Credit Card education

When I was much younger (because you know, now I am old), I didn't really know anything about credit cards nor did I learn how to choose a credit card based on the cards merits. I pretty much just applied and got them. When I was 18, I was so far in debt, I couldn't see a way out. I had done credit counseling, I had done debt consolidation and I had tried debt management. The problem was though that what I was earning didn't come near what I owed in terms of monthly payments. I ruined my credit only 3 years into having it.

Fast forward a few years. I was in a better place as far as maturity. I was older, wiser and more responsible, or so I thought. I had a great job that I enjoyed working for a dot com start-up company. I was making crazy good money for my age and so the cycle began again. It started out getting a credit card for "emergency purposes" and to help raise my credit score. Before I knew it though, I was laid off. So all the debt I had incurred in the name of "emergencies" and "charge and pay" habits was right back on my back.

I truly believe that credit now is one of the things in life I no longer can safely use. I don't possess a credit card. I have a savings account for "emergencies" and I am in the process of once again going through credit counseling. I firmly believe that a personal finance class should be required while students are in their junior or senior years of high school. A class that will teach them how to read the fine print of credit card offers and to truly learn how to choose a credit card wisely. A class that will break down the long term cost of irresponsible credit card usage and how it will impact them 10, 20 or even 30 years later in life. A class that will layout the ramifications of a low credit score.

I wish I had known at 18 what I know now about credit cards. I wish I had gone through a seminar or class in which I could learn how to choose a credit card wisely.