Is a college student naïve when it comes to finances? As a parent, would you trust your teenage college student with a student credit card? Well regardless of your opinion regarding this matter, it is important to know that students are fast becoming a lucrative target audience for credit card companies. There are many people who are against this move by credit card companies to target youngsters.
A highly voiced opinion regarding this matter is that credit card companies are simply after making a quick kill by exploiting the naivety of young teenagers when it comes to finances. Teenagers are not yet skilled enough when it comes to money and budgeting. Actually, many people learn to budget and take care of their finances after they get broke several times.
On the flip side of the coin though, it could be time to place some trust on young adults. With the kind of exposure teenagers of today are getting, it is easier for them to avoid getting ensnared in debt. Furthermore, college and high school years are the best years for someone to lean about the real value of money, and how to manage it effectively. The experience people gain during these crucial years teaches them to be very smart in cash management. So this is a great time than ever before to introduce a teenager into the big world of credit cards.
Credit card companies know this factor all too well. Resultantly, colleges have become a thriving market place for most of these service providers. Students get very many offers from such companies. As an enticement to win the heart of many students, most companies will offer freebies such as caps and t-shirts to win over their interest and attention. Naturally, the offers would at times sound too good to be true, and to some extent they are. Students therefore must ensure they are cautious of the decisions they make at such times as it could be very easy to get carried away by great sales pitches.
The secret however for student credit cards, especially for first timers, is to go for affordable offers. For example, it would be pointless to get a student credit card that has an interest-free introductory period, after which upon the expiration of the period the interest rates skyrocket. You should look for a card that is beneficial in the long-run. If you know your spending habits that you have a tendency of defaulting your payments, your best bet would be a student credit card that has a grace period for making your payments.
By the end of the day, what really matters is not how affordable the student credit card is, it is how well you as a student makes use of the card. If you are smart enough with your money, a student credit card with rewards will be a great choice.