Teenagers and their Credit Cards

1173 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Student loan debts problems

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...

... middle of paper ...

...bsp;

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.

Show More
Related

  • Political Parties, Sectionalism and the Civil War

    1453 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everything in history seems to lead to something else. The Civil War was no exception. It started with the creation of parties. Thomas Jefferson started the Anti-Federalist Party that would eventually evolve into Andrew Jackson’s Democratic Party. Policies were issued and the two party system started to collapse and sectionalism started to rise. Instead of Democrat versus Whig, it was North Versus South. Neither side could agree on any issues even when compromises were issued neither side really liked the terms. Every act lead to an argument and every argument led to a compromise which would only last for a few years. Eventually the South was tired of not getting their way and seceded from the Union. The underlying cause to the Civil War was sectionalism but many other causes were based on it.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Ways the Director Builds Suspense in the Opening to the Film Jaws

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    cannot tell if it is a shark because it is in the pov of the creature.

    Read More

  • Maxed Out Rough Draft

    1069 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through the use of statistics, expert testimony, appeals to emotions, and a few comparisons, Scurlock tries to convey his message saying that because the lending industry’s main concern is maximizing profits, they have made it impossible to not have a credit card and avoid being taken advantage of. He accomplishes his goal of clearly relaying his argument to the audience with the high amount of credible support he provides.

    Read More

  • The Salary Cap Should Be Abolished in Sports

    2015 Words  | 5 Pages

    Reilly, Lucas. "By the Numbers: How Americans Spend Their Money." Mental Floss. N.p., 17 July 2012. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • A Lifetime Of Student Debt Not Likely Summary

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wilson states that for the 65 percent of students that graduate with debt, the average amount owed is a staggering $20,000.00. On the contrary, as many as a third of all college students will graduate with no debt at all. Some may think that $20k is an outrageous amount of debt. But if you consider what the average adult spends on their first new car, it puts things into perspective. A new 2016 Nissan Rogue SUV for $20k could be paid off in an average of 4-5 years. This is where one would argue about what

    Read More

  • Slavery as the Cause of the American Civil War

    483 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Civil War was caused by many several pressures, principles, and prejudices, fueled by sectional differences, and was finally set into motion by a most unlikely set of political events. From economic differences to political differences all the way up to cultural differences, the North and the South opposed each other. These tensions were further increased after the western expansion of the United States. By the early 1850’s a civil war was known to be likely coming soon.

    Read More

  • World War II: An Answer to the Great Depression

    1861 Words  | 4 Pages

    Louis Hyman, Debtor nation: the history of America in red ink (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2011).

    Read More

  • Why Did The Civil War Start?

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected as President, he was liberally-minded, and this was the final straw for the southern states. The leaders of the south had been waiting a long time for an event like this that could unite the entire South against the “antislavery forces”. When the election results were certain a South Carolina convention declared their state as seceded from the United S...

    Read More

  • Credit Card Debt In America

    1552 Words  | 4 Pages

    Credit card debt is one of this nation’s leading internal problems. When credit was first introduced, and up until around the late 1970’s, the standards for getting a credit card were very high. The bar got lowered and lowered to where, eventually, an 18 year-old college student with almost no income and nothing to base a credit score on previously could obtain a credit card (much like myself). The national credit card debt for families residing in the United States alone is in the trillions (Maxed Out). The average American family has around $9,000 in debt, and pays around $1,3000 a year on interest payments (Maxed Out). Many people have the concern today that these interest rates and fees are skyrocketing; and many do not understand why. Most of these people have to try to avoid harassing collecting agents from different agencies, which takes an emotional and psychological toll on them. While a lot of the newly recognized “risky” people (those with a doubted ability to make sufficient payments) are actually older people who have been customers of certain companies for decades, the credit card companies are actually consciously targeting a different, much more vulnerable group of people: college students. James Scurlock produced a documentary called Maxed Out on this growing problem, in which Senator Jack Reed of (Democrat) of Rhode Island emphasizes the targeting of college students in the Consumer Credit Hearings of 2005

    Read More

  • Examples Of Persuasive Speech On Credit Card

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    I. Introduction: A. Attention Getter: How many of you have credit card debt? An average

    Read More

  • The Civil War: Then and Now

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many reasons why the Civil War started. Some experts claim that it was built up tension between the North and South states. Others claim that it was a social clash between slave-owners and abolitionists. What is certain, however, is that slavery was the main issue and the issue that ignited the fuse that led to blood and devastation. In whatever way from whatever perspective, slavery was the primary issue at hand and would be decided by the outcome of the war (Foner, “The Civil War”).

    Read More

  • Illegal Immigration Reform in America

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cullen, Lisa. "What It Means For Your Wallet". Time. April 10, 2006. Off of NewsBank

    Read More

  • Role Of Economics In Personal Finance

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Credit plays a significant role when it comes to consumer spending, but can have a significant impact if misused. It doesn’t take much for consumers to get in over their head with the overuse of credit, credit debt can quickly mount if left unchecked. According to Stinson (2016), “The road to a credit card debt pileup is often paved with spending that seemed like a good idea at the time. But too many well-intended moves can lead you into a financial ditch and ruin your credit” (Stinson,

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Credit Cards

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    If we don 't have credit cards, we can’t build our credit history. If we don 't have a credit history, we aren 't allowed to buy cars or houses with low monthly payments. Having credit cards is a cycle in life because without one thing, we can 't have the other. When people have credit cards they have to use them. It doesn 't help that banks offer many credit cards to people, ending in high debt. Banks also encourage low monthly payments. If people pay low monthly payments, they will never end up paying their credit card debt off. They will probably end up paying for the objects they bought, two or three times. People aren 't forced to pay high monthly payments in order for it to take longer to pay the card off. If it takes longer for a person to pay a credit card debt, the credit card companies will be making a lot of money. I can definitely say I have experienced this because I am always offered to get a credit card. There are many stores that carry their own credit cards, and offer them for their customers. Offers are tempting and they can add to a future of credit card debt.

    Read More

  • Why Young People Are Geting into Debt

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    The lack of knowledge plays a big part in the debt young people are getting themselves into. Credit cards are often offered to young adults as soon as they get out of high school. Many take advantage of having a credit card without even thinking about the responsibilities that come with it, instead they think about the things they will be able to buy. In “Generation Debt” the author Tamara Draut says that young people are getting into debt younger than ever before. Two of the reasons that are more costly on young students that hit hard on the budget are car repairs, and travel for students who have families and friends in other states (231). From my experience I know first-hand what it was like to be offered credit cards right out of high school, and I didn’t hesitate to get any of them. I st...

    Read More

More about Teenagers and their Credit Cards

Open Document