Are Visa Student Credit Cards a Good Idea For Your Children?
Knowing whether it is a good idea or not depends on a few things.
How is your credit situation? Do you plan on paying it for them or make them pay it themselves? Can you pay it, if they can't? Can your child handle the responsibility of using a student visa credit card? These are all questions you need to ask yourself and your family.
Giving them one for emergencies doesn't always work either.
They will buy something useless and say I had to have it.
Some kids have charged everything on the card so they can keep their cash.
This shouldn't be a free ticket for them to buy clothes, food, DVD's, and so many other items kids just have to have.
Explain to them it is only for an emergency like having to get home or their car breaks down.
If they rent then it could be for rent if they don't get many hours and so on.
Kids having their own student visa credit card don't understand the real meaning of it as long as they are making their minimum payment.
They don't understand how much they are charging.
One kid kept charging and charging and then when he went home for the holidays his parents asked him how he could charge over $1000.
He didn't know what they were talking about because he just paid it every month and charged away.
This is the trap children can get into if they are not well informed about student visa credit cards.
Kids usually can't get their own Visa so chances are you will have to sign for them to get it.
This is good because you then can check online to see what they are spending and if it gets out of control, you can have it closed.
You can tell your child you will be doing this and this may help them to watch their spending habits.
If they don't make their payment on time and they are socked with interest then you can show them how much things cost.
That $10 CD will now cost him almost double and sometimes triple depending on the rate you have chosen.
Explain to them that this happens when the balances aren't paid off each month or the payment hasn't been made on time.
Discuss with your child all the options before getting them one.
If they charge everything, they see and leave you paying it.
Then close the account, immediately.
Tell them why and get them back on a cash only allowance until they can learn how to handle a student visa credit card.
To make things even clearer so they can have a credit card, get them one with a prepaid limit.
Tell them there is only this amount and they cannot go over.
When it is gone, they have to reload it or you will then they can charge again.
This becomes a habit and when they eventually do get a real student visa credit card they keep spending the same way even though they don't have a limit now.
This is a great learning experience for many students.
How is your credit situation? Do you plan on paying it for them or make them pay it themselves? Can you pay it, if they can't? Can your child handle the responsibility of using a student visa credit card? These are all questions you need to ask yourself and your family.
Giving them one for emergencies doesn't always work either.
They will buy something useless and say I had to have it.
Some kids have charged everything on the card so they can keep their cash.
This shouldn't be a free ticket for them to buy clothes, food, DVD's, and so many other items kids just have to have.
Explain to them it is only for an emergency like having to get home or their car breaks down.
If they rent then it could be for rent if they don't get many hours and so on.
Kids having their own student visa credit card don't understand the real meaning of it as long as they are making their minimum payment.
They don't understand how much they are charging.
One kid kept charging and charging and then when he went home for the holidays his parents asked him how he could charge over $1000.
He didn't know what they were talking about because he just paid it every month and charged away.
This is the trap children can get into if they are not well informed about student visa credit cards.
Kids usually can't get their own Visa so chances are you will have to sign for them to get it.
This is good because you then can check online to see what they are spending and if it gets out of control, you can have it closed.
You can tell your child you will be doing this and this may help them to watch their spending habits.
If they don't make their payment on time and they are socked with interest then you can show them how much things cost.
That $10 CD will now cost him almost double and sometimes triple depending on the rate you have chosen.
Explain to them that this happens when the balances aren't paid off each month or the payment hasn't been made on time.
Discuss with your child all the options before getting them one.
If they charge everything, they see and leave you paying it.
Then close the account, immediately.
Tell them why and get them back on a cash only allowance until they can learn how to handle a student visa credit card.
To make things even clearer so they can have a credit card, get them one with a prepaid limit.
Tell them there is only this amount and they cannot go over.
When it is gone, they have to reload it or you will then they can charge again.
This becomes a habit and when they eventually do get a real student visa credit card they keep spending the same way even though they don't have a limit now.
This is a great learning experience for many students.
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