Student Credit Cards
With the advent of the 21st century, it has become increasingly evident that lower age groups are now the new battleground for marketing companies. With purchasing power of college students and teens increasing, industries ranging from clothing to mobile networks, aim to target that segment in order to increase their edge over rivals. Since credit cards provide the most convenient and easy ways of acquiring such goods, credit card companies are also targeting the same segment. Consequently, there has been a substantial increase in student credit cards.
The consequences of student credit cards however, only become apparent when the person enters professional life. Most teenagers and even some college students, continue to live on allowances from their parents even if they have part time jobs, because part time jobs cannot sustain them. A student credit card, in such a scenario, is a recipe for disaster since it instills the motto of buy-now-pay-later at a highly impressionable and immature age. The individual starts to believe that buying is a habit which needs to be fulfilled even if one’s allowance does not allow it. The resulting debt incurred, is seen as a temporary impediment, one which can be easily ignored.
Most college surveys reveal that student credit cards are no longer a novelty. Most students confess to having multiple credit cards maxed out, referring to having reached their limit. By the time these student reach their professional life, their debt amounts to thousands of dollars already and the cycle of debt persists for ever more.
It has also been seen that students remain unaware of the consequences of their debt. Most students continue to believe that once they enter professional lives, their jobs shall take care of their debt. They remain oblivious of the fact that the transition to professional lives has a high cost as well, and to sustain a standard of living to which they have become accustomed to by using their student credit cards, requires a lot more financial support than their start-up jobs can offer. Credit card companies are savvy enough to hide all these details, but student credit cards are usually the first step towards bad credit. As time wears on and students become professionals, keeping up with the debt payments can sometimes become increasingly difficult and as a result, debt default occurs.
Colleges should therefore take it upon themselves to start advising on how to deal with student credit cards. Like all aspects of life, this as well is a very important part and a necessary skill to learn when facing life choices.
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