The Lincoln Log

You have now been pre approved for a new American Express card with a limit of 10,000 dollars! Have you ever wondered about credit cards and their rising popularity. So many people own them but I wonder if teenagers are responsible enough to have them.

Teenagers are often stereotyped as lazy and irresponsible so I was wondering what people thought about them having credit cards. There are many reasons a teenager might want a credit card but most people don’t realize that having a credit card is a lot of responsibility. You can’t just buy whatever you want because you have to pay for it at the end of the month and more importantly you have to keep your credit good.

I recently applied for a gap credit card. I applied for the credit card because I was foolish and I thought it would be a great idea because you wouldn’t have to worry about paying for things right away. But I realized that I had been mistaken because all these things I bought I had to pay for at the end of the month. It had completely slipped my mind because I would have the burden at the end of the month and not instantly. I charged items like it was nothing but I was sorry at the end of the month. I never really liked the idea of credit cards because I wasn’t using my own money. I was essentially using money from that came from a company.

After my little credit card trial I decided that credit cards just weren’t for me. Working in retail I have learned that cash has now become a thing of the past and plastic has taken over. So what other option is there. For me personally I stick with my debit card because I know whatever is in that account it is my money and I am welcome to use it. And if you use more money than you possess you are charged with a overdraft fee. With credit cards there is no penalty or indicator, it is plain and simple If you don’t pay you credit just keeps getting worse and worse.

Kids having credit cards can become a desperate situation. Kids can live recklessly and stress free because they know that their parents will take care of them. Often these credit cards are paid for by parents and that certainly doesn’t teach responsibility. Although these teens take the easy way out some teenagers have jobs. I know many teens who have jobs and most of them value them for the most part.

All the people I know who have jobs know the value of a dollar than most teens. It is guaranteed that they will think twice about buying something if they use their own money. And so these teens can pay for their own credit card bill as they learn the responsibilities of becoming an adult.