Things to check for before you get your first credit card:

• Rate of interest: You can surf over the internet to find a company that offers lowest rate of interest. When you do so also make sure that you go through the terms and conditions of the bank. The rate of interest is important, as it determines the amount of money that you will be able to spend. You must also take into account your current financial standing, the mode of interest weather permanent or short term.
• Features of the credit card: In this competitive marketplace of credit cards; banks provide add on features on their credit cards to attract new customers. You must see what kind of rewards or redeemable points your credit card offers you. The best type would be the cash back offer. This will ensure that you can spend more amount of money.
• License/ Accreditation of the credit card company: Make sure you make a thorough background check on the company before you subscribe to their credit card policy. Since this is your first credit card you must take utmost care in every aspect. You can read reviews and testimonial online. Take into consideration the reviews offered by dissatisfied customers, and see how much that can affect you.
• Fees and charges: Make sure you are aware of the fees and charges that are required to be paid on your first bill. You must know that you will incur some initial costs to secure the card. You will also need to pay some extra financial changes. Also know the late payment charges, and annual fees that you will be required to pay. Make a research over the internet and ensure that you select a bank that requires you to pay the least amount of money.

When it comes to plastic money, students should get a credit card with lower cash limit, as they do not have a steady source of income, and paying the debt afterwards can become a troublesome affair. Students must not be tempted to spend more than they actually can repay. Growing debts will not only make the paying capacity burdensome, but also give poor credit score and hinder in obtaining a loan, when you actually need it.

Furthermore, it is best to stay clear of the cards that charge an annual fee, as this would not only hike the repayment, but what is the use of paying for a service that we intend to payback with interest. You should carefully weigh the APR rate of credits cards, before pouncing on any of them. The lower the APR the easier it is to payback the debt.

As soon as you get your hands on your first credit card, your mantra should be, “don’t charge it if you don’t have the cash.” Using a credit card as a means to buy whatever you want is a big no-no. Although it may not feel like you are using real money when you hand your card to the cashier, what happens with each and every swipe is that you are borrowing money from the bank that must be paid back.

Students in particular stand a higher chance of defaulting on their accounts and accumulating large amounts of credit card debt, according to experts. While it may not seem like a big deal during the moment you are at the mall and want to buy that super expensive present for your best friend that you just know she will love, piling up the debt can have a very real, very negative effect upon your future. If you muck up your credit history at a young age, you may not be approved for a loan in the future when you finally decide that you want to purchase a big ticket item such as a car or a house. Also, having bad credit can ruin future job prospects. Some employers review the credit report of their prospective hires as part of the interview process in an effort to determine their level of responsibility. If you have a shoddy credit history, a potential employer may interpret this to mean that you are not a good candidate for the job.

Here are some basic rules of thumb when it comes to using your credit card:

Don’t spend what you don’t have.

It’s fairly simple – do not make any charges to your credit card that you aren’t able to pay off right away.

Keep close tabs on your spending.

It is essential to keep track of everything you spend, no matter how trivial the transaction may be, in order not to completely blow your budget. This is especially true when you are purchasing items with your credit card, as you don’t have the tactile sensation of parting with your money like you do when you are spending cash.

Go over your credit report every year.

Everyone is entitled to one free credit report each year. Be sure to get a printout of your report so you can monitor the activity to make sure nothing is fraudulent and also so you can know how it looks to potential lenders, landlords and employers.

Use cash often, but not all the time.

While spending cash is one of the best ways to make sure you stay on track with your budget, it’s important to use your credit card once in a while and pay off the balance right away to establish positive activity for your credit report. Also, if you plan to shop online or in a crowded store during the busy holiday season, using a credit card can protect you against fraud by giving you the opportunity to dispute charges.

This naivety combined with excessive Internet use can work against the average college student, making them more susceptible to credit card hackers and scammers preying on their personal information. Data reveals that college students are more likely to suffer from cyber crimes such as identity theft and fraud, as well as health issues, all attributed to their frequent Internet use.

Approximately 19.7 million college students live in America, yet there are 90.6 million college credit cardholders in the United States. Ninety-two percent of college students claimed to have at least one credit card, according to a Credit-Land survey. Also, according to the survey, 91 percent of enrolled college students used their credit card to pay for their tuition. With tuition rising in costs, paying with a credit card can be incredibly expensive with added interest rates, annual fees and any other penalty fees that can occur.

Once your personal information is online is it part of a public web of information. Hackers and scammers spend hours every day trying to crack codes and break down security walls, in order to access private information. Students are an easy target, because they usually aren’t being mindful of the information that they’re dispensing, and they usually have student loans or parents financing them, so their bank accounts are pretty hefty. Another thing is that a lot of students in this day and age shop online.

If a student credit card gets in the hands of the wrong person, it can have affects that last a lifetime. Upon graduation, a student may not be able to get another low-interest credit card, auto loan or home mortgage. Students should protect themselves and their credit card information while making purchases online. Students should also keep private information such as passwords, PIN numbers and answers to security questions private, as a lot of fraud occurs when someone close to you has your private information.

Also, when doing online shopping, only shop on sites that are secure. Students can differentiate a secure site by the ‘https://’ prefix as opposed to the ‘http://’ prefix. Secure sites offer added security when making purchases. Secure websites also hire out private security companies to ensure that your information will be sent over an encrypted network.

Being a student is a hard task, with all the studying and weekend partying, it can be easy to lose track of certain information. But as a smart person on track to get their college degree, think about who you lend your personal information too, and protect your personal data, as a mishap could haunt you and your credit score for years to come.

Since children don’t get this type of financial information at school, parents should pass down financial literacy information to their children about the responsible use of credit cards. Parents should coach their children at a young age about importance of on-time bill payments and handling their own money. Parents can do this for children as young as kindergarten age by playing cashier games with the children and progressing to giving them a small weekly allowance. This will teach these children the basics of how money works.

Once children get older, begin increasing the amount of weekly allowance. Once the child is in elementary school, or begins to show the need for expensive toys or recreational electronic items such as gaming systems, begin incorporating monthly meetings. At these meetings discuss the family budget and how much the item they want costs. Continue discuss how much the family can contribute, and how much the child should contribute, within reason. Set up a definite payment plan with specific payment goal. This will show the child the basics of budgeting, and how saving can get them the luxury items they desire. When the child is establishes a good report with contributing to the items that they desire, you can include the option of interest when they don’t meet their payment deadline or miss a payment.

Introduce your child to the banking system by opening a checking account by the age of 18. By this time they may have a job, and they can use their checking account for direct deposit of their paychecks. Debit cards also give them more flexibility in regards to cash management. There are also rewards debit cards that help your children save money and give them cash-back on gas and grocery purchases.

Before the Credit CARD Act of 2009, students were allowed to get credit cards as long as they were 18 and over. But a string of student debt and financial mismanagement forced the government to pass legislation that required students to be 21 years of age in order to have a credit card. But the Act allows for students under 21 to have a parent co-sign on the credit card, unless the student can provide proof of income. This gives the parent more flexibility as to when they want they want to introduce their child about credit cards.

When introducing a child to a credit card it’s important to set a very low spending limit, and to explain to the child what credit cards should be used for. For example, explain to your child/student that the credit card should not be used for daily purchases such as food and social experiences, but rather that the card should be used in emergencies such as the case in travel and roadside emergencies.