Why I Didn’t Use Credit Cards In College
I was literally broke in college. I came from a relatively poor family. I was basically on my own to cover tuition and expenses, and took out Federal loans to do that. Since I knew that I was living on borrowed money, I tried to live as simply as possible.
Let me tell you. Credit cards were very tempting to me. I could have gotten an N64 and Goldeneye. I could have gotten a nice tv. I probably could have gotten a decent used car (downpayment with the card).
But I told myself early on: don’t live beyond your means. If you use a credit card, make sure your can pay it off before you start paying high-interest rates. That’s the key.
As a former college student, let me just emphasize how important it is that you not dig yourself into massive credit card debt. Credit cards themselves aren’t bad. In fact, you can make some nice rewards off them (see our list of best college student credit cards). But I have many friends who dug themselves into debt and end up putting 1/4 their paychecks towards interest payments. It can get that bad. Don’t let it happen to you. Take a real, hard, long look at your financial situation and don’t get suckered into thinking that you can afford things you really can’t afford.
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An ex-colleague is in a decently paid IT management position but for years a lot of his salary has gone to paying off debts he grew as a student. The equivalent of $120,000 - what started as credit card debts turned into consolidation loan after loan, a negative spiral that took the banks to get heavy to get under control.
At the same time I have friends who happily and sensibly used loans, cards and part time jobs to come out ahead while still having a great lifestyle.
Personally I left school at age 15 and was basically so broke nobody would have risked a credit card on me so never had to decide