My Student Credit Card Adventure

And some practical advice too!

My first credit card…

I retrieve my college years when it seemed there was a credit card advertizement on practically every bulletin board on campus. The banks would travel to the college and set up application booths on registration day. Hundreds of students would apply for a credit card. As an enticement, we were offered freebies like T-shirts, H2O bottles, and cardinal chains. So I took whatever they were handing out. You can’t beat out free. The adjacent thing I knew, I had signed on the dotted line. It wasn’t long before that small plastic card arrived in the mail. It was clip to set up my credit history. I was off to the mall. Life was good!

Stuff happens…

I made my student credit card the solution to all my financial emergencies when Iodine attended college. Needless to state there were plenty of them. There were tuition bills, school supplies, car repairs, and midnight pizza pies to pay for. The old expression was true. “When they’ve got you, they’ve got you”. That small piece of plastic bailed me out of more than financial quandaries than I could count. I honestly don’t cognize what I would have got done without it. The student credit card “thing” was a pretty cool idea.

My twenty-four hours of reckoning…

The monthly statements arrived one after another. I had been in the wont of making the minimum payment and ignoring the underside line. Not a good idea. All those credit card purchases left me with a pretty brawny balance. The finance charges were mind-boggling. It was clip to take action. I started to apportion more than of my monthly income toward my credit card measure and phased out frivolous purchases. My balance actually began to dwindle (Thank God). I developed a better apprehension of what credit cards are intended to be. They’re certainly not free money! Put simply, they’re A convenient loan that have to be repaid.

A word to the wise…

When applying for a credit card, students need to see the fees involved. Take a hard expression at the finance charge, annual fee, and late payment fee. Diffident away from cash advances if possible. See a low bounds credit card. Bash a comparison and search for competitory rates. Survey your card understanding thoroughly. If you don’t understand something, phone call client service. Ask questions.

Set up a realistic budget and follow it closely. Avoid urge shopping on your credit card. Try to utilize the card only in existent emergencies. Try to pay your measure promptly and maintain your finance charges to a minimum. This volition aid you to set up a good credit history.

You may also desire to see using a debit entry card. The money is deducted right out of your checking account. This manner you can’t pass more than than you have.

Remember to near credit cards sensibly. When used properly, they can be a existent lifesaver!