Under 21 Years Old? Credit Cards Are Going To Be Tough To Get For You

If you are under 21, especially if you are entering college, you are probably as excited as your friends of the prospect of trying out your new found semi-adulthood. One of the things that you are probably planning to get is a credit card of your own.

Credit cards are getting a lot of bad press these days. There is a good reason too. Uncontrolled credit card spending has basically raised this country to the brink of economic meltdown. A badly managed credit card account can completely ruin your financial life. That is not limited to the present too. It will probably ruin your finances starting from now up to several years later.

Fortunately for you, or unfortunately if you prefer look at it that way, congress has seen the necessity of protecting credit card holders like you from the exploitative and deceptive practices of credit card companies. A good thing, considering that, according to Sallie Mae, college level debt is now at its highest in over four years. Many college students are graduating with expectations not only of the jobs that they will get but also of the credit card debts that they have to pay, most of which will take several years.

The credit card bill is going to protect you from the risks of college credit card debt by making it that much harder for you to get a credit card. So now, credit card companies will not have the option of selling off their credit cards by giving away t-shirts or footballs.

College students will also have to prove that they are financially capable before they can get a credit card. They can do this through one of three ways. First, they can try and prove that they have a reliable source of income to pay off their credit card debts every month. Second, they can provide a co-signer, a person who guarantees the student’s capability to pay off his or her loans. The co-signer, of course becomes liable in the event that the credit card holder’s debts goes unpaid. Lastly, a college student can provide proof of having gone through a financial responsibility course.

Through this and a number of other amendments, the credit card bill is going to make it more difficult for college students to get their hands on credit cards. That is a double edged arrangement. While, on the one hand, such a move is going to prevent a lot of college students getting into debt, on the other hand it will limit the availability of flexible finances for college students, a necessity for teenagers striking out on their own in college.

An alternative for college students is to apply for a debit card or a secured credit card instead. Both of these offer credit card holders the ability to take advantage of the flexibility and accessibility of credit cards while minimizing the risks of getting into a huge debt.