Students are at a High Risk for Credit Card Debt
Contributed by Stephanie Litaker
Students need to learn the laws of gravity must apply to their credit card debt as well
What goes up must come down...that's even true with credit card debt. When you sent your student off to college, or when you left your parent's comfortable nest to go away to college, neither of you were prepared to talk about credit card use and how quickly it can lead to credit card debt that is out of control. It seems like every student on campus has a credit card, and it's easy to see why. Credit card companies prey on students, just like students prey on free pizza and beer.
Before you and your student go crazy with worry about the credit card debt, take a deep breath and focus on what you're going to do.
Getting your credit card debt under control before it takes control of you
When you realized that your credit card debt was getting out of control, you probably panicked and didn't think about how you got to this point. But that's understandable, nobody wants to dwell on the mistakes of their past. However, if you want to get out of trouble for the future, take a look at the past and figure out what you need to change.
Get your old credit card statements out and look at what you have been charging for the past six months. Chances are you will find that you've bought more than your fair share of rounds at the local bar, you've probably bought your roommates pizza, and the odds are probably pretty good that you've had an emergency 2 a.m. music purchase or two. Those are all expenses that you can eliminate from your credit card debt, by simply not buying those things.
