A recent article in the Boston Globe, College by the Numbers, reported that college students hold 4.6 credit cards on average with a combined average balance of $3,173.  With the new law, The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, this is a thing of the past.

Unless the parents of children under 21 years of age want to co-sign for the credit card or the child has independent financial means to repay the credit, no credit card will be issued. Keep in mind that being a cosigner of another’s debt means you are agreeing to pay it all off if they don’t pay and their payment habits will reflect on your credit.

Now is the time to give your children lessons on how to budget on a limited amount of cash because with no credit cards they will need to know.  On the News & Resources page I list several sources of financial literacy information to help you and your children become financially savvy.