Just Another Statistic: When Credit Card Debt Is Part Of Your Financial Picture

Signing up for and using a credit card -- which may very well be your first -- seems like a smart, savvy, practical thing to do, right?

After all, how else are you going to cover the many expenses of this new life? Unfortunately, for many young women, the road between signing on the dotted line and sinking into debt can be paved with unnecessary purchases and misguided decisions.

Over three-quarters of all college students have one credit card and about one-third have four or more!

Credit cards are a great way to pay for goods and services on the spot in a quick, no-need-to-think-about-it way. But for many students and young adults, the free gift visor or water bottle just isn't worth the thousands in debt.

They Want You
Credit card companies need you to become their customer. Without your business, they have no business. Young spenders not yet familiar with the cold reality of debt are often a credit card company's easiest prey. Don't let down your guard, no matter how easy it is to buy whatever you need, or think you need, with that little plastic card.

If You're Already Under The Weight Of Debt
If you have managed, like so many other young women, to begin that slide into credit card debt, don't panic. It's never too late (or too early, for that matter) to get yourself out.
Keep these few basic tips in mind whether your debt is $100 or $1,000 (or more):

• Be sure to pay at least the minimum payment as soon as your bill arrives, every time your bill arrives. If at all possible, pay more than the minimum -- every little bit counts.
• Avoid, at all costs, using your credit cards to get cash. This means tearing up, as soon as they arrive, the blank checks that come with your bill and not using your credit card at the ATM machine.
• The credit card companies are checking your credit -- and you should be, too. Check your report once every year, and challenge any item that is not factual or is damaging to your credit in an inaccurate way. The credit bureaus will investigate any claim you make to them in writing.
• If your debt covers more than one card, consolidate the debts to the card with the lowest interest rate. Sounds simple, but you'd be surprised at how many of us neglect this step.
• And the simplest, yet least heeded, piece of advice? Don't use the credit card unless you're sure you can pay the amount in full at the end of the month.

Read It With Your Own Eyes
According to CardWeb.com, an online publisher covering the credit card and related industries, as of September 1, 2005, you are entitled -- thanks to Congress' Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 -- to access your credit report from each of the three main credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) for free once each year.

It's Never Too Early!
The moral of this story is to not get involved in this no-win game. If you are already involved, the good news is that there are ways out.
Do your research, be careful, don't try to find the free lunch that doesn't exist and always remember that if something sounds too good to be true, then chances are that it is!

Allison Nazarian is president and chief copywriter of Get It In Writing, Inc., a Florida-based company that helps businesses
nationwide harness the power of words to sell, inform and publicize. E-mail Allison at:
anazarian@getitinwriting.biz.

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