Students should be careful when using credit cards.
When in college, students definitely need to enjoy the college
life. But for many students, the temptation to spend too much on
the college life is difficult to resist. They find themselves
accumulating massive amounts of debt that they can’t even
begin to pay off while still in college.
Credit cards are not all bad. Not everyone who has a credit card
uses it inappropriately. Many students who have credit cards never
touch them unless they have an emergency.
Students should learn to budget and find out exactly how much
money they have to spend. If they discover that they need more
money, they need to look into getting a job or financial aid. Not
credit cards.
If a student does need to seek credit, it is much more logical
to use student loans. Most student loans don’t accumulate
interest while the student is still in school, and the interest
rates are normally far less than for a credit card.
Also, student loans can be deferred. If students don’t
find a well-paying job right out of college, they can defer the
loans until they will be able to make payments.
Some students seem to have an almost endless amount of money to
spend at their own whim. Most students don’t have this
priviledge.
This is why students need to assess their financial situation
frequently to make sure they are not attempting to live beyond
their means.
Often, students accumulate too much credit because they think
that they will get a well-paying job as soon as they graduate and
then they can pay off their debt.
Don’t bet on it.
There is no guarantee that students will be able to get a
well-paying job right out of school. This has particularly become a
problem in recent years since the economy has been less than
perfect. Many graduates have found themselves jobless years after
graduation.
The last thing a recent graduate who is struggling to find a job
needs is a large credit card debt hanging over them.
Credit cards can be convenient and they are definitely nice to
have in case of an emergency, but those who use them need to use
credit cards with great caution.
Our View is an editorial selected
and debated by the editorial board and written after a majority
opinion is formed and approved by the editor. Our View is The
Daily’s official opinion.