Parent to parent: The credit trap

The banks must think our kids are independently wealthy. Why else would they mail them credit card offers, again and again, when they have little or no visible evidence of income?

The card companies, of course, know exactly what they’re doing. That’s why it’s best to ensure that your student doesn’t become one of their ideal customers: someone who runs up a big balance but makes only a minimum monthly payment and racks up hefty interest charges and the occasional late fee along the way.

Personally, we’re no strangers to runaway card balances ourselves — sometimes, you just have to spend more than you take in, despite the best of intentions. Hey, Uncle Sam’s been pulling a similar trick for years.

Missteps are costly

But for students whose credit legs are still wobbly, any missteps are likely to be costly. If they get too far behind, they’ll get dinged with late payments and run the risk of having their card canceled. It’s better to have no credit than bad credit at this stage in their lives. Soon they’ll be venturing out and trying to establish a toehold in a career; what they don’t need is a bad credit report to lessen their odds of renting an apartment or getting a car loan.

We haven’t given any of our three kids credit cards and, to the best of our knowledge, none of them have bit on those offers that keep coming through the mail. Our two eldest have debit cards that have the ability to be used as credit cards, but they must “opt-in” to have them work that way. They do, but only rarely, and then only for an unusual or extraordinary expense, such as buying an airplane ticket. Our youngest will be heading off to college soon, and we’ll look to do the same with her.

Doing without

Don’t get me wrong: I know the advantages of plastic. But I also know you can live without it.

Thirty-some-odd years ago, I needed to drive from Montreal to L.A. I had a car, a sleeping bag, an ice chest and about $110 cash — and no credit cards (not even a gas card).

I drove 55 mph (for better fuel economy), bedded down in campgrounds and ate peanut butter sandwiches. I made it back to L.A. with a few bucks in my pocket.

Like that journey, college might be a little more fun with a credit card. But there’s also a bit of satisfaction to making it through without one.

Editor's note: Credit card vendors are not permitted on the UC Davis campus. Local banks, which put on information tables on campus in the fall, are not allowed to promote credit cards or to take personal information from students. The Cal Aggie Alumni Association offers an “affinity” credit card, but the agreement does not allow marketing to or solicitation of students.