Giving A Teen Valuable Life Lessons On Debt With Credit Cards
Many teens dream of the days that they will be able to get their own credit card to make purchases on the things they want. You can be a great parent and give them the chance to prove themselves responsible with a credit card that is attached to your account. You can even use this opportunity to give them a wake up call on their skewed reality when they make a mistake to help prevent them from falling into bad credit situations in the future.
Making mistakes is a big part of growing up. Many teenagers view a credit card as a way of getting money quick and easy. Little do they know that the money that you get from a credit card needs to be repaid quickly before you get charges interest and other fees. Having a card to use that they have to repay to you can be a great learning tool for them.
Depending on your situation at home with your finances, making the decision to give a teen a credit card can be very dangerous. If the parents can afford a few blunders, it may be wise to let the teens make some mistakes so they can learn to better manage their spending habits. If you do not have a very large income to afford a blemish on your credit, then it is probably wise not to let a teen have a credit card unless it is absolutely necessary.
Many credit card companies will allow for you to attach another person to the account under any name at no extra cost. This can be very risky, especially if you give the rights for a non mature person to make mature purchases upwards of large quantities of money. There can be much tension between those teens and their parents once such a mistake has occurred.
You can have extended conversations with your teens to make sure they understand the importance of their actions when using the card. If you feel that you should punish them for making a mistake, let them know beforehand so they can think about what they do before they end up doing it.
You can set rules for acceptable purchases and also lay down the boundaries of which they can spend. If they break these rules or boundaries, you can cancel their card and have them suffer. If they get back on track, you may want to give them another chance, but until then their card is not active any more.
Closing Comments
You can let a teenager grow up and experience responsibility by giving them chances, or you can let them try on their own and get into far worse debt and credit situations. Why not guide those who need guidance and give them a reason to like you because you are the "cool" parent?
Making mistakes is a big part of growing up. Many teenagers view a credit card as a way of getting money quick and easy. Little do they know that the money that you get from a credit card needs to be repaid quickly before you get charges interest and other fees. Having a card to use that they have to repay to you can be a great learning tool for them.
Depending on your situation at home with your finances, making the decision to give a teen a credit card can be very dangerous. If the parents can afford a few blunders, it may be wise to let the teens make some mistakes so they can learn to better manage their spending habits. If you do not have a very large income to afford a blemish on your credit, then it is probably wise not to let a teen have a credit card unless it is absolutely necessary.
Many credit card companies will allow for you to attach another person to the account under any name at no extra cost. This can be very risky, especially if you give the rights for a non mature person to make mature purchases upwards of large quantities of money. There can be much tension between those teens and their parents once such a mistake has occurred.
You can have extended conversations with your teens to make sure they understand the importance of their actions when using the card. If you feel that you should punish them for making a mistake, let them know beforehand so they can think about what they do before they end up doing it.
You can set rules for acceptable purchases and also lay down the boundaries of which they can spend. If they break these rules or boundaries, you can cancel their card and have them suffer. If they get back on track, you may want to give them another chance, but until then their card is not active any more.
Closing Comments
You can let a teenager grow up and experience responsibility by giving them chances, or you can let them try on their own and get into far worse debt and credit situations. Why not guide those who need guidance and give them a reason to like you because you are the "cool" parent?
posted by Credit Counseling at
9:39 AM
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