Youve just gotten your brand new student credit card in the mail, and its all yours! It gives you all kinds of reasons to take it right out to the stores and start spending: gas rebates, a points system that gives you free checks in the mail, even cask back when you use the card at the right stores. Isnt it great to have a brand new card? Why not use student credit cards right away?
Before you start taking advantage of all your cards great new features, stop and think. In New York state, the average college student emerges from school with four credit cards and $3,173 in credit card debt. Thats in addition to their tuition debt, and it usually carries an even higher interest rate than the national average. Its a heavy burden to bear when youre fresh out of college and still looking for a good job. And its an easy burden to pick up. $3,173 is barely $793 a year. Thats $66 a month or $15.25 a week. Spend one evening at the bar, or buy a few CDs, or charge a couple of your books for the semester, and youve added that much to the debt youll be working for years to pay off.
Is there an escape? Of course. Use student credit credit cards sensibly. Use these rules as a guide:
* Every month, pay off all or most of your standing balance. You need to use your credit card regularly to build your credit history, but that doesnt mean you have to carry a balance.
* Charge only the essentials. Credit card companies encourage you to think of credit as play money, but youll need to pay for your play eventually. Put an item on your card only when you know you need it and youll be able to pay off the credit card in a month or two.
* Dont charge more just to get rebates or points. Its tempting to spend a few more dollars so youll earn enough for a rebate check, but the interest youll pay will cost you far more than the rebate check is worth. (Thats why credit card companies make money on rewards programs.)
* Avoid racking up fees by paying your bills on time. The average late fee is $35, and too many late payments will allow your credit card company to raise your interest rate steeply. Dont get caught in that trap! If getting bills in the mail on time is a problem for you, automatic payments can be a lifesaver.
Use your student credit cards wisely, and youll leave college with good credit and no credit card debt. That will make your life easier as you rent an apartment or buy a house, lease a car, and establish yourself after college.

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More information on student credit cards, goto www.getsmart.com/credit-cards.