Controlling your credit card debt is controlling your future

Every student going to University or College has had at least 4 credit card offers within the first 6 months of the school year.

What you do with these offers, determines on how successful your financial future will look. Controlling your debt and how much you pay in interest will determine how much money you have in your pocket at the end of the month.

Sounds simple, unfortunately it is also the leading cause of a bad credit rating, marriage problems, depression and bankruptcy (because we now can't make any payments on time).

Unfortunately you do need to have a low interest rate credit card, the difference is how you use this form of credit. You must remember that it is basically a loan that must be paid off sooner than later. review student credit cards here.

The trap is usually set at the beginning when you first acquire the credit card. You use it once and tell yourself you can afford the payments and that you will pay it off in full next month. Then an emergency pops up like a car repair and now you have an even bigger payment.

Your attitude towards credit will control your spending habits

What will also spiral your spending habits out of control is not having a personal budget plan that includes a plan for unexpected expenses. This does not necessarily mean you are able to save enough for these situations, it just means you have a plan on where to get help. A councilor can help you is these situations or a financial planner at your local bank.

One of the biggest mistakes most students make is not looking to see how much information then can get from their own college. Their are people there that have a wealth of information that you can rely on.

Every month you should review your statement carefully.

Break all expenditures down to wants and needs (be very honest with yourself) Restaurant charges, brand name fashions are wants. Even gas bills can be a want if you are able to take a buss to the college but just don't want to spend the extra time getting there.

Are all the charges yours and do they look correct.

Are there any unusual or unexpected charges? Your credit card company will correct legitimate errors, but only if you bring them to their attention.

When you review all charges on your card each month you will quickly see what you needed and what you could have done without. This enables you to adjust your spending habits each month.

Something else you can do is If you have two or more credit cards with outstanding balances, consider moving them to the one with the lowest interest rate.

Look at it this way 3000 dollars on a credit card doesn't seem to be a very large amount. Payments are within your budget for now, but what does that really mean long term. If your interest is the average 19.8 percent and you make the minimum 2% payment, it will take 40 years to pay off and over 10,000 dollars in only interest. This of course is dependant on you never using a charge card again.

Know your billing period or billing cycle if you want to save money. This is the date that your next payment needs to be made. Here is a tip that can save you money on interest if you use it wisely.

Your statement is dated the 14th July and your payment is due August 4th the standard 21 days later. By waiting until the 15th of the month to make a planned purchase it will not show up until August 14th statement and you will have until Sept. 4th to make the payment, you get an extra 30 days grace period. This works well but only if you are careful.

Good uses of a credit card;

1. You need to repair your vehicle in order to get to school or work. (Only if you can't take a buss and wait till you have the cash to pay for the repairs)

2. You are living on your own and need to buy food until payday.

3. You need text books or need to pay for a course that you really have to take right away. (Only if you can't put it off or if you can't drop one in order to pay for the more important course.)

Spending habits that will get you into trouble

1.Using a credit card for a night out on the town with friends.

2. Keep a close eye on your clothes shopping when it's close to seasonal changes. This means not blowing your whole clothing budget on summer clothes in august when you know cooler weather is coming in September.

3. Using your credit card to take a holiday.

4. Buying alcohol of any sort with a charge card is just wrong.

5. Never use your credit for a friend that is short on cash. Do not use your credit card for cash, this is considered a demand loan and interest charges start right away.

Signs that you are in trouble financially and need to ask for help

1. You have just used one credit card to pay for another.

2. You are making only the minimum monthly payment.

3. Over 20% of your budget is used for credit card payments.

4. You have made late payments in the last 3 months.

5. You are thinking about a debt consolidation loan.

6. You are going to bed at night worried about money.

The important thing to remember here is none of these problems are so big that they cannot be corrected.

For students seeking one on one help you can get more information here http://www.ucfv.bc.ca/finance.htm