Whether you’re a financial newbie or just a late bloomer, it pays to follow MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston’s five laws of basic money management:

¢ Have your paycheck automatically deposited. If you happen to misplace your paycheck, it’s likely to take you at least a week to get a duplicate.

¢ Use automatic bill paying. With automatic debit, your bills are guaranteed to be paid on time as long as you have enough money.

¢ Track your accounts online. It will allow you to access your financial information 24 hours a day. In a matter of minutes, you can get an accurate account balance by checking to see which debits have gone through and which are still pending. This will help you avoid bloated overdraft fees.

¢ Pad your checking account. Weston advises starting out by making $100 of the money in your checking account off limits.

¢ Customize due dates. For many of us, cash flow varies depending on the time of the month. If you have trouble paying bills due long after payday, you may want to consider customizing your due date.