When you compare credit cards you look at a lot of features, from annual fees to interest rates. But potential credit limits are also important. If a credit card’s credit limit is too low it might not meet your basic needs. If the credit limit is too high it might entice you to run up more credit card debt than you can really afford.

How do you know what kind of credit limit to look for when comparing credit cards? Here are a few questions you should ask yourself which might help you figure that out.

1. What big purchases might you want to finance?

Let’s say you want a credit card for frequent flyer miles, like the ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum credit card. That’s because you intend to use the card to finance your yearly family travel so you can earn points and still pay off your trip costs over a few months’ time. In that case you’ll need to choose a frequent flyer credit card with a high enough possible credit limit to cover your average family travel expenses.

2. How much do your average monthly expenses come to?

Many consumers like to use their credit cards to pay for routine expenses, from groceries to recurring bills. This way they can pay more conveniently and possibly even earn rewards points for things they would have spent money on anyway.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in doing, you’ll need to know what your monthly expenses total so you can find a credit card with a credit limit that will cover them each month. Now that assumes you’ll pay the bill off in full every month too. Needing emergency funding because you can’t cover your normal bills is another issue altogether.

3. What is the maximum debt you can afford to take on?

If you know that you’re prone to credit card debt, figure out the maximum amount you can afford to pay considering your monthly budget. Use that to guide you in choosing a maximum debt amount you could realistically pay off in a worst case scenario (still assuming you pay significantly more than the minimum amount due, as that’s always a bad idea).

Then make sure the credit limit of your new card — or the total credit limit from all cards you’ll have when the new card is added — is lower than that maximum debt threshold. This way even if you do give in to temptation you’ve set more reasonable boundaries for yourself and you can’t get in too far over your head with new credit card debt.

Only you know how much credit you really need, whether it’s to finance a specific purchase or cover your regular monthly expenses. And only you know how susceptible you are to credit card debt based on your spending habits, income level, and personal budget. Let those things point you in the right direction when it comes to choosing credit limits that meet your needs, as well as credit limits you can effectively manage.