Ball State

» Credit Card Counseling

By China at 8:58 AM

I am a firm believer that credit card counseling should be mandatory when you apply and get approved for credit. I think that with the way our economy is today, people need to be much more aware of how they are spending and if they can afford it. I think that people feel like credit cards mean that they are rich or have more money than they really do, but in fact it is the opposite. Not only are you paying for the item but you are also paying interest. I learned in finance that your payments should never outlive what you are buying on a credit card. So you shouldn't have to use it for dinner or things that will last a day like going out to the movie or ice cream.

I think we just need to have more education on credit cards and money in general. There should be a mandatory class on it in high school. I know they have a class like consumer education or something usually, but we spent about 2 days on credit cards in that class and we should have had it for much longer. People not knowing enough about how to save their money wisely or have an emergency fund or how to budget is part of the reason that our economy is like this now. If people didn't have to rely on credit cards when something happened (assuming they don't have the money to pay for it) then they would be able to pay it back right away. They should have money set aside instead of having to use money they don't have with credit.

A lot of college students get into trouble as well with credit cards. They think they can just run up a bill now then take care of it later, but often they get caught up and end up way over their heads in debt. Then they are graduating and are in debt and their credit score is low and they can't get loans or apply for credit cards now.

I just feel like if people were educated on the subject and made aware then they could make better choices. Sure people will still probably make poor choices when it comes to credit, but it could greatly impact a lot of others. Credit card counseling could be the key to getting our economy back on track.