Do Your Homework: Student Credit Cards
Contributed by Caryn e Zent
Student Credit Cards: Is Your Homework Done?
According to the United States General Accounting Office, 64% of college students have a credit card. 42% of those students carry an average balance of $577 and do not pay in full each month. Ever procrastinate getting that paper done or studying for that final? It's much worse to delay payments on your credit card. Students are freely offered credit cards, and lenders have special student cards. It doesn't matter if you have income; you get the card.
Parents, here's how to help your students with their credit homework before debt becomes a problem. If the student has been educated in money management early on, he or she will be well-grounded when it comes time for the freedom of college and their own credit card.
Student Credit Cards: Watch and Learn
Teens will notice how parents use credit. You want them to be able to do as you do as well as what you say. Credit is so readily available, especially to college freshmen -- if you help them before college they will be much more responsible and save you hassle in the long run. 33% of high-school seniors have credit cards, some in their own names. So what can you do to educate your child about credit? Come on, isn't it an easier conversation than "the facts of life"?
If you've made mistakes, and who hasn't, you can use those errors to teach your children about the wise use of financial resources. Your child is less likely to go "hog-wild" with a credit card if they have a balanced sense of the proper management of credit. The basics they learn will stay with them.
