Credit Cards

Using a plastic card to charge for products and services has become a way of life. Some people use them for the convenience of not carrying cash and others use them so they can purchase an item they cannot yet afford. The credit card has changed the way we interact with and perceive money. The expression “I’ll just buy it now and worry about paying for it later” has some very real consequences. Credit card debt can follow someone for a lifetime. If only the minimum was paid on a $1,000 bill with an 18 percent annual rate it would take 12 years and $1,115 in interest to pay off. Today credit card companies are targeting college students because they have that mentality of, “I’ll just buy it now and worry about paying for it later”, and they have their whole life ahead of them to pay back the debt they accrue in college. But with lower-than-expected salaries after graduation and higher-than-expected living expenses, plus hefty student loan payments, make handling credit card debt all the more difficult for students and recent grads. Sure it is convenient to have what we want now and pay for it later, but it also feeds our greed, contributes to the lack of saving and allows us to live outside of our means.