The Credit Card Quandary

To older teens leaving high school and facing the “adult” world for the first time, the idea of credit cards may be both heady and terrifying. Armed with the warnings of family members against running up big bills, and the quagmire of debt, they nonetheless will be tempted (and perhaps, seduced) by the influx of offers from credit card companies urging them to start a credit history and open a first-timer account.

The prospect of credit cards is a true catch-22 as it applies to young adults. They need to establish credit, as having no credit is as limiting as having poor credit. However, to “adults” barely out of adolescence, the glamour of amped-up spending power and more, better material possessions may be too much to logically overcome.

he answer to the credit card quandary is to teach young people about the power of credit. Good credit is a straight pathway to a bright financial future. Things like marriage, mortgages, and car loans may be a mere blip on the periphery of the collegian’s horizon, but they are goals to start working towards now. Credit cards can be used in many productive ways (think: emergencies, housekeeping, and maintenance), and should be used thusly- not for “self-inflicted” debt like a new wardrobe, or speakers for the car. Teaching young adults about good credit straight out of the gate will temper their anxieties about taking the power of their credit into their own hands, and will hopefully kick-start a lifetime of good credit habits. ■