How to manage your credit card debt, while in college?

These days, one of the greatest obstacles that college kids face is credit card debt. Let’s find out the reasons behind it. Often the demands of a new social life take a huge toll on the limited budgets of college students. Their monthly allowance falls far short to cover the cost of their brand new clothes, happening parties and costly hangouts. As result they have to look for some other ways around. There’s only one solution that can meet their ever-increasing demands. Yes, you guessed it right, its credit card. However, soon this reckless spending habit and unscrupulous usage of credit card lead them into a deathtrap called credit card debt. The situation worsened, when student default on their payments and incur late penalty fees that add up to their debt loads. However, you might be relieved to know that it’s possible to get rid of this stubborn burden of credit card debt, if you can identify the real problem, look for some alternatives and follow some basic financial disciplines in your life. Read ahead, to know a few essential credit card debt negotiation tips exclusively for college students.

The crisis

If you stop blaming the college kids for one second, you can see there are flaws in the system itself. Credit card companies have targeted the college students for long and have allured them with tempting credit card offers. Naive and impractical students fall victims to excessive credit card debt, till in 2010 new federal legislation came into effect, which prevents the credit card companies from issuing credit cards to students below 21, without an adult co-signer or proof of income. However, this did not bring any change in the situation, because older students, financially self-sufficient students and those, whose parents trust them enough to co-sign, credit cards are still a tool of overspending. Remember, it is the freedom of using plastic and the delay in paying the bills, that make credit card a convenient route to overspend especially for students with a limited income or no income at all.

The solution
College students can use a number of alternatives in order to avoid credit card debts. Students, with a part time job can use checking account and debit card to make only those educational expenses, which they can afford to pay back. Parents can start sending money in small installments, rather than large lump-sum payments. So, that the students, who are mostly dependent on their parents financially, wont be able to indulge in overspending. In fact students going for higher studies can look for student loan funds like FAFSA, or scholarships programs like Federal Work Study or AmeriCorps in order to bear the cost of their education.

Few practical steps to reduce the problems that can come with credit card use.
Students, already stuck with outstanding credit card balance can transfer their balance to a 0 percent introductory rate credit card and can lower the cost of interest significantly. In fact students, juggling with multiple debts can follow Dave Ramsey ‘debt snowball method and can pay off their debt in an ascending order.

Last but not the least, if you are a college student and like to get rid of your credit card debt, you must keep the aforementioned points in mind. Going by a rule of thumb, you must stop using credit cards immediately and use cash and debit card instead.