Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Very Dangerous

An example of street markets accepting credit ...Image via WikipediaShe's a high school student, with a part-time job - so why in the @*%$# would Chase give her a credit card with a $15,000 limit?

When Beth went and opened her new checking and savings accounts, they offered her a credit card, too. It sounded good - up to 3% back on purchases, and they'll tie it to her checking account in case she ever spends more than she actually has. Yep, real convenient.

We talked about how this can be a good thing, as long as she uses it responsibly and pays her balance, if she has one, every single month. She can start building her own credit record so she'll be able to buy a car and even a house some day. She's starting with a clean slate, and she has the opportunity to build a good credit score. On the other hand, if she doesn't use it responsibly, she can really get herself into trouble, now and for a long time to come.

Of course, when we first talked about it, I thought they'd maybe give her a credit line of $1000 to $1500 - something small that would gradually increase as she used it responsibly. But she got the card yesterday, and it says her a credit limit is $15,000.

Correction: as I was typing this, Beth came home from school. She said she called to activate her new card, and they said they'd put the wrong number on the letter. Her credit limit is actually $1500. Still dangerous, but not quite so bad.
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6 comments:

  1. Wow, times sure have changed. High schoolers with their own credit cards. I remember once in High School my Mom gave me her Hudson's Department Store card to go buy something, can't remember what, but I clearly remember her CALLING Hudson's and giving permission for me to use her card! I suddenly feel very old :)

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  2. It's crazy. I throw away more "free" credit cards sent to Eowyn than she'll ever know about. And she never held down a job. Isn't this loose credit what got the banks into trouble in the first place.

    Enter the Super Duper SuperWAHMz Contest!

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  3. Hi Anna,

    I have a new layout. I thought you would like see :D

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  4. I am so glad Nikolaus still needs me to be on his account, we decided against checking yet, just a savings.

    Hopefully she will use the card wisely.

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  5. *whew* glad to read the correction. Now you can start breathing again!

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  6. hahah did that for Fawn too scarry huh

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