Credit Card Debt

Throughout the extract, “Strapped,” author Tamara Draut notes why today’s young adults have complications getting financially ahead. Along with student-loan debt, today’s college students may also leave with the burden of credit card debt. Draut argues that college campuses aren’t sufficiently regulating card companies on campus, therefore putting their students at risk for debt.

The later idea suggests that one of the major conflicts associated with credit card debt among college students is because of the relaxed view taken on credit. To illustrate, “83% of college undergraduate students in the US have credit cards…”(Wang & Xiao, 2009) exemplifying the potential danger of accruing debt by signing up for so manu credit cards. Furthermore, with increased costs of education, universities find it is acceptable for students to pay for tuition by credit card. In certain circumstances, credit cards have become a quick remedy and students are forced to supplement income to pay for education and other necessities and as a result perpetuate the debt issue.

Here in the United States, there are many forms of consumer debt, which help contribute to the large sums of debt countless Americans find themselves faced with. Directly effecting many college students is student loan debt. Student loan debt is now the second largest form of consumer debt behind housing” declares the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Grisales). This is due to the fact that student loan debt grew 7.1% in 2014 to $1.2 trillion (Grisales). If this statistic alone is not worrisome this next one is sure to be. The amount of debt in the housing market that helped to spark the last recession was only $1.3 trillion (Grisales). Due to the increased amount of debt required by students to attend college many students are feeling the wrath. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “In 2014, 11.7 percent of females and 17.7 percent of males between the ages 25 and 34 were living with their parents” (Grisales). The fear of obtaining massive amounts of debt is driving the current generation of student’s to put off many future hopes and dreams. While causing them to move back home to save money. The current student loan crisis is crippling the economy and ruining the lives of American students.

I the article, “The Credit Card Company Made Me Do It!” -The Credit Card Industry’s Role in Causing Student Debt” by Carlos Macias. What Carlos writes about is how much College students go in debt when they use credit cards. He talks about how credit card companies prey on students who are in college because they don’t know what how to handle a credit card. He wrote in the article, that the industry makes billions of dollars in profits, and many students are drawn in by the advertising credit card companies use to make college students feel like its easy for anyone to own a credit card. He even said students may even feel pressure from family, peers, and themselves to be responsible adults and try not to live off their parents. Carlos also

An estimated 20 million Americans attend college each year, and 60% of those students borrow annually to pay for it (qtd. in asa.org, “Student Loan Debt Statistics”). Moreover, citizens continuing to pay off debt after schooling brings the overall number of student-loan-borrowers to about 40 million- with a collective 1 trillion dollars in debt (McCarthy, “10 Fun Facts About the Student Debt Crisis); a fourth of these borrowers owe over $28,000, a tenth owe over $54,000, 3.1% owe more than $100,000, “and 0.45 percent of borrowers, or 167,000 people, owe more than $200,000” (Haughwout, “Grading Student Loans”). While some view this predicament as the result of laziness or carelessness, the bulk of this substantial group are not at fault.

Background of Controversy: As the cost of education is on the rise students and their parents are trying to come up with the money to go to college. The usual steps are to seek grants from the government, private organizations, and from organizations setup through the colleges themselves. There are also loans that are made through the private sector and those from government based organizations. Some students go as far as trying to pay for college using credit cards. In the end students seeking higher education graduate with enormous debt, creating a larger burden on the economy and those struggling to pay off these bills. If the situation concerning the national student debt is not handled correctly then this

Credit cards are one of the many factors that contribute to student debt. A larger proportion of college students rely on credit cards for paying direct academic expenses. ''This includes textbooks, school supplies, and tuition" (Min Zhan 134). Credit cards appear to be a great investment in college, but they are also problematic. Credit cards are related to higher levels of student drop outs from college. Student indebtedness are necessary given the rapid increase needed to meet the financial needs of higher education.

Although the growing cost of education is certainly one of the reasons for the rising student debt, there are several others. But the relationship between lender and student borrower is troubling. Students without much of a credit score or credit history are being approved for thousands of dollars in loans by lenders who are gambling they’ll be able to pay it back after getting a college degree. The wake-up call occurs after graduation when many students realize their loan debt exceeds any annual salary they’re able to earn–if they can find a job, that is (Touryalai). According to a new Wells Fargo study, about one-third of millennials say they would have been better off working, instead of going to college and paying tuition. More than half of the 1,414 surveyed, financed their education through student loans, and many say the if they had $10,000 the “first thing” they’d do is pay down their student loan or credit card debt (Touryalai). Student borrowers are delaying major life decisions, like buying a home or car, as a result of their student loans.

