Credit card debt is a major problem for some college students because it can easily get out of control. If a student obtains $5,000 in debt on his or her credit card carrying the average rate of eighteen percent interest and that student only makes the monthly minimum payment of $100, it would take eight years and cost nearly $10,000 to pay that card off. For many students, the lure to “buy now, pay later” can be very tempting. But there are dangers lurking behind this mentality. College students should be careful with credit cards because it is easy to get into debt that can last a long time; furthermore, college students who have been informed about credit card management should be able to handle one.

Not only is it risky for college students to have credit cards, it is very easy for students to obtain one which causes a risky combination. According to a survey, sixty-seven percent of college students have at least one credit card and eighty-five percent of those are in their own name (“Survey” 1). Credit card companies usually target college students because as students grow and their incomes become larger, they will become great customers. Under regular criteria many stude

The debt burden carried by many students can also hurt their future in other ways. When graduates finally start making their income, they will have many things that they need to be using their income on, like college loans, new cars, a home, and a business wardrobe. Being able to afford these things will be hard to do when a person also has to pay credit card debts. Many young workers choose to delay saving for their retirement. An article in the Chicago Tribune shows a good example of this; it states that “Eric” has $7,000 in credit debt, but he recently got a new job. He can’t afford to pay off his credit cards while contributing to his 401(k) plan at the same time. Since the credit card company is charging eighteen percent interest, he decides to pay them off. If he pays $175 per month, he will pay off his credit card in 5 years, and then he can start to contribute the $175 to his 401(k) plan. For the next 25 years, “Eric” continues to contribute the $175, and he has built up $465,000 savings. However, if he had started to contribute the $175 five years earlier, his retirement fund would have grown to nearly $800,000 (Helm 2). This example shows that time is the most effective tool for building up savings, so it should not be wasted paying off credit cards.

Many college students do find their way into debt, and once they do it is hard for them to get out. According to the article “Credit Card Debt Stalks Students”, the average student with a credit card has a total debt of $3,262, and almost two-thirds of college seniors have a balance between $3,000 and $7,000 (Rosen 1). When students get into debt, it is very hard to get out; students usually do not hav

Some topics in this essay:
Chicago Tribune, Dangers Credit, Stalks Students”, Credit Cards”, credit card, Truth Credit, credit cards, college students, students credit, credit card companies, pay credit, student credit, credit history, card companies, contribute $175, students credit card, credit money management, test credit money, debit card, pay credit card,