Following are facts and figures gathered from numerous sources about credit cards and college students.
No. 1 warning sign that you may be a compulsive debtor: Being unclear about your financial situation. Not knowing account balances, monthly expenses, loan interest rates, fines or contractual obligations.
Forty percent of American students ages 16 to 22 say they would buy a pair of jeans even if they were short or money, and 22 percent would pay with a credit card.
More than half of 16- to 22-year-olds don’t save anything when they get money,and only 23 percent use a monthly budget.
– Forty-one percent of students in that age group work full time while school is in session.
– Thirty percent of the students say their parents rarely or never discuss saving or investing with them.
– Only 21 percent of students have had a personal finance course through school.
– Among reasons college students list for carrying a credit card: establishing a good credit history (63 percent), handling emergencies (43 percent) and protecting themselves from the dangers of carrying cash (19 percent).
– About 430 American colleges and universities have banned credit card marketing on campus.
– Less than half of college students balance their checkbooks monthly. Ten percent of students leave all their finances up to their parents.
– College seniors estimate that they will have a debt of more than $16,000 upon graduation, including student loans.
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– About half of students have bounced a check during college.
Sources: Myvesta.org, formerly Debt Counselors of America; Debtors Anonymous; the American Savings Education Council’s Youth and Money Survey 1999; Student Monitor market research; and Quicken survey.