NEWS
Walking around campus early in the semester, the offers emanating from tents and tables lined in front of area buildings may seem too good to be true.All a student has to do to get free phone cards and T-shirts is fill out a little information for credit card companies.But in a few months, the phone card is gone, the shirt is faded and all that’s left is a large credit card bill eating away at your savings.“I have about six cards and I’m probably about $10,000 in debt,” said international relations junior Jim Taglauer, who even had to give his last card with purchasing power to a friend for safe keeping after purchasing a home-cleaning tool he didn’t need from a television ad.“The logic that I use is that I’m paying $100 to $150 a year to use someone else’s money.”Many students sign up for their first credit card when they move away to college.Joyce Banish, vice president of marketing at the MSU Federal Credit Union, says most students who receive cards from her organization are responsible, but anyone with a card should follow some basic guidelines to ensure that they don’t get overcome by debt.“A plan and a budget are the most important things,” Banish said.
