I'm very much of the opinion that if you're going to spend, you might as well get the best you can from that spending:

• Start by really thinking about what you're spending on: do you really need it? Could you get it at a better price - or even free - elsewhere?
• See if you can haggle some extras in with the purchase, or a bit of a discount.
  It doesn't cost anything to ask, and you might be pleasantly surprised by what you can get!
• Finally, if you're going to spend, you might as well get rewarded for it.
  If you can use loyalty cards and use credit cards with rewards.
  For me that meant using my Lloyds TSB Duo Airmiles card where possible.
  

Of course, the next stage, once you've amassed a bunch of points is to remember to spend them! It's something I try to remind myself to do every now and then when I've built up a healthy points balance.

• With my Boots card I either save them up to spend in December on Christmas presents or I wait until I've got about 500 and then just use them on shampoo and deodorant and other toiletries.
  
• With my Tesco vouchers, frankly I usually just use them in store as I don't often have enough to buy something really interesting in their brochure (although I know I could get double the value if I did that!).
  
• When I've got enough, my Nectar points are going to go on a relaxing spa experience.
  

If it seems like it takes forever to build up enough points to get anything worthwhile, or you lose track of how many points you've racked up, don't fret - many people are in the same position.
Airmiles, however, are rather easier to keep tabs on.
Each time I get my statement it tells me how many more miles I'll need to get to fly to Budapest, take three people to Legoland etc.
I can actually plan a weekend, or week, away and that's good fun, especially when actual money is tight.
My trip to Paris at the weekend was the first tine I've used my Airmiles (I don't really spend a lot, month on month, so it took me a while to get the points together).
Both the hotel and the Eurostar trip were covered by Airmiles so all I had to pay for was my food, entertainment and a few Metro tickets - bargain! I love Eurostar - I don't know what it is but there's something so exciting in getting on a train in London and get off it in a different country.
It's certainly more glamorous than getting on a plane with all the misery of queuing and taking half your clothes off before you're even allowed into the Duty Free.
You can feel a healthy green glow of satisfaction about the carbon-neutral element of train travel too.
With a few extra Airmiles you can go by Leisure Select which is the poshest type of seat they have before Business class.
You get a good meal served with real cutlery (real cutlery always shows it's upmarket, I think) and bigger, comfier seats.
There are quite a few hotels in Paris that you can get with Airmiles, from budget ones to luxury.
I chose a nice one in a quiet location called Hotel de Banville.
It's recently been done up by its owner, the singer Marianne Moreau in a kind of country-style with a modern and glamorous twist.
My room had a bathroom section (complete with old-fashioned style bath) separated from the bedroom by big, glamorous curtains.
I've never had a room like that before - it was fun.
I would certainly do it again.
In fact, although I don't have many miles left now, I'm already planning what to do with them when I have enough for another city break (that's how I see my Airmiles - good for quick city breaks).
I still haven't been to Budapest or Vienna or, frankly, many other great European cities.
It's about time I did! So, if you're feeling a bit on the poorer side right now after a summer holiday splurge, dig around the cushions on your sofa for loose change, check your savings books to see if you have cash you forgot in there and, importantly, make the most of your loyalty points or Airmiles and start planning your next break.