Credit Card Debt
by Bridgett Williams

College students find it easy to get and use credit cards. Sometimes too easy, and plastic abuse leads to battered credit.
However, preventing credit ruin might be easier than you think.

Kristin Scully pays her bills on time and in full when possible because she doesn't want to end up like one of her friends. "He has a lot of problems now when he tries to rent an apartment because he can never put his name on the lease because he doesn't want the renters to go and look at his credit card history," she says.

Credit cards are the cause of many college students' financial woes. A vice president for Wachovia Bank, Bonnie Welborn, says younger customers with bad credit often have something in common.

"The biggest issue I see especially with students or with young people is the responsibility in knowing you have to take care of that monthly," she says.

Keeping up with monthly statements and bills isn't a worry for Jennett Burnell because she prefers an alternative to credit cards.

"I don't want to have bad credit so the check card's just the easiest way, and I don't have to be spending money I know I don't have," she says.

Credit card companies are going to great lengths to attract young customers with email advertisements and even platinum card applications. Discover card, for example, is offering its platinum card to some students, but as one student put it, she reached her Discover card limit: you discover you can't pay.

"With anything financial, you want to stay on top of that because it can hinder you from getting on with the rest of your life," Welborn says.

But if you decide to use a credit card, there's a way to choose wisely. Look for a card with little or no annual fees, a reasonable credit limit for your budget, a low interest rate, and minimal late fees.

Still not sure you want a real credit card? Check into other alternatives. Open a bank account in your name, get a check card to use as a credit card substitute, or get a pre-paid credit card. All these methods are great ways to establish credit when you keep track of them responsibly.