Today Is...National Financial Awareness Day

As my pension plan includes either winning the lottery in the next few decades or surviving on food i find behind the fridge, i am not one to ask for financial advice but a report from Censuswide says that like me, there are an amazing number of people who said they didn't understand money and lack basic financial skills and knowledge.
When i was a lecturer i was forever having to explain the tax system to the teenagers who were finding part time jobs and not understanding their tax codes or what National Insurance was for but i do have some free advice which is rule number 1, don't pay for advice when you can get it for free.
HMRC has 20,000 advisors who you can telephone and they will make amendments to your tax code, explain National Insurance, work out and send you a tax refund and help you complete your Tax Return so you don't need to pay hundreds of pounds to an Agent each year when you can get it done for free. 
Rule 2 is the difference between what you want and what you need. Advertisers will send images into your eyeballs making you believe that the new item they are trying to hok you is a must have thing, it isn't, if you didn't know you needed it until you were told you did on TV then it isn't that important.
Rule 3 is only spend what you have. Credit is the work of the devil, you should only spend what you have, if you haven't got it then save for it, buying it now and paying for it later is a ruse which will see you paying twice as much for it and sometimes it will be in landfill and long forgotten by the time you have finished paying for it.
Rule 4 is never, ever, EVER take out a payday loan, up to 4000 % interest will see you taking out another loan to repay that last loan and then another loan to pay off the previous loan and each payday a good portion will be taken to repay the loan for the money you borrowed for that time you needed money to stretch to that first payday. If you really are that desperate, ask your parents, most won't add an absurd percentage to it and then take you to court if you default.
Rule 5 is if it sounds too good to be true, you can guarantee it is. Unfortunately there are unconscionable people around who won't think twice about emptying your bank account. That email may look official but if it is asking for bank details or personal information, you are one message sent away from having your identity stolen or looking at a £0.00 balance in your Halifax Account.
Rule 6 is the World turns, birthdays come and go and at some point you will be 67 and receiving the state pension which in the UK is notoriously stingy and the alternative is as you close in on reaching the pensionable age, you are reliant on a lottery win or surviving on food you find behind the fridge to sustain you in your dotage.