Students are warned about the dangers of credit cards

August 24, 2007

Barclaycard has issued a warning to potential new students, to stay away from credit cards unless they can use them wisely.

As thousands of new students start their higher education this year, it is likely that a record number of them will apply for a credit card. With Britain having a debt culture where it seems to be ok to sign up for a credit card, max it out and be in over £10,000 worth of debt; it is only to be expected that a record number of students will follow suit and spend more than they can comfortably afford.

The problem is that many students do not know how expensive college or university can be. After living at home with your parents for so long, it is hard to know what you have to pay and how much your tuition will actually cost. The average student gets themselves into at least £10,000 worth of debt and so it is important to realise just how dangerous credit cards can be.

At first credit cards can seem like a way out to a student. Even though many students are forced to get a part time job in order to pay for their tuition, they still end up with hardly any money to get them by. So when an offer of a credit card is presented to them, they do find it extremely difficult to turn it down. The trouble is, whilst some students do have a good grasp of the dangers of over-spending on a credit card, there are many that don’t and they are the ones that will end up in severe debt.

Overall if you are a new student and you are thinking of applying for a credit card, the main advice is to be careful. Compare different cards in order to get the best interest rate and also only spend small amounts on the card whenever possible.