College Students and Plastic Money: Costs of Student Debt

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College Students and Plastic Money:

Costs of Student Debt

During 1997-1998, two students committed suicide because of credit card debt. The problem of credit card debt and college students are increasing and has been discussed in mass media to draw people's attention to the negative social effects of college student credit card debt. Many students want to own a credit card because of a belief that they will get benefits to establish a credit card history which will help them get loans or any other credit in the future, and it is not difficult for them to get one. However, lack of financial knowledge causes students to get into debt easily because they do not "realize how quickly interest can compound or how important it is to read the fine print of credit card offers" (Hildebrandt). Casey Perkins, a college student, said from her experience, "I didn't really understand how a credit card worked. I didn't know that if I didn't pay my entire bill at the end of each month I'd receive a finance charge" (61). Even though many students like to use credit cards for emergencies or necessities such as tuition fees or books and