Cash is a hard thing to come by when you're a socially active college student. There is just so much to do, and so little time to work. By the time the weekend ends, $7.43 is a good balance in the checking account. You also have to have enough for the bank fees that will be taken out. So, in reality, your $7.43 balance is actually somewhere below $5.
The mad dash for cash can be frustrating at times--especially when you are praying that you have an extra dollar to pay for those all-important Ramen noodles. And that's when the forbidden envelope comes in the mail.
"Already approved!" "Low APR!" And just to be sure they can push you to the edge they put a little sticker on the front that this could be YOUR VERY OWN credit card. They know college kids are suckers for money and independence, and having your own plastic theoretically provides both.
Don't fall for the hype; remember, nothing in life is free and credit cards are the root of all evil in this dollar-dependent world.
An online site called "The Mint" reports that in 2002, 78 percent of college students had credit cards. This fact might be encouraging to all of you out there who are using plastic instead of paper. Everyone else is doing it so why can't we, right?
The problem is that a credit card provides false comfort in the time of emergency or when the bank account is just a little too low. Instead of decreasing funds even more, you just swipe the card and the money spent is basically invisible. You still have as much money in your account as you did before the $250 shopping spree! And, well, since that last shopping spree worked out so well, why not have another? Your account will still be the same in the morning.
That is, until the bill comes. And this envelope is not friendly and inviting. This envelope is demanding and ominous. A lot of college students become involved in a vicious cycle. Pay the credit card bill. Have no money due to credit card payment. Use the credit card. Go into debt. Panic will ensue, but instead of sitting down and calmly writing out some kind of financial plan, a lot of people fall for the fatal idea of getting another card. According to The Mint, 32 percent of college students have four or more credit cards. How did things get so out of control?
Before you know it, and not long after those "minimum payments" add up, you will be getting several phone calls a day from "Out of area" and wondering if the wonderful days of just having an almost obsolete bank account will ever return. And, by just paying the minimum payment alone on these four cards you find yourself in severe and permanent debt, even more than you were from paying your ever-increasing tuition.
Nellie Mae reports that the average credit card debt for students is almost $1,000 more than what it was in 1999-2001. It seems that while students are developing bad spending habits, credit card companies are playing the Pied Piper. Credit card companies don't care if you are a 19-year-old getting a $200 paycheck every two weeks. They will give you as much credit as they can without it being a big risk to them. The more helpless students they get into debt, the more money they collect in the end.
While the evil machine keeps luring students in, you should be working to stop this trend. A credit card sure is a nice luxury to have, but it isn't an affordable one for college students unless you are already wealthy, or are good at managing your money. Neither of these is usually the case.
Instead of falling victim, when you receive that tempting invite in the mail, don't even open it: send it to the trash. As much as the credit card companies want you, you don't want them. They are not your friends, especially when you forget to pay your bill. Chances are if you avoid the credit card scene altogether, you can be $2,748 richer than your peers who decided to get involved, according to The Mint. One in four students with credit cards owes over $3,000, and the National Credit Research Association claims that half of the $285 billion credit card debt is made up of college students.
According to a report done by Dr. Sandy Baum and Marie O'Malley, the average undergraduate student debt, from tuition and living costs alone, has risen from $11,400 to $18,900 since 1997. If you're in the hole that much already, why add to it?
If you're thinking about getting a card, think a little longer. Do you really want to be responsible for owing a lot of money that you don't have every month? Can you handle the vicious cycle on top of everything else that goes along with being a student?
So when the mail comes tomorrow and one of the envelopes is decorated with different cards and you can almost hear it singing a welcoming little ditty, recognize it for the evil that it is, and flush it down the pot.
