The bottom line is that debt puts a strain on your finances no matter who you are or how much you make. When you carry debt it means the funds you earn are already spent. It can be difficult to determine if you are carrying debt that you can climb out from or if it may be a little too much for you to bear. Here are some warning signs that the debt you are carrying is too much and that your financial future is not looking bright:

• You don't have an emergency cash fund: Emergency cash funds are essential to financial independence. You cannot be financially independent if you have to depend on credit (or your dad) to bail you out of a financial emergency. Many times people are carrying so much debt that they don't have any money to build an emergency cash fund and when the worst happens, they add to their debt. Don't be one of those people.
• You only make the minimum payment on your credit card: If you can only afford to make the minimum payment on your credit card each month, you have borrowed too much. A credit limit of $5,000 can take ten years or more to pay off when you are only paying the minimum and it entails that you don't have any extra cash for anything else. You don't want to spend all your money for the next ten years do you?
• At least one card at or near its limit: If your credit card is near or at its limit, you've spent too much credit. The limit on your card indicates your ability to pay it. If you've maxed it out, the only thing you can afford to spend money on is paying it back. Do you want to max your card now and not be able to play anymore until it is paid off?
• You continually spend credit while trying to pay it off: If you can't pay off your credit card before you make any more purchases on credit then you have come to depend on your plastic too much. If your life can't run without paying for things with credit, you need some serious help.
• You don't know how much debt you have: This is a big one. Do you know how much debt you are actually carrying? Or have you shied away from adding it up because you know the total intimidates you? If you are intimidated by how much you owe or you don't even know how much you owe, you have spend way too much on credit.
• You are late on payments: If you are late or even just occasionally late on paying your bills, credit card payments, or other expenses because you don't have the funds, you have spend too much credit.
• You are denied: The biggest reason creditors turn people down for credit is that they are already carrying too much. If you are denied for a credit card, loan, or any other type of credit, take a look at how much debt you are already carrying compared to your income and you'll probably understand why.