This morning my wife put a pile of letters on my desk. They were all unsolicited, pre-approved, credit card application letters we had received in just the past week.
We counted them out. I received 6. My wife had 5. My 19 year-old daughter had 6.
I couldn't help but speculate as towhy so many Americans carry so much personal debt. Credit card companies are willing to provide cards to just about anyone!
Consumer advocate Clark Howard has mentioned on his radio talk show how credit card companies particularly target college students. Many college students are unfamiliar with personal finance management and use the cards frequently. When they cannot make the monthly payments card companies know that the students' parents will usually bail them out.
My wife and I limit ourselves to just 1 debit card and 1 credit card. We pay off our credit card bill every month so that we maintain a balance of zero. We have also counseled our college student to do the same practice. Fortunately, she rarely uses her credit card.
Has anyone else have experience or advice on the credit card usage?