Managing Your Finances: How to Set Credit Card Limits

Managing finances is an important part of growing up. Once a teenager leaves the nest and goes off to college, a whole new world opens up. Not only are college kids exposed to a totally different lifestyle they also find they must begin to manage their own finances. Gone are the days when mom and dad took care of the bills and passed out spending money. Young adults must learn quickly how to manage the money they earn from a part time job or money they are sent by mom and dad. Many young adults have never managed money on their own and the experience is eye opening.

Most young adults tend to waste their money quickly and with the opportunity to open a credit card, many young adults find themselves in debt very quickly. Credit card opportunities open up once the age of eighteen arrives and many college students soon find themselves with several credit cards and a mountain of debt. It is essential that college students are very careful with credit card usage and work hard to stay out of debt.

Set Your Own Limits

The best way to stay out of debt and manage finances as a college student is to set your own limits. Stick to one or two credit cards to ensure that you can handle the payments and stay out of debt. If you have only one credit card you will be able to manage your finances very well and control the amount of money you are spending easily. Before opening a credit card or using a credit card, set a limit in your mind and stick to it.

Consult Your Credit Card Company

Another option that you have for controlling your finances is to consult your credit card company. The credit card company will give you a limit that you are allowed to spend. Most times a limit begins at $500 to $1,000 and then will increase the longer you have the card in good standing. Try to keep track of your limit and understand how much you owe as well as your interest rate. When you consult with your credit card company regularly, you will be able to stay on track with your finances.

Reduce Your Credit Card Number

If you already have several college student credit cards, you may want to consider reducing the number of cards you have. You can make a credit card column on paper and take a look at the number of cards you have as well as the amount you owe on each card. Take the lowest balance and work to pay that balance off so you can slowly take control of your finances. Once you pay one card off, you can move on to another card. When a card is paid off, it is best to close the account and then work to have only one or two cards you can rely on. This will ensure that all of your accounts are in order and that you will be able to have full control of your finances.

All of these steps together will work to keep your finances in line and your credit in check. Always keep up with your payments and credit limits so that you never have too much debt and you stay in good standing with all creditors. The author’s suggested site Credit Card Column offers College Student Credit Cards.

Tags: Credit card, Debt, Finance, Student

Category: Credit Card