Students and Young Adults Still Easy Targets for Credit Card Companies and Debt

The country is in a “debt crisis” yet statistics show that it is still fairly easy for a young adult between the ages of 18 and 20 to get a credit card.  In 2010 the percentage of the 18-20 year old population that had a credit card was 49% whereas 2009 statistics reported a much higher percentage, 76% of that age demographic had a card. New Federal laws designed to stop the exploitation of loopholes in the laws and reduce debt for consumers under the age of 21 have been enacted. Upon closer investigation, it was found that young adults applying for a credit card need to provide proof of substantial income to pay for their cards, the flip side is that the bank does not have to verify the claim as made by the consumer.

Those young adults who don’t qualify as having sufficient income to pay for the credit card can have a cosigner over 21 cosign for the card.  But the over 21 year old cosigner doesn’t have to be a parent or legal guardian, anyone over 21 will qualify and that includes friends, roommates, etc.  Thus parameters are not tight enough to prevent a young adult from incurring a large amount of debt at a time when they are often just starting out with a career and or family, often after already having college and student loans they have not even begun to pay off.

Credit card companies used to promote card sign up on campus in an effort to get young adults to start early and get a card now. Though in many instances a credit card can be a boom for a college student, the opposite may turn out to be true if the card is not used judiciously. In addition to the borrowed money and subsequent debt that goes along with college, statistics show a record number of young adults graduate from college with a hefty monthly payment to pay back for that 4 year degree.

 Debt settlement may be a viable option for young adults who have accumulated a fair amount of debt, even though they may be in their early 20’s. It could be wise to research debt settlement plans now before a larger amount of debt has accumulated and causes a vicious cycle of spending that can’t be easily controlled.

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Tags: Credit Card, Debt   Posted in Debt Consolidation Online