Despite our best intentions, it can be easy to fall behind on basically every goal in life. After all, family, professional and personal responsibilities can make it challenging to keep track of money at all times. But, if you’re looking for easy ways to simplify your financial life, consider these four tips for mastering money management.

1. Set your goals

Human beings are dream-oriented and need clear goals to achieve them. However, the goals must be specific and consistent with the reality of each one. That is, there is no point in wanting to buy a car if other bills are overdue.

A simple way to determine your financial goals is to break them down into periods:

• Short term (6 months to 1 year) – Example: buy a cell phone or take a short trip.
• Medium-term (1 to 2 years) – Example: taking an international trip.
• Long-term (over 2 years) – Examples: buying a property/car, starting your own business, or guaranteeing retirement.

2. Control your monthly expenses

Are you the type of person who swipes a credit card throughout the month and has no control over your spending? Know that this attitude can be causing severe damage to your financial life.

That’s why, whenever you buy anything – even if it’s just a candy – start having the discipline to write down all the costs (fixed and superfluous). This way, it will be easier to identify where the biggest bottlenecks are in your income and, thus, make plans to reduce them.

3. Optimize credit cards

While you’re cleaning out your wallet, consider the countless rewards you can have with credit cards. Unfortunately, you are less likely to use multiple cards per points program as intended but more likely to accumulate unnecessary fees.

The recommendation is to concentrate your purchases on one or two cards, such as The Platinum Card by American Express or Scotiabank®* Gold American Express® Card. Thus, you can gather a good score on rewards and still lower annuity costs.

You can earn cash back on online shopping, travel, or any other common shopping categories with these cards. As a result, you’re more likely to get all the money back you deserve and can save on fees associated with interest from accumulating bills.

4. Organize your rewards programs

As mentioned above, make sure you’re paying for your purchases with a versatile credit card that rewards you with cashback or good scores. It’s best to pool spending on that financial product alone if you’re enrolled in a worthwhile program like The Platinum Card by American Express or Scotiabank®* Gold American Express® Card.

But before opting for just one card, explore other cash-back-type transaction programs that the financial operator might offer. See which stores, restaurants, and other locations it’s pegged to. So, once you’ve organized your loyalty cards, coupons, among other things, you’ll be able to use everything effectively, minimizing expenses while maximizing purchases. You earn up to 20% in financial return by using various techniques to take advantage of the cards.

In conclusion

These easy ways to simplify your financial life are an exercise with real rewards. It makes your money work for you, instead of you working for your money. Thus, you create efficient ways to support your goals. And, after all, isn’t that what financial freedom is all about?