Overcoming Debt, Achieving Financial Freedom

Chapter 9Master Your Credit and Your Credit Cards

It was spring 2007, and I was a senior in high school. A credit card company came to my school and set up outside the cafeteria. Their eye‐catching table allowed students to sign up for what would be, for most of us, our first credit card. I completed a simple form that asked for my personal information and signature. I was given the option to personalize my card with a variety of images—I chose a puppy on a blue background. A few weeks later, my credit card arrived in the mail in a discreet envelope. I beamed with pride as I signed my name on the back of the card. I was stepping into adulthood.

My credit card had a limit of $250, so I told myself that I would only put small purchases on the card and immediately pay it off. I also told myself that I would never get into credit card debt. Those promises were quickly broken when I started college just a few months later.

In the fall of 2007, I started my freshman year at Stony Brook University. I began to regularly use my credit card for purchases for my dorm room and funding regular trips to the mall. I wasn't alone in this. My classmates and newfound friends were all signing up for credit cards on campus. On Wednesdays, my school had “Campus Life Time”—a two‐hour time block where students could enjoy free events, food, fairs, and giveaways. Credit card companies also made their way to Campus Life Time. Much like the company that had visited my high school, these companies would ...