Read The Fine Print When Signing Up For Student Credit Cards
College students have a lot to think about, and because they are new to independent living, they sometimes make mistakes. Even the smartest students tend to make mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes a college student can make is to destroy their credit. Though you may think this is hard to do while in college, I can assure you from experience that this is something that is very easy to do. Many make the mistake of getting student credit cards when they do not have the financial means to do so. Mistakes can happen and it’s not so easy to clean them up.
There are many companies that will go after college students to get them to sign up for student credit cards. They want to get students to sign up hoping that they will be customers for life. They also know that most people will have some sort of problems paying back what they owe, and this is no problem for them in most cases. They know that when you are late on your student credit cards payments they can tack on any fees they want. Most students do not take the time to read the fine print when the sign up. I have seen fees has high as thirty dollars for one late payment. Ouch.
If you are in college and you are offered student credit cards, make sure you know what you are getting into. You have to think about your ability to pay back what you charge, and you have to be realistic. If you are on a fixed budget, you have very little wiggle room. You may be able to go out and get what you want with your student credit cards, but you may not be able to pay back what you charge. When that happens, you are going to send your credit into a downward spiral.
There is a plus side to student credit cards if you can truly handle the payments. As long as you don’t charge too much you should have very small monthly payments. Though you should pay more than your minimum payment, you can get your credit up and running with just the minimum. In the long run this is not the best plan, but it can help you build your credit. If you can safely keep up with your payments on your student credit cards you can give yourself a good head start in building good credit. Just make sure you can do this realistically or you may be headed for trouble.
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