We all love credit, the feel of controlling it, the power of what it can do, to be able to buy the things we like even though we get it now we have to pay for it LATER. There are those who are good with handling credit and those who can’t handle it at all even if they say they can. No matter what the situation is credit is given to those who are trusted to pay back what they owe later on, but what about young people like say, teenagers, who desire the things that they want but don’t have the money to get it? They ask their parents for an allowance if they feel that they deserve it and sometimes they are either granted one or denied. This could be the same for a credit card, assuming that they can handle a credit card as well as cash.
But what if a young person is trusted with a credit card but goes out and gets carried away with it? This is where parents advise their children to handle any money that they receive with care and THINK before acting when it comes to their spending habits and this can go for credit as well. The question that should be asked is, is it alright for teenagers to handle credit before discussing it with them in a proper way or should it not be given to them at all thinking that things will go bad in a possible long run. Here are the pros and cons of teenagers having credit cards
The Pros: Convenience: Teens armed with credit cards don’t have to carry cash and don’t need to ask their parents for money. Having a card also give them a type of flexibility to handle emergencies.
The Cons: Lessons not to be learned, if parents don’t monitor the spending and take action as necessary, the teen may not feel the true effects of buying credit. This can be a damaging outcome of allowing a teen to use a plastic card with money on it.
Ultimately, the responsibility falls on the parents to ensure that the credit card is teaching their teens the right lessons about budgeting, spending, discipline and debt management. As long as parents set the rules a small amount of credit leeway can help teens learn on their own on how to manage credit.
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