Four Reasons to have a College Credit Card
Four Reasons to get credit
NOTE:
Students: find the top student credit cards.
Build Credit
Establishing good credit early in life is one of the major factors in garnering a credit card; before this, most students have no credit, as everything else is in their parents’ names. It is important to begin establishing a line of credit before you graduate from college in order to be able to ensure applications you may run into in the future (e.g. apartments and cars). Credit has become increasingly important over the years, especially with the problems we have run into in the economy as a result of many Americans putting too much on credit cards. It is imperative to remember that building credit requires years of on-time payments, as well as only minimal spending; it does not help your credit score if you spend thousands of dollars on your card and can only pay back the minimum amount per month. Additionally, pushing your credit card to the brim of its limit serves to only lower your credit rating and will cause negative results in the long run.
Emergency Funds
Credit cards were initially launched as a way to afford items that were slightly out of your price range, in an effort to help build the credit industry. While some students may be tempted to overspend and go to the limit of the card, it is important to keep the card solely for emergencies, such as car maintenance or doctor bills. However, it is also important to not solely rely on credit cards as your emergency source; you should still have cash saved up as an actual emergency fund, and designate the credit card for a severe emergency that would otherwise not be covered.
Independence
College is a time of determining limits of dependence and independence from your parents, as well as resolving how far you can safely stray without detrimental effects on your life and funding. Credit cards assist in this process by allowing you to independently have an account of your own that your parents no longer control. While this always runs the risk of ending badly, spiraling yourself into debt, most of the time it is handy in helping students grow up and experience different realms of independence. College is all about learning how to maintain your own independence from your parents by no longer relying on them for every need; credit cards can help in this assistance by demonstrating that you are no longer solely dependent on your parents, and can learn to do things on your own.
Responsibility
Adding to newfound independence is responsibility and what better way to build responsibility in college than to have your own personal credit card? Making a year through with a new credit card without running up enormous bills demonstrates a newfound sense of responsibility to many adults and it proves that you can be trusted with monetary values. The ability to manage your money and pay bills on time is an enormous demonstration of the growth you have undergone. Additionally, your parents will be able to perceive that you managed to develop money-saving skills that are valuable later in life; this aids in further gaining their trust monetarily by proving yourself responsible enough as to not dig a hole yourself in a hole of credit card debt.
This post was contributed by Heidi Taylor, who writes about the graduate degree online. Feedback is welcome.
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Student Credit Cards.com advises students to carefully review each credit card Advertorial
Citi® Forward (SM) Card for College Students
Student credit cards.com @ May 17, 2009
Having a college student credit card can bring a newfound independence that sometimes gives certain college students the impression that they have more money to spend now that they have a credit card. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Using a credit card for a purchase is the same as borrowing money. Why? Because you must pay back the money charged on the credit, plus the interest that has built up. Essentially, you are better served using a debit card as your everyday spending tool; then use the credit card only once in a while, specifically for planned purchases from a budget or an expense that has developed from an emergency.