students and credit cards

Students graduate with an average of $4,100 in credit card debt with almost 20% having more than $7,000 owed on credit cards.
60% were surprised how high their balances were, and 40% charged items knowing that they couldn’t pay for them. (Consumerist, via SallieMae)

At first glance, I assumed that these numbers were entirely the result of students being reckless with their money and wasting it on luxuries that they can’t afford. Digging deeper into the report, however, I read that at least some of this comes from school related expenses that their financial aid doesn’t cover. The average amount used for education costs yearly was $2,200, which is more than double the $942 from 2004.

But…that doesn’t explain the fact that students are surprised by their balances.

The worst part is that only 17% said that they paid them off each month. I love credit cards, but I love paying them off every month even more.