average it a month so when you at it after a long period you will see that your saved money has a lot more because of profit you get from the stocks or bitcoin you invest into. Don't just save, invest it in an investment instrument that you want and soon you will reap what you sow.
That is one strategy I have always used for myself right from the onset, and you will be surprised at how easy it is for you in the long run, and how valuable savings can be when you want to start executing some investment projects. Like you said, savings should always be an investment instrument, and this is the reason why those who have a specific target related to investment, savings usually is never a huge challenge.