Money really does make the world go around for people who have it but for people who don’t it can be a bit of a struggle.

Finance and money can be a wonderful thing if you manage it properly. However debt is a fact of life for many people these days, but if you follow some golden rules you can avoid getting into trouble.

Apart from trying not to overspend, there are some ways of minimising your chances of getting into debt.

One of the most common forms of debt is caused by overspending on credit cards. If you can't trust yourself, avoid them.

If you feel that you can manage a credit card, you should subscribe to one with a low interest rate.

Most people pay over the odds for credit, but there is no need.

There are a range of good deals on the market, offering rates of interest only a little higher than the Bank of England base rate but many customers pay close to 20% or more. In fact, relative to the Bank of England, some big-name credit cards have never been more expensive.

If you opt for a card that has a 0% rate of interest, this is likely to be for a limited period only, so it is important to switch to a better rate when the "bonus" period expires.

As a rule of thumb you should steer clear of store cards unless you can pay off your balance within the interest-free period. The rates are much higher than normal credit cards.

If you have got into a problem with your cards and many people do, you might want to start afresh and clear them with a consolidation loan this spreads the repayments over a longer period and cuts your monthly outgoings.