Posted on 04/18/2005 9:49:49 AM PDT by Willie Green
NEW YORK -- The credit card generation is getting younger.
A recent poll of teenagers who participate in the Junior Achievement program found that more than 11 percent are carrying credit cards, and some of them are as young as 13 or 14 years old. In addition, three out of 10 teenagers have checking accounts, and many are likely linked to automated teller machines with debit cards.
"We were a little surprised at the numbers," said Darrell Luzzo, senior vice president for education at JA Worldwide, which is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo. "Having a credit card is not necessarily a terrible thing, so long as they're being educated about the appropriate financial principles."
But while 82 percent of the teen credit card users said they paid their bills in full every month, 18 percent said they carried balances over -- a practice that has gotten a lot of their parents in trouble.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
I am convinced that the teen-agers of today are not as bright as those of our generation, nor are they as responsible. My wife's niece, who isn't quite as smart as Patty Murray, doesn't balance her checkbook, but writes checks against the balance that shows 'on-line', without allowing for the fact that the checks she has written haven't cleared the bank yet. Stupid? You bet. The bank cleared the checks, but charged her a fee because she was overdrawn. She doesn't think that is 'fair', and wants to 'negotiate' with the bank. Wonder where she got that from? (Parents? Don't bother...just as stupid. They have me CONVINCED that my wife was 'adopted'.)
I worked at a car dealership, and commuted to Oakland from Walnut Creek every day after school. (That's where I learned to drive in commute traffic with stupid people and tunnels.) I vaguely recall having a gas card, but that was it.
It's actually easier, with electronic banking, to know what the kids are doing with a credit card. No more waiting until the bill comes in to get surprised, parents can access the account and check every day if they want to.
People are bombarded by pe-approved cards all the time...
Celphones and credit cards are the new "cigarette"...must have one to be in with the "cool crowd"...
Yes, millions upon millions of us use credit cards and checking accounts responsibly. The best time to learn how to do this is while growing up.
My general thought on credit is that it is very much like alcohol. Some people are perfectly capable of having a beer or glass of wine now and then... but for others, even one drink can send them down on the road to hell...
Yes they can.
I had a log book :)
then my parents made me figure out the compound interest....it sucked so I rarely used it except for when I was doing my mowing.
personal control and responsibility....who'da thunk it? :)
Can a minor (i.e. under 18) legally have a credit card in their own name, with no co-signer. I didn't think minors could enter into legally binding contracts on their own behalf, and a credit card agreement is a legally binding contract, isn't it?
you can't. in most states you can't get a checking account without a co-signer or at all. When I enlisted in the Army, I had to set up my bank account and wanted to go with Bank One. they would allow it because I was 17 (the bastids..)....
Highway 24 is still the apex of "stupid people and tunnels". I drive it as seldom as I can. ;)
They get people while they're young and stupid, and never let go...
No minor should have a credit card or checking account in their own name. If parents want to give their kid access to a credit card account, it should be an additional card on an account in the parent's name, with the parent getting the bill and the parent's credit rating the only one affected. Kids can't even begin to comprehend the implications of destroying your credit and cannot legally be held responsible for paying (though I believe their credit ratings can be legally trashed, even though they can't be forced to pay).
Even college kids are often too clueless and lacking in perspective to handle a credit card account of their own. There have been cases of college kids committing suicide over credit card bills of a few hundred dollars, on accounts their parents didn't even know they had.
Aren't all contracts made with minors completely voidable at the minor's request? I know we covered that in Business Law at college.
Stupid business decision potentially.
Ah, yes, Highway 24. I love that road.
My favorite driving memory came when I was 17... my mother needed to get a motorhome from Oakland to Walnut Creek and couldn't take it herself, so she gave me the keys and had me drive it home.
A motor home. In commute traffic. Through the Caldicott tunnel. I think my mother was certifiably insane at the time.
I think the way credit card accounts for minors are set up is with an adult co-signer who is responsible for paying if the minor doesn't. However, I don't think the minor's credit record is protected.
Our credit union will not issue any plastic (debit card or ATM card) to account-holders under 18.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.