Credit
cards dangerous to students
By
Stephanie Lindberg
Rocky
Mountain Collegian
FORT
COLLINS, Colo. (U-Wire) -- Credit cards
can be a quick and convenient way to pay
for something if the cash is not immediately
available, but they can also cause problems
with debt.
Most
negative blemishes will stay on a credit
card report for seven years, according to
the Uniform Consumer Credit Code on the
Colorado Department of Law's Web site.
Last
week, the Colorado State University Plaza
was filled with vendors of different sorts,
including credit card companies, trying
to attract college student clientele.
Brian
Jackson, a sophomore economics student,
said he used to get a lot of credit card
applications when he lived in the residence
halls.
Sara
Allen, the executive director of the Fort
Collins Consumer Credit Counseling Service
office, said when she was in college she
was not offered a credit card because she
had no job or credit history at the time.
"Now
credit cards are fairly easy to get but
not to manage," Allen said.
Consumer
Credit Counseling Service is an agency that
offers counseling services to clients seeking
help in controlling their debts.
"It's
a student thing, that's for sure," Allen
said of credit card debt. "We help people
come up with a budget so they can pay bills
every month."
Allen's
records of client age from 2002 reported
13 percent of the clients seeking debt management
help were between the ages of 18 to 24.
More than half of the clients are under
30 years of age.
Jeff
Henrickson, a senior studying sports medicine,
said he doesn't have a credit card for one
simple reason.
"I
know I'd overspend," Henrickson said.
Henrickson
has a bank check card and has had to pay
fines for going over the limit.
"I
try to save all of my receipts and record
them at the end of the week," Henrickson
said. "It's $28 if you don't put enough
money in (your account) in a day. You can
do a charge of one dollar and it's still
a $28 fine.
Jenny
Leazer, a junior journalism major, has two
credit cards. One she said she uses for
big purchases and one for every day things.
She
has not had any problems with debt and offered
some advice for other students considering
getting a credit card.
"Always
make your payments on time even if it's
just the minimum payment," Leazer said.
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