Student Credit Card and Credit Education Blog

As a recent college graduate, I can tell you first hand that life after college is a lot more challenging than you may expect. Shortly after college I decided to move in with a few friends who were still finishing up their senior year at a nearby school. Basically, I was putting off “the real world” by living in a college setting for a 5th year. Great times were had by all, but I soon faced the harsh realization that I wasn’t in my 5th year of college, and was indeed on my own.

On the first of each month rent was due; only this time around I didn’t have Mom and Dad to foot the bill like in years past. Groceries? They cost me an arm and a leg. Either I was completely naive to the actual cost or was woofing them down like Kobayashi in a hot dog eating contest. I actually found myself longing for my school’s meal plan; the same meal plan a year earlier I was complaining about because they didn’t offer cheese-it’s in the cafeteria. What a fool I was. I didn’t realize how good I had it.

I held an entry-level position with nominal pay and was responsible for paying rent, groceries, commuting fees, etc, and still living it up on the weekends like I was Frank The Tank from Old School. Needless to say, I was just squeaking by, and had my girlfriend’s birthday on the horizon. It was then I decided to apply for a credit card.

Throughout college I was not in need of a credit card. I worked about 30 hours per week and my parents contributed a significant amount of money toward my bills. I was certainly appreciative for Mom and Dad, but their generosity actually ended up costing me money later.

Because I hadn’t establish ANY credit during my carefree college years my applications for credit cards with decent APRs were denied, and I was forced to get a student card even though I had already graduated due to my lack of credit. The APR was around 17%. Being naive to credit in general, I didn’t pay much attention to the APR at the time. When I decided to take a few continuing education classes I just swiped the plastic. It was moves like this that slowly made a few hundred dollars become a few thousand.

I was shocked when my minimum payment went up from 20 dollars a month to nearly a hundred. It was then I realized I was basically just paying off the interest. I felt like a fool. Ignorance is not always bliss.

I was finally able to pay off my card a couple years later, by transferring my high balance over to a card that had a 0% introductory rate for six months. I stopped partying and focused on the task at hand. If I only knew then what I know now.

If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person for it. Learn from me.

1) BUILD YOUR CREDIT EARLY. Just because you are “all set” during college does not mean that you should not pay attention to the future. I did not need a credit card, but was not building credit. When the time came that I actually needed a card, I ended up with the high APR card since I did not have credit.. Get a student credit card as a student and put small purchases on it each month like gas, your cell phone bill, etc. Pay it off each month, and build your credit with no harm done.

2). PAY ATTENTION TO DETAILS. A high APR card is fine – IF you pay off your total each month. A lot of students, like myself, do not pay attention to this until its too late.

What do you think?  What are your plans after graduation? Are you going to try to give the “real world” an honest shot? If you are, what are your plans for financial success?!? Please comment below!!

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