Living the College Life: Should I Accept that Great-Sounding Credit-Card Offer?

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"One of my best collegiate decisions has been to forego the mountain of credit-card offers that I receive daily. While it is tempting at times . . . I'm better off not ­having that monthly payment."- Adam Lucido, Montana State University"Billings,

Some students may be in for a surprise when their parents don't send them chunks of money to pay for their pizzas, movie nights, and haircuts at college. That's because Mom and Dad may be suffering from college sticker shock themselves, writing a check for up to $3,000 a month to cover tuition, room and board, and maybe (if you're fortunate) books and supplies. It's likely they've had to make some big sacrifices to send you to college, so it only makes sense that you share the burden. As a result, they frequently draw the line at paying for day-to-day expenses.

For those expenses, students need to either get a part-time job or do without. The other option"credit"is unattractive for reasons that are explored in this article. Regardless, frugality, to some degree, often becomes a way of life for students.

This article will explore some of the issues that students face when it comes to managing their money and expenses"how much to work a part-time job, how to handle credit and the debt that often follows, and how to keep expenses down. The chapter also explores some rewarding job possibilities and offers suggestions on checking them out.

It's a sure thing"a slam dunk. Whether or not you already have a credit card, you will be bombarded with offers to sign up for one shortly after you start freshman year. Fliers will be posted on campus bulletin boards. Advertisements will abound in school publications and magazines you read. And your mailbox will be flooded with offers that seem too good to pass up.

During his freshman year, Ben Starsky (Arizona State University) signed up for a credit card"and lived to tell about it!

That's because he regularly checked his balance on the card's Web site, so his bills never got out of hand. He only charged what he was certain he could pay off every month. And he never carried a balance, never paid interest, and built his credit rating over the course of the year. It ended up working out well for him.

But Ben's buddy across the hall wasn't so prudent. He liked his first credit card so much that he signed on for another; each received plenty of use. In little time at all, his debt approached $3,000 and his credit maxed out. He ended up not returning to school for the next year.

"The reason credit-card companies give applications to college students is because they know they will make money on them," says Ben. The companies want college students so badly for several reasons. For one thing, many students regularly run up large bills from carefree expenses, a habit that can be tough to break. When a credit-card company signs up a college student during those carefree spending years of roughly 18 to 30, it stands to make buckets of money during that span, and beyond. (That's why your grandmother's mailbox isn't overflowing with the same volume of offers.)