Blog

Many college kids across the country now have credit cards of their own, which may make it easier for them to make day-to-day purchases, but can also saddle them with debt.

Now, a large and growing number of high schools and colleges nationwide are teaching teens responsible money and debt management techniques that will help them to better handle their finances as they move toward financial independence, according to a report from the Pottsville Republican Herald. These classes are designed to help them better understand the situations they get into when obtaining loans and potentially reduce debt they may already carry.

"After reading the statistics and seeing things like more people are dropping out of college because of credit card debt than student loan debt, I just thought we needed to do something," Kathy Loy, a business education teacher, told the newspaper.

Older consumers may have to look to other sources to find out how to get out of debt fast, but all would likely benefit from a sound financial education that can help them to better understand how quickly they can end up in debt.

Many college students are now growing wary of taking on credit card debt and opening new lines of credit, and as a consequence are beginning to shun these accounts.

Fewer college students are now using their credit cards and carrying a debt from one month to the next, according to a report from Tampa, Florida, television station WTFS. Recent statistics from the credit monitoring firm Experian showed that credit card balances for college-aged consumers rose just 0.4 percent in 2010, down considerably from the 13.3 percent growth rate observed three years prior.

In addition, many young adults may now be growing more cautious of these accounts because a larger number of college are teaching financial literacy courses as a requirement to help students stay debt free, the report said.

"Credit cards are a big part of that," University of South Florida financial aid services director Billie Jo Hamilton told the news station. "They tell students if you can wear it or eat it, don't put it on a credit card."

New federal laws have restricted the way in which credit card companies can market and grant credit cards to those under the age of 21.

Two of the nation's largest credit card lenders recently reported that the amount of credit card debt they had to write off as being uncollectable increased in July, reversing a trend seen for all major financial institutions since the start of the year.

Both Bank of America and Citi saw the rate at which they had to charge off accounts 90 days or more behind on payments as being uncollectable increase during the month of July, according to a report from Reuters as fewer consumers were successful getting out of debt. Citi saw charge offs rise to 6.64 percent of all accounts, up from 6.47 percent, while Bank of America suffered a more appreciable increase to 7.43 percent from 6.97 percent in June.

However, both lenders also saw the number of accounts that fell just 30 days or more behind decrease during the month, the report said. Citi's delinquency rate slipped to 3.39 percent from 3.56 percent, while Bank of America's tumbled to 4.05 percent from 4.16 percent.

Fluctuations in credit card lenders' delinquency rates are often reflected in the number of charge offs they deal with several months down the line.

The rate at which consumers paid off their seriously delinquent credit card debt improved during the month of July for one of the nation's largest credit card lenders, even as it saw more customers fall behind for the first time instead of working to reduce debt.

The latest regulatory filing from Capital One Financial revealed that the company saw the rate at which it charged off seriously delinquent accounts as being uncollectable slip in July, but its early-stage delinquencies increased, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires. The lender's charge off rate – the total proportion of its balances that are so far behind on payments they must be written off as uncollectable – slipped considerably, to 3.77 percent from June's 4.41 percent.

However, the number of balances that fell 30 days or more delinquent rose during the month, though less appreciably, the report said. Capital One saw early-stage delinquencies rise to 3.37 percent in July from 3.33 percent the month prior.

Many experts have said that rising prices for necessities have made it more difficult for consumers to work their monthly budget, which may account for the rise in early delinquencies.

The amount of money spent on consumers' credit cards and the number of times they were used both increased considerably on a year-over-year basis during the month of July, but the rates at which they expanded slowed overall, according to the latest monthly statistics from First Data Corp.'s SpendTrend report. The amount spent increased 7.3 percent during July, but was lower than the 8.8 percent observed in June. Further, the number of transactions on these accounts during the month rose just 5.3 percent.

Both types of debit transactions – signature and PIN – also increased, the report said. Overall, the number of transactions on signature cards rose 7.8 percent, while those on PIN cards climbed 5.1 percent. In addition, the amount spent on these accounts jumped 7 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.

Consumers are likely putting more of their purchases on credit cards once again because of the rising prices for necessities such as food and gasoline, making it more difficult to get out of debt.

