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Paying Your Student Credit Card Bill On Time

If you’re like most students, cash is scarce, but those student credit card bills are always lurking in the background. Unfortunately, ignoring them because your low on funds just isn’t the best idea for anyone involved.

 

What’s the Worst That Can Happen

If you do choose to ignore your bills until you get back on your feet, there are lots of things that can happen. The first thing you’re likely to see happen is additional charges to your student credit card account. Late fees can add up fast, and most companies will charge you up to fifty dollars for each month that you’re late with your payment. If you’re near your credit limit when this happens, it’s not uncommon for credit card companies to charge over the limit fees as well. The second thing you’ll see happen is that the interest will begin to stack up on your total amount due. This can really add to your balance. If you continue not to pay on your student credit card account, expect the companies to raise your APR. If you already have a high APR, this can send your balances skyrocketing, and in most cases, you’re going to be looking at paying about a 30% interest rate on what you owe.

 

Fees, though, aren’t the only bad part in all of this. The company will begin calling you on a regular basis to get their money. Once the credit card company really gets rolling, your debt will be sent to a collection agency. Not only will they make some nasty phone calls, demanding repayment of your entire debt, they can also stop by your place of employment or residence just to further annoy you into paying the debt.

 

If you continue not to pay on your account, most creditors will write it off as a “charge-off.” While this sounds like you no longer owe the company anything, a new entry will appear on your credit report, and this can make it difficult for you to secure any type of credit in the future. Whether you want a mortgage or a car loan, with a charge-off on your record, you’ll have some serious problems.

 

What Can I Do?

If you get in over your head on your credit cards, don’t go through the hassle of late payments. Talk with a credit counseling agency or a financial advisor on campus to help find a way out of debt. In most cases, there are several options. Credit counseling agencies will work with your creditors to set up a payment plan you can live with. They’ll also help the additional charges to stop. You could also consider a bankruptcy. While that is the end of the financial road, it only stays on your credit report for ten years, and it is certainly something you can overcome with time.

 

Keeping up with your new student credit cards and making payment on time is essential to your financial well being. Don’t become another financial statistic.

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