Credit card debt can be a horrendous monster to anyone at any time. It attacks us all equally, whether we are some sort of professional or simply a college student trying to make their way through college. Credit card debt for students is certainly not uncommon. Fortunately, since most college student credit cards have much lower credit limits, it isn't likely that their debt will rise to the same amount that a non-student's might. The flip side to this, unfortunately, is that college students are generally already burdened with debt that they've accumulated due to student loans and so the college student credit card debt can become quite difficult to manage. This compounds the amount of debt that a student must pay back once they are finished school and makes the situation much more stressful.
Another unfortunate occurrence is that since college students are generally inexperienced with regards to the usage of credit cards, they easily slip into debt. In fact, this is exactly the reason behind most financial institution's policies of setting lower limits on student credit cards, they know that it is likely the student will overuse their new found resources and create a terrible personal debt issue.
The solution to avoiding college student credit card debt is very much the same as avoidance of any other type of debt. Really, the situation is the same, the only difference is that college students are generally less prepared to handle the burden. The first thing that must be realized in order to avoid college student credit card debt is to understand that a credit card is not like free money. This is a common mind trap that new users fall into and can lead to a much bigger burden of debt.
Likewise, in order for students to avoid debt it is important to not overspend. This is difficult because most college students don't really know what overspending is or when the point of overspending is reached. Simple things can still be done, however, such as not purchasing things simply because they are on sale, remember that something is always on sale so you can always come back later to purchase the item, or wait for something better to come along.
Its also important for college students to form a monthly budget to avoid college student credit card debt. Writing down a set budget at the beginning of each month and then recording each transaction that occurs, as it occurs, is important so that you always know where you are in relation to your budget. Simply writing it down is not enough, of course, so its important to follow the budget that you've set up consistently.
Another technique to avoid debt is to avoid getting a second credit card. This can be tempting since it seems easy to just grab one and then "never use it". Unfortunately, this never really works out and you end up building your college student credit card debt into something monstrous. Its also difficult to avoid because with college student credit card limits being so low, it seems natural to simply apply for more of them to make up the difference. This is a bad idea. One credit card should really be enough.
Its important for students to realize that the true value of having a card is to learn how to properly managed debt and in particular college student credit card debt so that once they become employed and receive multiple credit cards with large limits, they can managed them effectively without causing themselves financial stress.
