Credit Card

Credit Card

Remember your first credit card? It was probably kinda shiny, or maybe colorful. It might have even had your picture on it for identification purposes. Chances are, you were very young then. Maybe you were in college, maybe not. But one thing your credit card probably didn't come with was a booklet on ways to keep from getting into credit card debt up to your eyeballs. After all, you got the card, so the fun could begin! Or maybe you started out using your credit card responsibly, but eventually that all went downhill. That's exactly what happened to Beth, a physical therapist from New Jersey, who writes:

"When I got my first credit card, I was 18 and about to go away to school. I was on a work-study program to be able to afford tuition, which didn't leave time for an additional part-time job. Without a job, I knew I wouldn't be able to pay my credit card bill, so I just didn't use it. I was glad to know it was there though, for emergencies. Because my parents never went to college, they had no idea what it was like. I would call home every once in a while to see if they'd send me money to buy soap, shampoo, deodorant and those kinds of things, and they would send me $20. That was barely enough to cover it, and I had NO outside spending cash. One day I got tired of them doubting what I did with the money they sent me each month and began putting these things on my credit card. The first time I did, I borrowed money from them to pay the bill. They did, but they weren't happy about it. Over the summer, I got a part time job and started saving money for the following year. I found cheaper housing off campus and my student loan covered it, so I was able to continue working part time when I went back to school. At that point, I began using my credit card more freely. I liked the fact that I only had to pay $20 a month, but I could buy $200 worth of stuff! But since I only paid the minimums and continued to charge things, my minimums were soon more than I could afford. I took on another full time job to compensate. Eventually, my grades started slipping, and by the time I paid my share of the utilities and my phone bill, I didn't even have $5 to pay towards my credit card debts. (And yes, I had opened more than one credit card by this time.) I remember this because one of my credit card companies called to try to make arrangements with me. I felt so awful. They were so mean to me when they heard I couldn't even pay $5!! They made me cry! Soon after, my phone was disconnected. But before that happened, the lady at the credit card company suggested I get debt help in the form of debt consolidation. Since my phone got disconnected, I used my roommate's phone (we all had separate numbers) and called the debt reduction company she told me about. They got me on a debt consolidation program, and five years later I was debt free!"

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