Teenagers that are given credit cards when they are in high school are more likely to have debts when they are seniors in college, before they have stable jobs. The American Bankruptcy Institute said that over 80% of college seniors have credit card debt. Add student loans and this can cause money issues for a lifetime. In 2007 the Institute also reported that 19% of those filing for bankruptcy were college students.
Even with these terrifying facts, parents give their teenagers credit cards for convenience. Most think it will teach them about finances and how to handle them. Yet this is not entirely true.
Credit cards don’t teach teenagers how to handle money, they teach them how not to handle money. When people are uneducated about money and budgeting they dig themselves a hole and it eventually gets deeper and deeper. This hole is debt and is sure to follow a teenager that is given a credit card, limiting their future.
The truth about credit cards is that they are marketed to teens and young adults most of the time. Credit card companies do not care about teaching young adults about money, no matter how much their catchy advertisements might say they do. What they do care about is getting paid.
Debt is the most aggressively marketed product in the U.S.A. today and by marketing debt to young generations it assures credit card companies that they will have money for years.
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