I just finished a series of interviews for an upcoming column about how teens make, spend and save money.

I was surprised that not one of the 18 year olds I interviewed had a credit card. They relied on debit cards, but even a couple of those in possession of debit cards chose to operate mostly on cash.

It’s a response I should be getting used to by now. Many teens and even college upperclassmen I speak with don’t have credit cards. When I point out the empty card slots in their wallet, most say something like “I guess I should be building a credit history.” But the worry that the temptations and potential pitfalls that come with a credit card are too great.

I received my first credit card at age 16, a World Perks card attached to my dad’s line of credit. After I used that card responsibly, I opened my own account. By the time I left college, I was charging most everything and paying the balance off in full at month’s end.

I still haven’t gotten into using a debit card. I’m all about credit.

When do you think it’s appropriate for a young person to get credit? Sometimes I worry that students aren’t learning how to use credit because they fear it so. Will they magically learn how to manage credit just because they enter the real world with a few more candles on their birthday cakes?
Share your opinion and your stories– both good and bad– about credit cards for young adults.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 at 12:17 pm and is filed under credit, kids and money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.