I agree when a comment before mine said us young adults have never been shown how to properly spend money. See this is my case. I graduated in June of 2004 from High School. Well the college I was accepted at told me a few weeks before I was supposed to move that I was short on my bill (meaning that I didnt have enough to cover my bill from financial aid and my 2 stafford loans). Well I panic and tried to find any way to get into college. There was no way I could get a student loan because you need a co-signer for those and I dont have one. I filled out scholarships,but I never heard anything from them. Well a few people told me to get a credit card. Well I got approved. I have 3... my first two are $1000 limit and the 3rd is a $300. Well I took their advice and use those cards for college. I used the one to buy my computer, the other to pay for the rest of my college bill which was almost 1000 and the 3rd to buy things I needed for college. Well I was doing really good on paying all 3 of my credit card bills on time while I was at college. Well unfortantly I lost my staff job which pays 2/3 of my room and board. So since I lost my staff job I would have to come up with another $1000. Well I didn't want to get another credit card cuz I learn they are very pricy (no one ever sat me down and explain credit cards ... they just send get them and make sure u keep paying). Well I moved back home. Unfortantly I couldn't work when I came back home because I don't have my own car (my mom and I always fight about letting me get a car) and she wouldn't take me to work ( I could go back to my highschool job because my boss put me on temporary leave) because it was winter and my mom hates to drive in the snow. I was forced to stop paying my credit card bills. I tried to bug my mom to pay them for me till I started to work, and she always promise she would help me and would she no. Also... I got stuck with some bills from college. Since I lost my staff job the college charge me the last week I was there which was $100 and my phone bill I still had to pay. Well summer of 2005 came and I moved out of my parents with my boyfriend. I had gotten 2 jobs. The one I only get maybe 8 hours if I was lucky and the other like 33 hours. Well the college bills I owe were now $600 because they added interest. Well I am happy to say I FINALLY paid my college off!!! I worked my butt to get that off my credit report. Now I am dealing with the stress of these 3 credit cards because I never open up the letters from them cuz I hate to see how much I owe. I am struggling to go back to college because I want to go back soooooooooooooooo BAD!!!! I need help. I need some advice of how can I go back to college because I don't get enough financial aid, i tried the scholarship thing and my 2 stafford loans are enough and like i said I cant get a student loan. I can't work right now because it is winter and my mom won't drive. LUCKLY for me I have stayed up to date with my stafford loan payments. My mom owes me money so for right now she is paying my stafford loan payments. Well I can't wait to watch this show because I am only 20 years old going on 21 and I have seen my mom's life of not really having nothing. She is in debt and I always said I would never be like her and now I am because I took people's advice about getting credit cards to help pay for college. Dr.Phil how do I get out of this mess?!!!!! How can I convince my mom to let me get a car and get my own car insurance (thats one of her excuses of why i cant have a car) so I can go back to work so I can pay these damn credit card bills! Not only that, but is there ANY WAY they could combine the 3 credit cards into one so I only pay one payment ? Do you have ANY advice of how I can go back to college? IT sucks sooo bad because I was a honor role student in highschool and I had good grades my first semester at Alfred State College... I mean there are 2 classes I plan to retake because I got C's and I know I can do alot better, but the problem is going back (financially). They already accepted me back there. HELP!!!!
There are some of us that really do try to pay these bills off and we did for a short time, but these un expected things happen in our lifes. Plus I learned from this mistake and I have warned all my friends the dangers of credit cards. I told them my experiences and that they should ONLY use it if they know they can pay the whole card off. If any young adult is reading this and you just got your first credit card PLEASE PLEASE be careful!!!! try to pay as much of it off as soon as you can. Don't do just the minimal payments cuz trust me once you are stuck in this situation its so hard to get out!!!!!!!
Need help here in NY ~Kim
