Student Credit Card Debt

Student credit card debt is a potentially crippling issue for young adults getting ready to start lives on their own. Many students are already carrying the debt of student loans that need to be paid back, and charge account balances add enormously to the burden. Although college students do not usually worry about mortgages or insurance or utility bills, many are starting to feel the pinch of student credit card debts.

Students are usually introduced to the world of buy now and pay later through pre-approved Visa or Mastercard offers. They are delivered in the mail; they pop up as ads on the Internet; and they are distributed on campus. The ads are clever, sometimes deceptive, and enticing. Without self-discipline, education, and a big-picture mentality, the student credit card debts quickly mount.

Since most college students don't have a lot of disposable income, the piece of plastic seems to offer a good solution to getting the things they want and need. Student credit card debt is at an all-time high. Recent studies show that seventy-six percent of all college undergraduates have at least one charge account with an average balance of over two thousand dollars. A whopping ninety-five percent of graduate students have at least one card.

Keeping a sense of financial solvency can be done if students keep several things in mind. One is to spend sensibly and buy only what is absolutely necessary. A four-dollar cup of designer coffee is not a necessity. Use cash instead of plastic whenever possible. Save the credit for books or other fees that may be refunded through student loans or scholarships or grants. A debit card may be the better choice to prevent student credit card debts. It can be used as a Visa for purchases, but it deducts the money from the cardholder's checking account instead of adding to the card's balance.

These debts can also be avoided if a secured card is used instead of an unsecured one. Secured credit cards require a savings account to back up the charges. Realizing how long it takes to pay off student credit card debts should bring a pause before adding to that load of credit debt. "And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?" (Luke 12:42). Avoiding the high interest and crippling fees that accompany student credit card debt can make one seem just as wise and faithful.

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