Page 72 - Workbook2E

2Credit Cards for Children
Recently banks have
announced their intent
to provide credit cards to
children as young as 12 years
old! This is clear evidence of
a frightening shift in lending
policies aimed right at the
young. Since spending and
saving patterns are usually
established by the mid-to-late
teens, marketers and America’s multi-billion dollar banks don’t want to miss their best chance to train their latest customers when they’re young.
Too high a price...
Carla had just entered junior high and still got excited about the latest Barbie doll collection. Then she received her first personal credit card
with a credit limit of $500. That was more money than she’d had in her entire life! With
her new imagined wealth, her values suddenly shifted. Her clothes weren’t good enough for her anymore. She even put her Barbie dolls away. She now bought designer clothes, and perfumes, the latest CDs, and a new stereo system. She began surfing the net for cool new electronic toys and gadgets.
Her new borrowed money was
“burning a hole in her pocket.” She felt she had to spend it or lose it. What she gained was $500 of debt,
and the anger of her shocked parents, but she lost her credit card and her financial freedom.
3Automatic Teller Machines —Almost Everywhere!
New trends in banking have brought automatic teller machines to shopping malls, airports, fast-food markets, corner gas stations, as well
as every bank and credit union. Children see their parents, siblings, and friends get money by punching numbers into a terminal. It’s easy for them to mistakenly think there’s an unending supply of money available just by entering the correct code numbers. Some parents even allow their children to push the buttons and get the cash themselves.
“They that go a-borrowing go a-sorrowing.”
~ John Clark
68 Workbook 2: Improve Your Financial Life