You walk past your favorite shop and see purple pumps on display. Almost as if mesmerized, you walk towards the footwear and try them on. Finding them a perfect fit, you zip towards the counter. “Charge those to my account,” you airily told the cashier, but not before you’ve plucked a pink swiss army knife and a purple passport wallet to add to your tab. The cashier gives you a strange look. “I’m sorry,” she begins, and then proceeds to explain why your card is nothing more than a useless piece of plastic at the moment: it’s been maxed out.

Welcome to the world of credit card abusers! If you’re one who wields the power of the plastic, and wields it regardless of interest rates and finance charges, you’re headed straight for trouble. You’re worse than a shopaholic; you’re a debt-addict. You shouldn’t be running around with any credit card to your name. You should be on an allowance, and tightly budgeted at that!

Luckily, there are warning signs that should clue you in as to the kind of credit card user you are. Here is a checklist that should call your attention to credit abuse.

1. You are afraid to answer the phone. For sure, it’s a collector asking why the credit card company did not receive any payment this time.

2. You could not go for a day without using your credit card. You live in a big city, after all, and what would city life be without regular visits to the shops?

3. You find yourself glancing only at the minimum amount due on your credit card billing. Not only that, you actually pay only the minimum amount due each time.

4. Your mailbox teems with credit card offers, and you take the time to read each one - before completing the application forms.

5. Your credit card holders bulges, but this doesn’t surprise you. After all, you have more credit cards than photographs in your wallet.

If you answer yes to two or more numbers, you may want to stop and reconsider your financial well-being. With credit cards as with superpowers, great power is always in tandem with great responsibility.