Consumers who have large amounts of credit card debt may have been dismayed to hear that a downgrade in the U.S. credit rating would eventually lead to higher interest rates on consumer loans, and now that type of increase may be on the horizon.

Standard and Poor's recently announced that it would downgrade the credit rating for the U.S. to AA+ from AAA and now many experts believe others in the credit rating industry will follow suit, according to a report from TIME Magazine. Consequently, some experts predict that consumers who have variable-rate credit cards that are tied to the prime may end up seeing their APRs increase by as much as 2 or 3 percent in the next three to six months.

Such a change could have a major impact on consumers' holiday shopping plans, as they may be more likely to use those accounts to make a number of big-ticket purchases and then carry the balance from one month to the next. In addition, it may be a good idea to attempt to pay down as much of their existing balance as possible before the change takes effect to make debt management easier.

Some consumers in the state of California may have recently gotten an unpleasant surprise when they attempted to use their credit cards to make a purchase.

A number of small businesses throughout California were recently discovered to be charging consumers small fees for taking on credit card debt to make purchases, according to a report from Visalia television station KMPH. The state currently permits charges of this type to be tacked onto debit card purchases [only], and business owners also have the option of offering discounts for paying with cash.

While the fees were not substantial, they were still illegal, the report said. Often, the companies charged between 45 cents and $2 for accepting a credit card, and most of the time this was only applied to purchases of less than $10 or $15.

Many businesses have objected to these transaction fees charged by payment processing networks, saying they are too high and cut too heavily into profit margins. Often, this practice may lead to higher prices for all items, which can make it more difficult for consumers to get out of debt quickly.

Credit card debt is once again becoming a major problem for consumers and, as a consequence, many are experiencing more stress over their balances and wondering how to get out of debt.

The number of Americans who worry about their credit card debt all or most of the time rose to nearly 20 percent in recent months, according to a new poll from the Associated Press and GfK. In addition, about one-third say that if they were to purchase something on a credit card, they would be unable to pay off the balance at the end of the month.

"For three months I scrape by and I can only afford to make the minimum payments on my credit cards," high school teacher James Moran of Shelton, Conn., who owes $5,000 on his cards and about $14,000 in student loans, told the news agency.

In all, stress over debts has risen 17 percent since November, climbing to rates seen in 2009 – during the recession – and again last spring, the report said.

One contributing factor to the higher stress levels may be that consumers are having more trouble affording food and gasoline, prices for which have risen sharply in the last several months.

As part of the continuing expansion of both payment processing networks and cellphone service providers into the mobile purchase market, two major names recently teamed to launch a new platform.

American Express and Verizon Wireless recently launched a new program that will allow consumers to take on credit card debt using their smartphones in a new way, according to a report from the tech news site CNET. With the American Express Serve program, consumers will be able to make online purchases through their smartphone or tablet device by entering their phone number, rather than their credit card information.

Verizon in particular has been quite active in attempting to develop new mobile payment strategies and foster adoption, the report said. It has already reached similar accords with a number of companies, including its top two competitors in the phone service industry, in an effort to expand its presence in the burgeoning market.

However, many consumers are wary about mobile purchases, not just because they have likely worked to reduce debt over the last several months, but also as a result of security concerns.

While a large number of consumers are struggling under tremendous credit card debt and other balances they were forced to take on during the recent national recession, those in some states have largely been able to avoid some of thoseproblems.

Residents of Oklahoma have the lowest average indebtedness in the country, owing just $126,027, according to a report from Yahoo Personal Finance based on statistics from Credit Karma. This marked a 3 percent decline from the same study last year, and was based on all types of debt – ranging from credit card debt to auto loans and mortgages – except student loan obligations.

West Virginia and Arkansas, at $127,535 and $128,460, respectively, were also in the top three, the report said. In addition, Mississippi was the only other state with less than $130,000 in average debts in the nation. Indiana, Kansas, North Dakota, Kentucky, Iowa and Nebraska were also listed in the top 10.

Credit card debt has been particularly troublesome for many consumers to become debt free because of the large amount many have to spend on necessities just to make ends meet these days.