Money Matters

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Personal budgeting and personal finance should be a required course in high schools.

I completely agree.

More 'life lesson' type of classes need to be taught at earlier ages. I know when I hit 18 and I got my first credit card I had no freaking idea how to manage my money responsibly. I had plenty of friends who were even worse than me. I think by 20 we all had pretty significant credit card debt ($1,000 or more).

It took me until just a few years ago to finally erase all of my credit card debt.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I completely agree.

More 'life lesson' type of classes need to be taught at earlier ages. I know when I hit 18 and I got my first credit card I had no freaking idea how to manage my money responsibly. I had plenty of friends who were even worse than me. I think by 20 we all had pretty significant credit card debt ($1,000 or more).

It took me until just a few years ago to finally erase all of my credit card debt.

Yeah, college students pretty much fall victim to this trap all the time. So many of them haven't been taught about the dangers of debt. And of course, being away from home and parents for the first time gives you a sense of freedom. And being 18 or 19 years old, people usually have a sense of invincibility, like nothing bad is ever going to happen to me. Combine all that together and you get a lethal mix when it comes to debt. Credit card companies prey upon it; you can probably all remember your college days and having credit card companies set up a table in the commons or the cafeteria where you could just stop by and sign up for a credit card.

It's dangerous, especially for females who like upscale shopping. Some end up with debts requiring monthly payments equivalent to the rent for a 2-bedroom apartment.

Credit cards are a terrible temptation.