QUESTION: Bank accounts and cards: how to use cashback?

Proper use of cashback programs allows you to significantly save on everyday purchases and return tangible amounts of money back to the card, which can be directed to investments or building additional savings. To get the maximum benefit from the topic of bank accounts and cards, you need to approach the issue systematically and calculate all possible scenarios.

To start with, it is useful to calculate the baseline scenario of your monthly expenses, highlighting the main categories such as supermarkets, transport, pharmacies, or restaurants, for which you can pick cards with an increased cashback percentage.

Then be sure to calculate a stress scenario in case of unforeseen circumstances to understand how changes in your spending structure will affect the overall profitability of using bonus and loyalty programs of various credit organizations.

When drafting a monthly budget, be sure to include a financial buffer of 10–20 percent in case of spontaneous or emergency expenses that were not accounted for in your initial shopping plan.

Decide in advance which expenses or regular contributions you will reduce or cut first if the need arises to optimize the budget and give up some secondary services in order to maintain financial stability.

Combining these simple rules will allow you not only to effectively manage your bank accounts and cards, but also to extract maximum benefit from every spent amount, turning regular payments into a tool of smart savings.