By Laura Parral
Credit cards are a big responsibility that most college students are not prepared to take on. It requires management skills and financial stability which most do not have.
Credit allows people/students to borrow money and pay later with an interest fee.
People could benefit from them; however, some will only end up with huge debt they might not be able to pay off.
As soon as students are 18 years old, many banks send offers to open a credit accounts with them.
They are then tempted by the misleading messages banks promise and sign up to receive their first credit card.
Because they believe they will be able to pay off the credit and control their usage, they sign up to receive credit from other places.
However, many are not able to resist the temptation of the money they have available in credit and continue to over-use it, building up huge debt.
There are many reasons to why the students should not have credit cards. The most common is that they are not financially stable.
Because they are attending college, they must use the little money for necessary things such as transportation, food, class material and so on.
Since they have already spent their money, they are not able to pay the credit cards on time and are then charged a late fee.
Another reason why students are not able to maintain a positive credit account is because they do not manage payments dates as they should.
Students must be able to pay on time in order for banks not to impose their interest fee.
With multiple payments due, it is sometimes difficult to track them all, by not managing them accordingly, could lead to a negative account.
Good credit is important, it could help buy the first car, or buy a house when we grow older. They can also be used in an emergency.
Good credit is needed because not all of us have enough money to pay for something that cost a lot in cash.
If used properly, credit cards could be very beneficial however, they could also carry negative effects.
Credit scores depend on how long the holder has had their accounts active, how many accounts are opened, if the accounts are used properly, if accounts are declared in bankruptcy or placed in collection and late payments.
Having bad credit could be bring a person endless headaches.
As soon as the due date is missed the bank will charge a late fee. If the account holder continues to miss their payments, the bank will send notices and make agonizing calls.
Once that occurs and they are not able to help find a solution, they will send the account holder to a collection.
Some methods used by collectors will try to get their money are by withdrawing from bank accounts students may have or by implementing wage garnishment he or she is working in.
Having a credit card comes with a lot of responsibilities which must be managed accordingly or it could lead to big consequences.
For students who have credit cards there are some ways that bad credit could be avoided.
Paying on time by marking the due dates on a calendar and controlling the usage of the cards by not buying useless stuff could help maintain a positive credit account.
For students who do not have credit cards it is recommendable to wait until they are able to pay without difficulties.