A Lure of the Credit Cards - Essay Example

Though she is blessed with a scholarship, grants, and financial aid, she is forced to maintain a full-time job just to pay for her recently acquired credit card debt. If she does make it through school, her employment prospects will be grim due to her poor credit history.

Leesa's debt may also result in a lifetime of ill health or even suicide. Though it may sound outrageous, mismanaged credit is a major enemy to college students and carries with it a lifetime of hardship. After the student tolerates four years of unreasonable professors, calculus, and college life, most will be very anxious to enter the job market. A large credit card debt and poor repayment history will follow the student and complicate their employment chances. With as many as 42% of today's employers doing credit checks on prospective employees, a bad report can have a disastrous effect (Guess Who Looking).

According to Lynn Nemser, president of Partners for Performance, a management consulting company, "There's an assumption that people with poor credit histories are more likely to steal" (qtd. in Guess Who Looking). While almost any job entails access to computers, sensitive files, and financial transactions, employers are naturally reluctant to hire anyone who may be perceived as a credit risk. This is especially true in any position in the financial sector. If the student with a poor credit report is fortunate enough to land their dream job, the weight of the credit report will pull down a portion of their take-home pay.

They will be saddled with the existing debt, as well as pay higher prices on everything from cars to insurance. Insurance rates are based on a client's risk of filing a claim and the insurance companies adjust the premiums accordingly. A 2004-2005 study by the Texas Department of Insurance found that ".[I]nsurance loss ratios for people with the worst credit scores are triple those of people with the best scores" (Overview. ). The poor credit risk this results in higher rates on auto, home, and even life insurance premiums.

Yes, even life insurance premiums are affected by a poor credit report because poor credit can damage your health and may result in your death. Endless financial worries and fears of collectors calling can manifest themselves in a myriad of medical problems. Hard-to-manage credit can cause stress, hormone imbalance, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even some forms of cancer (Lawrence). The risk is even greater for young women where financial problems are a leading cause of suicide (Khaitova).

Easy credit and the lure of credit card companies can result in a lifetime of misery when out-of-control finances result in the loss of a student's dream job. When faced with a second-rate job and escalating insurance rates, their health begins to suffer. For some, the cycle of mounting debt can result in death or even suicide. So the next time you walk through the campus and see a slick credit card salesman in a three-hundred-dollar suit, stop. That man may be the grim reaper in disguise.