In “Strapped,” author Tamara Draut explains why today’s young adults have trouble getting financially ahead. Along with student- loan debt, today’s college graduates also leave with a higher risk of credit card debt than previous generations. Draut argues that college campuses aren’t regulating the card companies on campuses, therefore not protecting their students. She reasons that a problem on college campuses across the nation, credit card debt, has spun out of control by credit card pushers leading students into debt and feeling financially held back.

Of all of the hardships facing college students in this day and age, debt one of the greatest. There is a trillion-dollar debt that United States' students are drowning in, and it has become not only a burden on the shoulders of those who have the debt, but in fact, every taxpayer in this country suffers because of this debt. We, as a county, have created the concept of "free money," specifically when talking about loans, credit cards, etc. Without immediate consequences, it is not an immediate threat to those who obtain it. This "free money" can be directly attributed to inflation and a rise in the price of a collegiate education. My parents, who graduated from college in 2001, are still agonized with paying off their collegiate debt. I do

First, we must blame ourselves for letting this debt build up. It’s so easy to just say “charge it” and deal with the money later. It’s so much more convenient to use a credit card then using our cash. In the April 2005 issue of University Wire, Dr. James Roberts conducted a study about the spending habits of students around the country. He found that students who used credit cards to pay for their books weren’t able to tell within $30, $40, or even $50 dollars of how much they spent compared to the students who used cash and were able to tell within a few dollars how much they

“The average American owns 3.5 credit cards and $15,799 in credit card debt… totaling consumer debt of $2.43 trillion in the USA alone.” (Beckner). Debt forces many people into depression and worrying lives. People struggle to discover happiness through financing goods, but struggle even more to find a way out of debt. Through consumerism, people lose their finances in department stores, car dealerships, and much more. Most of the possessions people buy with credit cards become impractical within a few months. The void they search for is never really filled. Consumerism is just a way to get the economy going, without thinking of a person’s individual finance

Students are graduating with an enormous amount to debt. This is a perfect reason to stop marketing credit cards on college campuses. The average outstanding balance on graduate student credit cards is $8,612, an increase of 10% from the 2003 average of $7,831 (Nellie Mae, 2007). This shows the trend that students are graduating with more debt than just their student loans. Students should not be worrying about any other debt after graduating. With credit card companies preying on students on campus, students will get these credit cards and ruin their financial future after college. Students which are 4 year undergraduates that borrow to pay their education, graduate with an average debt of $24,651 according to The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid on www.finaid.org. That total with the average credit card debt equals $33,263, which is double the annual income of a minimum wage worker in the state of Maryland. Students will more than likely make less money a year than the total amount of debt they accumulate in college. Why then have credit card companies on campus dimming the potential light these students

In the same way college students struggle with the same problems as those in there 40s. On college campuses, “70 percent of college students possess at least one credit card” (Norvilitis). The trend towards credit cards is not only a college problem; Americans as a whole have increased the number of credit cards they have. The concept of buying whatever you want when whenever inclined is a considerable selling point.

The advantages of debit card versus credit cards used by young adults are debit cards will not allow you to mismanage, overspend or go into debt. The most common explanation for credit card debt for people under the age of 25. “Demographic and credit trends show that young people, and in particular students, may be the next segment of credit users that will face difficult financial times. “In the United States, there are 19.1 million students who are attending colleges and universities (US Department of Education 2009).” They account for approximately 6% of a population of 308 million people (US Census Bureau 2011). On average, students possess 4.6 credit cards (SallieMae 2009). They also owe more on their credit cards than they did just a few years ago; in 2004, students owed, on average, $2,900 on credit cards whereas in 2009 this figure soared by 78% to $4,100 (SallieMae 2009). Moreover, young consumers account for the second largest rate of bankruptcy in the United States (Sullivan, Thorne, and Warren 2001). Together, these figures suggest that young adult consumers in America spend more with their credit cards than they should. In addition, research shows that credit card debt is associated with financial stress (Grable and Joo 2006) as well as poor academic achievement (Pinto, Parente, and Palmer 2001). The desire to use credit as a form of payment but with no steady income available to repay the credit line. For