My biggest ever was more than 10,000. I paid that one off, and everything else I could, then I filed bankruptcy. My advice to keep debt low, is to NEVER trust even your spouse with your finances. That spouse could become an ex very quickly, and it could haunt you for years.
I hate to be in debt, so I just try to pay everything with money I already have. It's worse to be in debt than to wait a few weeks and actually save money to buy something.
The most debt I have ever been in with credit cards was around $2500 or so, but having that hanging over my head stressed me, so I got rid of them all, and learned to live within my means.