9 Alarming Signs You're Leading to a Financial Meltdown

Are you leading yourself to a financial meltdown? Many people don't even recognize they're on the wrong side of that divide until it's too late. Instead of being unpleasantly surprised in the future, here are nine alarming signs you should be looking out for.

1. No savings account Is your savings balance zero? Time to be careful! This is the first warning sign that you might be leading yourself to financial ruin. Ideally everyone should have some sort of savings – enough to cover 3-6 months of not earning.



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2. You keep paying overdraft fees A person should pay an overdraft fee only once or twice per year at the most. If you've had to pay multiples throughout the year, this is a red flag of financial issues.

3. Using credit cards to pay bills This is a big warning sign about your financial health and shouldn't be something you rely on every month to keep the lights on. Paying bills with credit only creates more debt.

4. Spending more than credit limit Going over your credit card limits? Perhaps it's time to look at how much you're spending and creating a new budget to help with money troubles. If you spend more than 25 to 30 percent of your credit card limit, it’ll lower your credit score a little, and going above it will drive down fast. So, try to stay balanced.

5. Paying off minimum credit bills Speaking of credit cards, another alarming sign is only paying the absolute minimum on your credit card bill every month. This is a very common way many people rack up large amounts of debt.

6. Borrowing from 401(k) for bills Using your 401(k) savings for everyday or monthly bills? Stop borrowing from your safety net and begin the process of fixing your financials or seeking out a better solution.

7. Fighting with spouse about money You've started to notice more and more of your fights with your significant other is now about money. It will only continue to get worse if the money problem is not fixed.

8. Debt collectors are harassing you Day and night, you try to avoid your phone because of debt collectors. It's time to put a stop to it by beginning to get out of financial trouble.

9. Hoping to win big with the lottery Wishing to win big with the lottery can be another sign of poor financial health and not something that should be readily relied on.

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