Teenagers and their Credit Cards

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Teenagers and their Credit Cards

Availability of credit cards have left young people in debt. College-age students and low-income consumers, typically deemed bad risks, are easy targets for credit card companies. Credit card companies should not target college-age students and low-income consumers because of their lack of financial stability. In 1996, twenty-something consumers owed an average of $2,400 on their credit cards, nearly triple what they owed in 1990, according to research by Claritas Inc., a marketing research firm in Virginia. If, payments of $75 were made monthly to pay off a $2,400 debt, it would take 3-1/2 years with a 16 percent-rate card, and you'd pay $ 750 in interest.

"There's no question that young adults are the most heavily burdened by credit card debt," said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America. Many will plunge into debt. Many teens waste little time taking on debt after leaving home. The number of 18 and 19 year olds with credit cards in their own name is climbing, according to Teenage Research Unlimited. Of American teen between 18 and 20 years old, 41 percent have their own cards, compared with 36 percent last year.

Across all age groups, the statistics don't paint a pretty picture. Bankruptcy fillings in the United States have more than doubled in the last decade, from 530, 436 in 1986 to 1.2 million last years. Americans owe $ 484.6 billion in credit card debit, up from $ 437.9 billion in 1996, according to the Federal Reserve Board. That National Foundation for Consumer...

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Works Cited

Evans, David, Richard Schmalensee. Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute, 2000

Citibank. Citibank, Nader and the Facts. New York: First National City Bank, 1974.

Kaminow, Ira, James O'Brien. Studies In Selective Credit Policies. Philadelphia: Federal Reserve Bank, 1975.

Mandell, Lewis. The Credit Card History: A History. Boston: Twayne, 1990.

Manning, Robert. Credit Card Nation: The Consequences of America's Addiction to Credit. New York: Basic Books, 2000.

Polto's, Pearl, Bob Oskam. Easy Guide to Good Credit. New York: Berkley Books, 1990.

Wood, Oliver, William Barskdale. How to Borrow Money. New York: Van Nostrand, 1981.

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