Managing your personal finances can be a tricky business, but with a little bit of planning you can make sure it all runs smoothly.

If you’re finding it tough tomake the most out of your income, it makes sense to put things in place that will relieve some of the pressure.

Read on for our top five money advice tips to help you keep your finances on track.

Don’t spend more than you earn

It seems an obvious point to make, but many people live beyond their means and end up in financial difficulty. Make a list of all of your outgoings and identify if you can cut any costs.

Get the best deals on your utility bills, ensure that your household shopping expenditure isn’t over the top and if your budget stretches to online entertainment always make sure you utilise offers like Classic Platinum Pyramid Online bonuses.

Automate your finances

Setting up an automated system for paying your bills and putting something away for a rainy day will ease the day-to-day worry of managing your finances.

Link all your accounts together and establish automatic payment methods for all your priority outgoings. This should be done as close to your payday as possible.

Respected financial expert Ramit Sethi advises breaking down your personal finances to cover four key areas – 60% fixed costs, 25% guilt-free spending, 10% towards investments and 5% for savings.

Automating your finances based on these guidelines can save you time and is easy to implement via online banking and money management apps.

Pensions matter – make sure you’ve got one

Thinking about your retirement should be high on your list of priorities. The earlier you start saving the better, as you will benefit from the reinvestment of your contributions.

Someone starting a pension in their 20s will need to put aside far less of their salary than people who leave it until their 40s.

Joining a workplace pension scheme makes a lot of sense, with your pension pot boosted by payments from your employer and the government.

Find ways to boost your income

While it’s good to know that your employment provides a regular source of income, make sure you’re on the lookout to increase it where you can.

Take advantage of overtime and bonus schemes, but don’t miss out on opportunities away from work either.

Building a property portfolio, taking on freelance work or creating an online shop can add to your income and give you something to fall back on if ever the need arises.

Avoid using credit

Using lines of credit can be appealing, but unless you can comfortably maintain the repayments it makes sense to only ever spend what you can afford.

Taking out a mortgage is usually unavoidable, but incurring any other type of debt is rarely advisable.Try and buy everything up front and, if you can’t afford to do so, ask yourself whether you really need to make that purchase.