You may have impending debt problems if you only make minimum payments on credit cards, have little to no savings, and are using credit cards more for purchases you previously made with cash. Additional warning signs include spending increasing amounts of income to pay debts, being at or near credit card limits, taking cash advances on cards to pay other bills, and lying to family about spending or hiding statements.

1. Warning Signs of Credit / Debt Problems
CreditMantri lists some warning signs of impending debt problems§. You might not be
late on any payments yet, but don’t allow yourself into a false sense of control if any of
these symptoms arise or are already present:
1 You constantly only make minimum payments on your credit cards.
2 You hardly have any savings.
3 You have started to use your credit card for things you earlier used to buy with cash.
4 You are using increasing amounts of your total income to pay off debts.
5 You already have two or three credit cards and are still looking for another.
6 You are at or near your credit card limit(s).
7 You are unsure of the total amount you owe on all your debts.
8 You take out cash advances on your credit card to pay other bills/expenses
9 After you pay your credit card bill, you tend to increase the balance by the same
amount the following month.
10 You have tried making a purchase with your credit card and been declined.
11 You write a cheque hoping to cover it before it clears your bank.
12 You lie to your spouse or family member about your spending or hide credit
statements.
13 You have been denied a credit card.
14 Your bank has had to return your cheque for lack of balance.
15 You get calls from collectors.