This week alone you will have no doubt read a handful of headlines on the importance of getting the most out of your money.

Pay off the balance on your credit card. Don’t spend money you don’t have. Invest. Budget. Shop around. Switch…

Unfortunately, I must own up and say that I have nothing new to impose on you but more of the same.

Because these headlines actually do make a difference to your wallet.

Take for example reward credit cards.

Recent calculations by American Express highlighted that as a nation we’re missing out on over £6bn a year by using ‘passive cards’ that do not reward customers with cashback, points and exclusive offers.

According to the report, debit cards were used to make 7.7 billion purchases in the UK in 2012, to the value of £337bn, equivalent to a £7,170 annual spend per person.

If these consumers had used a reward card each person would have saved £134.86 in cashback a year.

Not a sum that should be sniffed at considering we’re living in a savings environment that seems to hold nothing but contempt for people’s precious pots of money.

If you are already spending on the plastic, and as long as you’re good about paying off the balance every month, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try and get the most out of your credit card.

For those of you who remain unconvinced, take this example.

I’ve been using one of the popular reward credit cards since the beginning of the year. On average I’ve racked up around £700-£800 on it per month, but have also made sure I pay off the balance every month in full.

This was everyday spending as well as one off purchases like flights. Either way, I’ve racked up so many reward points that I managed to get £60 worth of vouchers to my chosen high street retailer. I could have used the points for anything: trips to Alton Towers, meals out etc.

So to me, smart spending on a reward or cashback credit card seems like a no brainer.

If you can get something for doing things you would normally be doing, like spending on groceries and travel, then it makes sense to use what’s available, like reward cards, to squeeze as much as possible from your spending.

But remember, if you don’t payoff the monthly balance, it doesn’t work out to be ‘rewarding’ at all.

And while I have your attention, please use those online deal vouchers and retailer’s reward points you keep saying you’ll get around to using.

Not that I’m showing off (I am), I just ‘bought’ myself an electrical good costing £130 absolutely free, by using points that I’d racked up buying things I use on a daily basis.

Tahmina Mannan is a reporter on Your Money